Geckos are definitely a popular motif in Hawaiian culture, and appear on t-shirts, magnets, hats, and other souvenir items. While not as flashy as Elvis, geckos still have a broad appeal to both residents and visitors. For lizards, they're pretty cute, with rounded faces and feet.
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| Baby gecko on an orchid. |
In local culture, geckos are considered good luck and are welcomed residents in a home. Geckos eat bugs, and bugs LOVE Hawaii. One would never deliberately kill or harm a gecko.
A few amazing things about geckos:
Geckos belt out surprisingly deep
and loud sounds for being such tiny critters.
What is the
sound of a gecko? It’s a bit hard to describe, kind of like the sound of one
hand clapping. I’ve heard the sound referred to as clucking, chirping, barking,
trilling, laughing, yelping, tweeting, bleating… Geckos seem to enjoy making
these loud noises in the middle of the night.
Here is a VERY short (only 5
seconds) long video of my attempt to record a gecko while chirping. (In case the embed does not show up, the link is: http://youtu.be/pApRHfWZhzw)
Geckos are unique among lizards for their chirping sounds.
Geckos have amazing abilities to
stick to things, like microscopic Velcro hooks on their feet. Scientists are
studying the applications of gecko nano sticky pad technology.
Some gecko species can reproduce by parthogenesis, meaning the females can reproduce without the males.
Geckos lack eyelids and instead have a transparent membrane which they lick to keep clean!
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| Geckos can fall in your hair when you're not paying attention. |
A house without a gecko is not a home. If you’re in any doubt, just ask a gecko. For every gecko we can see in our jungalow, there are probably at least 10 geckos that we can't see. Geckos are considered good luck, so I avoid using pesticides around the house which would upset the gecko ecology.
Related posts:
Geckos, Skinks, Chameleons, oh my!
Geckos Like to Drink Beer?!
Getting the Anole Lizard Out of the House
Anole Lizard Driving the Truck
Find the Chameleon Hiding in the Jacaranda Tree
P.S. If you are blog hopping from the A to Z challenge, please include your link if you comment! I try to reciprocate comments as quickly as I can, though I did lag behind last year, especially towards the end.
P.P.S. I am running two mini-contests during the A-Z Challenge (and into part of May). Here's how to enter.
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| Gecko exploring the beer bottle. |
Related posts:
Geckos, Skinks, Chameleons, oh my!
Geckos Like to Drink Beer?!
Getting the Anole Lizard Out of the House
Anole Lizard Driving the Truck
Find the Chameleon Hiding in the Jacaranda Tree
P.S. If you are blog hopping from the A to Z challenge, please include your link if you comment! I try to reciprocate comments as quickly as I can, though I did lag behind last year, especially towards the end.
P.P.S. I am running two mini-contests during the A-Z Challenge (and into part of May). Here's how to enter.
Geckos are cute! A visit to Hawaii is incomplete without at least one sighting of a gecko. :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, although some people are scared of them!
ReplyDeleteMy older brother was deployed to Hawaii when I was young, so my family and I went to Hawaii. I remember seeing some geckos in our hotel room. My sister freaked out, but I thought they were cute. "Then they can get in your hair," I remember her snapping.
ReplyDelete~Patricia Lynne~
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, YA Author
That's because their tails fall off at the slightest thing! ;) I grew up on Oahu, and they can be skittish, similar to cats.
ReplyDeleteYes, their tails can fall off. And they can also get severed in sliding doors which is quite disturbing.
ReplyDeleteNow you know! It's pretty rare to see geckos in hotel rooms these days! They are well sprayed or treated for bugs, etc.
ReplyDelete