Furcifer oustaleti
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The Malagasy giant chameleon (Furcifer oustaleti), also known commonly as Oustalet's chameleon, is a large species of chameleon which is native throughout Madagascar, but has also been introduced near Nairobi in Kenya (though its current status there is unclear) and in Miami-Dade County in the United States. It occurs in a wide range of habitats, even among degraded vegetation within villages, but is relatively rare in the interior of primary forest.
Furcifer oustaleti is endemic to Madagascar and is found throughout the island. It inhabits a very wide range of habitats including dry deciduous forest, humid evergreen forest, montane savanna, degraded forests, agricultural areas and even urban settings. It is seldom found deep in the forest interior, preferring the forest edges instead.
With a maximum total length (tail included) of 68.5 cm (27 in), Furcifer oustaleti is generally considered the world's largest species of chameleon by this measurement. Exceptionally large Calumma parsonii (Parson's chameleon) and Trioceros melleri (Meller's chameleon) have been claimed to reach even greater lengths, but this remains unverified. F. oustaleti...
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ankarafantsika National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 2 | Ankarana National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antananarivo | 🇲🇬 Madagascar |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prague Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Paris Zoological Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Aquarium du palais de la Porte Dorée | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Warsaw Zoo | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 5 | Lemurs Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 6 | Mandraka Reptile Farm | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 7 | Croc Farm Ivato | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 8 | herpetarium warszawskiego ZOO | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 9 | Rákosův pavilon | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 10 | Velemlokárium | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 11 | akwarium warszawskiego ZOO | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 12 | hipopotamiarnia i akwarium morskie warszawskiego ZOO | 🇵🇱 Poland |
Very likely
About 80% of wildlife watchers report an Oustalet's Giant Chameleon sighting in Ankarana National Park on a given day, based on 35 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 12 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April–July and September–October
In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report an Oustalet's Giant Chameleon in Ankarana National Park on a given day, against about 20% in November, the lowest month. Those are among Ankarana National Park's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against 460 mm in January. January to March have too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Oustalet's Giant Chameleon sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Oustalet's Giant Chameleon sightings, Ankarana National Park ranks 2nd at about 80%. The best odds are in Ankarafantsika National Park (Madagascar, about 90%).
Same genus: Furcifer
The closest relatives of the Oustalet's Giant Chameleon that you can see in Ankarana National Park (genus Furcifer, Fork-footed Chameleons) are Panther Chameleon (about 80%) and Petter's Chameleon (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Oustalet's Giant Chameleon is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Ankarana National Park (35 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
