Previous contributors have discussed the use of Anolis as an educational tool at the K-12 level (see here and here). But what happens when teachers don’t take anoles to the students? The answer is quite simple: the kids bring the anoles to them! Alex C., a sixth grader who recently graduated from my brother’s fifth grade class in PA, just passed along a “Discovery Quest” presentation that he created for fun (and to learn, of course). The topic: Green Anoles! I think it’s safe to say that our favorite lizards have so effectively permeated mainstream culture that the recruitment of anole biologists should prove an easy task from here on out. We look forward to having you in the field in about a decade, Alex C. (and all you other future anole experts)!
Anyone else with stories of anole addictions beginning at a young age? These can be auto-biographical or about those you know!
- Bahamian Lizards Reduce the Amplitude of Their Headbobs in the Presence of Predators - May 21, 2014
- Fear of Lizards Revisited - February 7, 2012
- Anoles Taking Over the Minds of Our Youth - January 31, 2012
Cody Porter
My first encounter with anoles was on a trip to Florida with my grandparents when I was eight years old. Prior to the trip, I was a zealous herpetophile, but my experience with lizards was largely limited to drooling over pictures in books (being from Michigan). I’d never even seen a wild lizard prior to that trip.
I recall that the first thing I said to my grandparents’ friends with whom we were staying was “Where can I find anoles?”. Unperturbed by my lack of manners, they happily took me out to catch anoles (releasing them all, of course) that very afternoon. I vividly recall seeing anoles basking on the sides of buildings in large numbers and, of course, catching my first male carolinensis. I was hooked. I would spend the majority of that trip passing up on trips to Busch Gardens and dinner outings in favor of scouring through the backyard for anoles.
Martha Munoz
Childhood obsessions often do lead to fruitful careers in biology. The opportunities for burgeoning anole biologists are varied. Read this post by Asa Conover, a high school student who accompanied me on an Anolis expedition to the Dominican Republic last summer: https://www.anoleannals.org/2011/11/23/my-first-field-expedition/
Wes Chun
I was in the first grade at Aliiolani School in Honolulu, HI, near the district of Kaimuki. The year was 1963. A girl in my class had brought a “chameleon” to school in a large glass jar. Inside, hidden amongst some hibiscus sprigs, was an adult male Anolis carolinensis. It was the most extraordinary thing I had ever seen, emerald green and white, with powder blue and yellow around the eyes–a dinosaur in miniature. I’ve been hooked ever since…