Wildlife. Updated November 2026. 5 min read.
Our guides love to stop by a lodge rock in Tsavo or Samburu and point out a lizard most guests have walked straight past: a male agama, head flaming orange or pink, body electric blue, bobbing up and down as if doing push-ups. He is defending his rock, and a few meters away a plain brown female is ignoring him completely. Kenya's reptiles are full of moments like this, if you know where to look.
Most visitors think of Kenya's reptiles as crocodiles and snakes, and we have separate pages on both. This page is about the rest: chameleons, agamas and other lizards, monitors and tortoises. You will see agamas and geckos at almost every lodge, leopard tortoises crossing park roads, and Nile monitors on riverbanks. For chameleons, look in highland gardens and forest edges, especially around Nairobi, and go on a guided night walk with a torch. Reptiles are most active in warm sun, so mid-morning in the dry seasons is best for lizards, and the days after rain are best for tortoises.
At a glance
| Reptile | Where in Kenya | Look for |
|---|---|---|
| Jackson's chameleon | Highland gardens and forest around Nairobi, Mount Kenya and the Aberdares | Bright green; males carry three horns |
| Flap-necked chameleon | Lowland bush, savanna and the coast | Large, green to brown, with flaps of skin behind the head |
| Red-headed rock agama | Rocks and lodge walls in Tsavo, Samburu, Hell's Gate and Baringo | Males blue with an orange or pink head; females brown |
| Geckos | Lodge walls and ceilings at night, everywhere | Pale and big-eyed, hunting moths around the lights |
| Nile monitor | Rivers and lakes: the Mara River, Baringo, Naivasha, coastal creeks | Up to about 2 m, banded yellow and black, a strong swimmer |
| White-throated monitor | Dry bush in Tsavo and Samburu | Heavy, gray-brown, with a blunt head |
| Leopard tortoise | Tsavo, Amboseli, Nairobi NP, Samburu, the Mara | A high, domed, spotted shell |
| Pancake tortoise | Rocky outcrops in parts of eastern Kenya | A flat, flexible shell; hides in crevices |
Chameleons
In folk tales told across eastern and southern Africa, the chameleon, kinyonga in Kiswahili, is the slow messenger sent to carry the promise of eternal life to people, who arrives too late. The real animal is just as strange. Its eyes swivel independently, so it can watch two things at once, then lock both onto prey. Its tongue shoots out in a fraction of a second to more than the length of its body and pulls back an insect on a sticky, cupped tip. And its color changes are mostly about mood, signaling and temperature rather than hiding: a calm chameleon is green, while an angry or courting one flashes brighter patterns.
Jackson's chameleon is the one to look for. It lives only in the highlands of Kenya and northern Tanzania, and the males carry three long horns, like a tiny triceratops, which they use in shoving matches. It gives birth to live young instead of laying eggs, which suits cold highland nights. Leafy gardens in Nairobi's western suburbs have them, as do forest edges around Mount Kenya. Jackson's chameleons were taken from Kenya to Hawaii in the 1970s and now live wild there. Kenya's mountains also hold chameleons found nowhere else, including species in the Taita Hills forests.
Agamas, geckos and other lizards
The red-headed rock agama is the lizard on the rocks outside your room. Dominant males are bright blue with an orange, red or pink head, and they bob their heads to warn off rivals and impress females. Females and junior males are mottled brown, and even a top male fades to dull colors when he is cold or stressed. At night, geckos take over the lodge walls, waiting by the lights for moths; they are harmless and they eat mosquitoes. In the forests of Kakamega and the coast you may see skinks with shining scales, and in dry country plated and girdled lizards. Kenya's lizards are no danger to people if left alone.
Monitors
The Nile monitor is Africa's longest lizard, reaching about two meters, and it is common along the Mara River, Lake Baringo, Lake Naivasha and the coastal creeks. It swims well, digs up crocodile nests for the eggs, and eats crabs, fish, frogs and birds' eggs. In dry country, the heavier white-throated monitor hunts snails, insects and small animals and spends hot days in burrows or tree holes. Both will bite and lash their tails if cornered, so give them room.
Tortoises
The leopard tortoise, kobe in Kiswahili, is the one you see on park roads, especially after rain, in Tsavo, Amboseli, Nairobi National Park and Samburu. Big adults can be more than 40 centimeters long, and they live for decades. Drivers stop for them, and so should you. Never pick one up: a frightened tortoise can empty its bladder and lose water it needs to survive the dry season. The pancake tortoise is the opposite: flat and light, with a flexible shell, it lives in rock crevices and wedges itself in by puffing up its lungs. The IUCN moved it to Critically Endangered in 2018, largely because of collection for the international pet trade.
Three things most people do not know
First, a chameleon's horns, crests and colors are mostly about winning fights and mates, not camouflage. Second, many of Kenya's lizards can drop their tail to escape a predator and grow a new one, though the new tail is never quite as good. Third, in tortoises and crocodiles the temperature of the nest helps decide whether the eggs hatch male or female, which is one reason a warming climate worries reptile scientists.
Where to see reptiles up close
For close looks with expert keepers, the snake park at the Nairobi National Museum keeps lizards, tortoises and crocodiles as well as snakes; our museum page has the details. Haller Park in Mombasa has Aldabra giant tortoises, which are not native to Kenya but give children an easy close look. Crocodiles and snakes each have their own page, with the best places to see them. For chameleons in the wild, a guided night walk with a torch is the best tool: chameleons turn pale when they sleep and stand out against dark leaves.
How to photograph reptiles
Lizards are easy subjects if you move slowly and get low. A 100 to 400 mm zoom at its closest focus works well, or a macro lens for chameleons. Shoot agamas in mid-morning sun, when the males are brightest. For chameleons at night, use a soft, diffused light from the side rather than a flash straight on. Never handle reptiles for a picture; chameleons in particular stress easily.
Conservation status
Most of Kenya's common lizards are not threatened, but forest chameleons depend on small forest patches, and tortoises are taken for the pet trade. Kenyan law protects wildlife, so do not buy reptiles or reptile products, and never take an animal out of the country. The IUCN Red List has the current status of each species.
