When we first arrived in Thailand, I was amazed by the number of geckos that climb over every nighttime surface. They are everywhere, in homes, restaurants, hotels. But for the Thais, geckos are as commonplace as pigeons or crickets in other parts of the world. They are, in fact, a welcome guest, as they dine on mosquitoes and other irksome bugs. It was months before I realized that many of the creaking and chirping sounds around the house came not from birds or bugs, but it turns out, they were just the gecko symphony.
There are two types of geckos in Thailand. The first, and far
more common, of the two is simply called the House Gecko. A plain name for a
plain character. House geckos range in color from off-white to pinkish grey or
pale brown and reach maybe three or four inches in length. Mostly nocturnal,
they congregate around outdoor lights, simply because that is where they find
their meals. On any given evening, anywhere outdoors in Thailand, you are
almost guaranteed to see a handful of these little guys.
They are impressive not only for their ability to get into
your home, no matter how well-sealed (although, aside from the droppings, no
one faults a houseguest who eats pests), but also for their mind-blowing
climbing techniques. Rather than any type of suction, microscopic hairs on the toes of a gecko actually wiggle
their way in between the molecules of the climbing surface, allowing them to
climb basically any surface, at any angle. The gecko’s toes bend in a specific
manner that allows it to detach, re-attach, and move, all at incredible speeds.
This is the stuff of science fiction.
This astounding feat looks all the more remarkable when
accomplished by the second gecko variety here in Thailand: the Tokay. Tokay
geckos are one of the largest gecko varieties in the world. Green-tinted grey
with vibrant, knobby orange, red or yellow spots, tokays can grow to be up to a
foot and a half long. They eat much larger pests like cockroaches and, if
hearsay is to be believed, rats. Tokays are named for their distinctive
tok-tok-tokay sound. The Thais believe that hearing their call as you leave your
home is a bad omen – the longer the call, the more ominous – and will change
plans based on a tokay’s vocal stylings.
Recently, as we came home from a hearty meal and a handful
of beers, we had the pleasure of discovering a tokay, which had taken up residence
in our home, chasing a cockroach across our living room wall. This went very far in explaining the not-so-small piles of gecko poo in our spare bathroom. In the process of trying to move it outdoors, we learned several
interesting things about geckos. When angry and threatened, they open up their
mouth, revealing their red and black throat, and make hissing sounds. Also,
when blinded by a camera flash they become disoriented and stop moving, thus allowing you to take more pictures. We
learned later (thanks Wikipedia) that, despite having no teeth, if they bite you
they will refuse to let go, sometimes for hours. Luckily, he was too flash-dazed to see us. After chasing it round and
round the living room with a pot and a dustpan, we managed to chase it into a
box and release it outside.
We may not want them in our house all the time (although at any time we probably have at least three indoors), but all in all, no matter the size, geckos are not bad critters to have around. They serenade us. They devour pesky insects. And they are pretty astounding little climbers.
