A green anole out for a stroll! We love seeing these brilliantly green lizards when we're exploring the Everglades!

Green anoles (A. carolinensis) are native to the southeastern U.S. and are commonly found in natural and suburban habitats.

Photo by Robert Krayer

But this native lizard increasingly finds itself in competition for food and shelter with the brown anole (A. sagrei)—an introduced species from Cuba, the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands.

Although the decline in green anoles isn't solely caused by competition, it is due in large part to the presence of brown anoles which were introduced to the U.S. over a century ago and are now the most common lizard in many urbanized parts of Florida.

However, green anoles are great climbers and that has helped them adapt to the introduction of brown anoles. When brown anoles are present, green anoles move up higher in the habitat into tall vegetation which decreases competition.

Today, brown anoles are too widely distributed to be eradicated. But you can help our native green anoles by planting adequate habitats, like tall shrubs and trees at home, that allow them to move up in the environment.