Friday, July 27, 2007

Splat by name - Splat by nature

Geckos are one of the icons of PNG. One evening we counted 76 of them outside on the verandah and under the house!!! If you don't like them then this isn't the place to live.

In Rabaul we get the biggest geckos I have ever seen. My daughters call this one Splat, because when he jumps and lands he makes a big "splat" sound. He and I often scare the hell out of each other if I come out during the night and disturb him. You have no idea the trouble I had taking this photo - I was downstairs, standing on a ladder with one leg on the car, with "He-Who-Doesn't-Blog" yelling, "You'll kill yourself!!"

He has obviously had a run-in with something (maybe our cat) as he has had to regrow his tail. I am quite happy to have them around as they eat the insects - especially mosquitoes, that can cause malaria here. They make very loud clicking sounds which I found really cute.

Click here for more information on these amazing creatures, especially their toes which have very special characteristics.

15 comments:

Marie said...

I like geckos and lizards because they are poor little things that are often rejected by people. I find that very nice of you to have written a post about them.

CaBaCuRl said...

I like geckos also. When i moved here, 11 years ago, there were no geckos around here at all.In the warmer months, about 8 months of the year, we now see and hear them a lot.However, i was quite shocked when i found out they were not native, and are actually beginning to be pests in some places.

Neva said...

I am sure the only reason I could like these creatures are that they eat mosquitos! Nice photo.

Anonymous said...

I have liked lizards and snakes since I was a lad. I've become a little more leary of snakes as I've grown older. Nice to have them to eat the pesky insects.

Jules said...

steve g - yes I agree with you about snakes. Being Australian and having grown up in the bush I tend to leap tall buildings (or trees) when I see one.

cabacurl - that is interesting about them being pests - what damage do they do (except for the poops everywhere)???

neva - yes they can be a little unpleasant - especially when they are so big.

marie - I agree with you - I feel sorry for them too. Alot of people up here don't like them.

Anonymous said...

That's a fat gecko (compared to the ones I've seen...
Great photo. Love his expression.

Planet Earth Daily Photo.

lv2scpbk said...

I only ever see the Gecko on the TV commerical. Anyway, this is a nice shot of one.

Curly said...

Not sure if I'd care to share my house with scores of these little fellas!

South Shields Daily Photo

M.Benaut said...

We have many small geckos and they love to sun themselves, but none so large as this one.
Let's hope we see the shot of you with the camera, up the ladder !!

Paul said...

I have to save them from my cats... poor things...

PS. Kerry-Anne is feeling much better - thanks for asking :).

Jilly said...

Love geckos. Got them all over here but quite small ones. They live behind picture frames usually - under flowers pots etc.

Funnily enough - well not so funny actually - I just found a head and no body. Don't think it's down to a dog tho but one of the wild cats around.

How big is the one in the photo, Jules? I remember in Cairns seening enormous ones.

travelphilippines said...

we call that "Butiki" here in the Philippines..

Ann (MobayDP) said...

O.k. then...I'm definitely NOT moving to PNG. These things give me the creeeeeeeps! *shudder!*

Jules said...

Hi Everyone - thanks for visitng Splat - he'll be most chuffed

jilly - I am not very good at etimating and I am not getting up that ladder again so I reckon he is about 16 or 17 cm long and 2 to 3 cm at his fattest width. I have one that lives behind the picture frame right beside the computer - but he is only small.

curly & ann - I will have to re-educate you - they really are very shy and don't jump on you from great heights!!!

paul - yes my cats love them too but luckily the geckos here are very fast and very shy. Glad kerry-anne is feeling better. We have had some nasty flu bug this year. I was sick 2 weeks ago and still not back to "normal"

m benaut - that photo will never be seen as long as I am alive!!!!

travelphilippines - butiki is a much nicer name than splat - maybe we need to rename him!!!

Anonymous said...

Someone had the bad luck to have a mating pair of geckos go "SPLAT" into their soup plate in Rabaul, way back.
It was at a private home but had it been in a restaurant, is Jules going to have a competition for the best punch line to something like this:-
(Patron) Waiter, mi no can kai kai dispela soup, long wanem i gat tupela gecko i pundaun longen .
(waiter) Ah something-nating, yu lucky tumas, long morning me lukim tupela rok-rok i stap long bigpela soup bowl long haus kuk.