Imagine trying to survive in warm forests in Africa and Madagascar. For many animals, a habitat like this would be impossible. Yet the chameleon, a reptile from 2 centimeters to about 70 centimeters long, depending on the kind, thrives there, thanks to features that scientists call adaptations: traits that help a living thing survive in its environment.
Consider a sticky tongue that can be longer than its body: this adaptation shoots out to catch insects in a fraction of a second. Equally important is eyes that can move in two different directions at once, which let it watch for food and danger at the same time. Without these traits, the chameleon would struggle to last a single season.
As a carnivore, the chameleon is an animal that eats other animals; it depends on crickets, grasshoppers and flies. Its behavior matters as much as its body: it changes the color of its skin to signal its mood, warm up or cool down. Behaviors like this are adaptations too, even though you cannot see them in a photograph.
The next generation faces the same challenges. Young chameleons, called hatchlings, depend on their surroundings and on adult care. Most chameleons hatch from eggs buried in the soil.
Perhaps most remarkable of all: chameleons change color mostly to communicate, not just to hide. Facts like this remind us that every animal's body tells a story about the place it lives.