Trioceros johnstoni
Silhouette: T. Michael Keesey (from a photograph by Frank Glaw, Jörn Köhler, Ted M. Townsend & Miguel Vences) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
Trioceros johnstoni, known commonly as Johnston's chameleon, Johnston's three-horned chameleon, and the Ruwenzori three-horned chameleon, is a species of chameleon, a lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is endemic to highlands in the Albertine Rift in central Africa. It reaches up to 30 cm (12 in) in total length (including tail). Only the adult male has three horns. The female is hornless.
The three long annulated horns in the male T. johnstoni makes it superficially similar to T. jacksonii and T. werneri, and to an extent also to the short-horned T. fuelleborni and the smooth-horned T. oweni, but they are not close relatives. Its nearest relative is the hornless T. ituriensis.
The specific name johnstoni was given in honour of the British explorer Harry Johnston. T. johnstoni is found in forests at altitudes between 1,000 and 2,500 m (3,300–8,200 ft) in the Albertine Rift of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, western Burundi, western Rwanda, and southwestern Uganda, but also tolerates semi-urbanized environments as long as some trees and bushes remain.
Males of T. johnstoni are fiercely... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Nyungwe National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 3 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Johnston's Chameleon sighting in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park on a given day, based on 77 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the most-seen of the 6 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October and December–January
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Johnston's Chameleon in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park on a given day, against about 10% in April, the lowest month.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Johnston's 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.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Johnston's Chameleon sightings, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has the highest daily chance: about 50%. Next come Nyungwe National Park (Rwanda, about 30%) and Virunga National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Johnston's Chameleon is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (77 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.
