Here's What Happens When a Chameleon Looks in a Mirror

We at Weird Animal Question of the Week like to joke around a bit, but Derek Halas made us wonder if it’s time for some solemn reflection with his question, “What color would a chameleon in a room full of mirrors be?”

MALE IN THE MIRROR
Chameleon colors aren’t just camouflage, says Eli Greenbaum, an evolutionary geneticist at the University of Texas at El Paso—they also change due to temperature shifts or emotions.

And males get emotional when they see other males that could be rivals for females or habitat.

“Male chameleons will, in most cases, immediately change colors in response to seeing another male, and in this instance, to itself in a mirror,” says Daniel F. Hughes, a doctoral candidate in Greenbaum's lab. (Related: "What Do Animals See in the Mirror?").

To illustrate his point, he referred us to a YouTube video of a male panther chameleon, a species native to Madagascar, doing that very thing.