4372. An Anole lizard intimidated me.

SCRIPT FOR VIDEO 

 

Have you ever seen an angry lizard in the Bird Paradise? The Bird Paradise is for birds, not lizards. I was surprised to see one reptile.

WILDLIFE SINGAPORE - AN ANGRY BROWN ANOLE INTIMIDATED ME.
Doctor Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow)
Educational Video created: 4 Jan 2026

20 Oct 2025 was a warm bright sunshine blue skies morning to connect with Nature. Many tourists posed for photographs at the Orchid Waterfall Garden with the orchids as a backdrop. 

Some were less than two feet away from this lizard lying on a low tree stump amid the orchid flowers.

This Brown Anole (Anolis sagrei) was a small brown lizard found usually in the Caribbean. He was introduced into the Bird Paradise via plants imported by the nurseries.

Since he stayed put, I decided to photograph and video him from a distance of six feet.

Head-bobbing up and down. It looked like he was doing push ups to appear bigger. His red dewlap which is skin below his throat ballooned out 3 times in succession and then once more.

I knew he was intimidating  me based on similar four previous encounters with the Oriental Garden Lizard during my past decade of Nature journalling.

This is a rare video footage of the Anole's communication to make himself look bigger and more intimidating or stronger to attract the female. 

UPDATE:

https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2026/01/4372-anole-lizard-intimidated-me.html

 

 

 

 

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WILDLIFE SINGAPORE - AN ANGRY BROWN ANOLE INTIMIDATED ME.
Doctor Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow)
Educational Video created: 4 Jan 2026

Have you ever seen an angry lizard in the Bird Paradise?

The Bird Paradise is for birds, not lizards. I was surprised to see one reptile. 

20 Oct 2025 was a warm bright sunshine blue skies morning to connect with Nature. A gentle breeze wafted the fragrance of the orchids at the Orchid Waterfall garden to my nose.

Many tourists posed for photographs with the orchids as a backdrop. Some tourists were less than two feet away from this lizard. They posed, laughed and took selfies. If they were predators, this Anole would be eaten in a flash. 

But the humans didn't faze him. "Faze" is a word that means "to frighten away". 

"These ladies want to look pretty besides the orchids," he thought. "One man did point at me. But people would not spot me as my brown colour camouflaged me on the brown stump!"

He was nonplussed about the posing tourists, as he had become accustomed to them over the weeks.

This Brown Anole (Anolis sagrei) is a small brown lizard found usually in the Caribbean. He was introduced into the Bird Paradise via plants imported by the nurseries.

He was alert, eyeing me and fully aware of my presence as I was setting up my Canon R5 camera and positioning my tripod on the soft soil some six feet away. 

I knew he was intimidating  me based on similar four previous encounters with the Oriental Garden Lizard in the past decade of Nature journalling.

 This is a rare video footage of the Anole's communication to make himself look bigger and more intimidating or stronger to attract the female. 

UPDATE: https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2026/01/4372-anole-lizard-intimidated-me.html

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I focused on his eyes and shot several images. He was not disconcerted. He did not scurry away unlike most lizards.

Since he stayed put, I decided to video him. This video is a rare footage of a lizard intimidating me!During the past decade, I encountered such behaviours around four times, researched the internet and hence knew what the behaviour meant. 

Head-bobbing up and down. It looked like he was doing push ups to appear bigger.

His red dewlap ballooned out 3 times. I did not back away. He expanded his dewlap once more making him stronger and larger. I knew he was intimidating  me based on similar four previous encounters with the Oriental Garden Lizard in the past decade of Nature journalling. 

This is a rare video footage of the Anole's very short communication as I usually don't have time to video its action.

 
P.S
Why do anioles have a dewlap?

The dewlap is a longitudinal flap of skin that hangs below the neck. Anoles are not very vocal, so the dewlap provides a communication tool that can be waved like a flag. 
 
When an anole is angry, he flashes his dewlap repeatedly and may perform push-ups and head bobbing to make himself look bigger and more intimidating. 
 
A male displays this behaviour to a female to look stronger and appealing.

UPDATE:

https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2026/01/4372-anole-lizard-intimidated-me.html

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 This is a rare video footage of the Anole's very short communication as I usually don't have time to video its very short duration of head bobbing, push-ups and dewlap ballooning during my past 10 years of Nature journalling.UPDATES, VIDEOS AND IMAGES AT

https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2026/01/4372-anole-lizard-intimidated-me.htmlshutterstock.com/g/toapayohvets
youtube.com/@99pups

 Anole lizards in Singapore are primarily the non-native Brown Anole (Norops sagrei), an invasive species accidentally introduced via plant shipments around 2012, now widespread in parks and gardens, known for males flashing orange dewlaps and shifting color. While native Green Anoles exist, the Brown Anole population is growing, raising concerns about competition with native species, though they serve as food for some local birds, notes Nature in Singapore. 

 Brown anole "push-ups" are displays of dominance, territorial defense, and mating signals, where males rapidly lift and lower their bodies, often with head bobs and dewlap (throat fan) extensions, to intimidate rivals or attract females, showing off their strength without needing a physical fight. These movements are a key part of their communication, telling other males "back off" and signaling fitness to females.