Trioceros jacksonii
Silhouette: T. Michael Keesey (from a photograph by Frank Glaw, Jörn Köhler, Ted M. Townsend & Miguel Vences) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
Jackson's chameleon (Trioceros jacksonii), also known commonly as Jackson's horned chameleon, the three-horned chameleon, and the Kikuyu three-horned chameleon, is a species of chameleon, a lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is native to East Africa, and introduced to Hawaii, Florida, and California. There are three recognized subspecies.
Jackson's chameleon was described by Belgian-British zoologist George Albert Boulenger in 1896. The generic name, Trioceros, is derived from the Greek τρί- (tri-) meaning "three" and κέρας (kéras) meaning "horns". This is in reference to the three horns found on the heads of males.
The specific name, jacksonii, is a Latinized form of the last name of English explorer and ornithologist Frederick John Jackson, who was serving as the first Governor of Kenya at the time of Boulenger's description. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toledo Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Taronga Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Parc Zoologique et Botanique de Mulhouse | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Melbourne Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Schönbrunn Zoo | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 6 | Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 7 | Akron Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Santillana Zoo | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 9 | Zoo Boise | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | DMM Kariyushi Aquarium | 🇯🇵 Japan |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Jackson's Chameleon sighting in Nairobi National Park on a given day, based on 88 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 13 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Jackson's Chameleon in Nairobi National Park on a given day, against about 20% in August, the lowest month.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Jackson'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.
Only Nairobi National Park, in our data
Nairobi National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Jackson's Chameleon sightings: about 50% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Trioceros
The closest relatives of the Jackson's Chameleon that you can see in Nairobi National Park (genus Trioceros, Equatorial Chameleons) are Helmeted Chameleon (about 30%) and Side-striped Chameleon (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Jackson's Chameleon is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Nairobi National Park (88 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.
