THEFT OF CHAMELEONS DISAPPOINTS SPECIAL-ED STUDENTS.

Byline: Jesse Hiestand Staff Writer

Nine-year-old Richard Barry had a message Friday for whoever stole three cherished chameleons from Lowman Special Education Center.

``I just want to talk to you: We want our lizards back,'' said Richard, a student with Down syndrome at the school.

The chameleons were the first real-life mascots the developmentally disabled, autistic and handicapped students have ever had at the school where the official mascots are the Lowman ``Lizards.''

Throughout the day, heartbroken students passed by the main entrance where the reptiles - three Jackson's chameleons, a common species from Africa - had lived in a glass display case since May.

``We used to always stop and see them a lot - we loved them,'' said 12-year-old Devon Maska, who has cerebral palsy. ``Now there's nothing left. I'm ticked off.''

Teacher's assistant Heather Hartel said the loss of the lizards had deeply affected some students and left others confused.

``I saw a lot of anger and sadness,'' Hartel said. ``No one can understand why someone would do this, especially to special ed kids. What else can you take from these kids?''

Further angering students and administrators, the Los Angeles Unified School District police would not take a report of the theft because the chameleons did not belong to the school.

School police Assistant Chief Richard Page said the theft must be reported by the owner, which in this case is the U.S. Department of the Interior. That agency had confiscated the lizards when they were being smuggled into the country and then loaned them to the school.

``We know a crime occurred there, but it has not been reported so we have not assigned it to a detective yet,'' Page said. ``We are taking this seriously. It's devastating to the students.''

Teachers tried unsuccessfully to reach officials at the Interior Department on Friday. They also alerted pet shops to be on the lookout for someone trying to sell the lizards.

The reptiles were last seen about 4 p.m. Thursday. There is one male and two female chameleons, each about six inches long.

They had not yet been named, although students were considering ``Max'' or ``Maxine'' because the former is the name of the school's mascot.

Each chameleon had its own personality, Hartel said.

While there are nearly 300 students in the school, the lizards were primarily cared for by the nine developmentally impaired students, ages 14 to 22, in Ruthanne Reid's class.

Anyone with information on this theft or someone wanting to return the chameleons (no questions asked) is asked to call the school at [phone] or the LAUSD police at [phone].