Meet Some Gecko Friends

One of the necessities of living here in Hawai'i is that you have to coexist with a number of other creatures who, like you, are not "native."  Some of these are nuisances, pests, and even ecologically harmful, like rats, ants, coqui frogs, mosquitoes, cockroaches (and perhaps also humans?).  But some have more of a mixed character -- like the several species of geckos around our house.  I've written before about these critters (see "More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About Geckos").  We have even befriended a number of the ones that regularly show up at the table where we eat our breakfast outside by our pool.

What, exactly, does "befriend a gecko" mean, you ask?  Earning their trust is a major part of it, to the point where a few seem to enjoy resting on your arm, hand, or even shoulder.  They will also accept being hand-fed a bit of mushed papaya or a small piece of scrambled egg. Even though we reward their approach by feeding them each morning (they only come at breakfast, seldom at lunch or dinner), some seem to genuinely enjoy just "hanging out" with us for awhile.

I assert that our friends are harmless, intelligent, and curious animals that have distinct personalities. In a few more years that statement will likely land me in a locked ward somewhere, but for now I greatly enjoy these little guys.

The population gradually turns over from attrition due to predation (mostly by other introduced species, predominately Minah birds and Egrets).  Here are a few of our current favorites, whom we have named by noting the unique patterns of markings on their backs or foreheads;

"Symmy"

 "Symmy" 

 

Symmy has a strikingly symmetric pattern of dots on her back.  She's a bit skittish and often late to arrive at the table, even though she lives just a few feet away on a lanai underhang.

"Dotty"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                       "Dotty"

 

Yeah, I know this one has symmetric dots too, though not as round.  But look closely and you'll see two very small dots above the two larger ones on each side of the large center one.  Dotty is a gentle soul who enjoys hand feeding, as shown here. There is a single-dot version whose mugshot doesn't appear here, with just one small dot over the center big one.  It's named "Eyedot."  Alternatives for the two of them we didn't think of initially might have been "Duodot" and "Unidot."

 "Donut"

"Donut"

Ok, this one may take a bit of imagination, but if you look very, very closely, you'll see that the center dot is lighter in the middle than at the edges.  This is unusual and earned the name "Donut," a somewhat stand-offish gecko who nonetheless is one of the first on the scene for breakfast, a characteristic in line with the name.

"Angel"

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"Angel"

 

And finally, "Angel."  Note the smooshing together of the spots and the elongation of the side ones to kinda sorta maybe look like wings.  Actually, "Angel" is a bit of a "Karen" with an entitled, "rules aren't really for me" attitude. But she's very friendly and is one who likes to just hang out, often in our lap, or on an arm or a leg.  Here she is violating the rule not to eat off our plates (we have designated Gecko Feeding Stations (yogurt container lids) where they are officially allowed to eat.

 

 

There are a few other current favorite geckos ("punahele" in Hawaiian) but I couldn't get good photos of them.  Why tolerate them and not try to keep them at bay like many people we know do?  Well, they really are quite endearing --to us-- and the closest thing we have to pets or offspring.  Also, they are great at catching mosquitoes and other flying insects, so they perform a very useful service.  They are generally well behaved, they are physically harmless to humans and their possessions, and they make almost no sounds that we can hear.* The biggest downside is that they poop out all those insects, and we find this intolerable inside the house but not so objectionable outside (see Cleaning Up Poop In Paradise for a full expose').  This is a case of coexistence which seems to be mutually beneficial even if problematic at times. Something our society could use more of these days.....

 

 

*One species of Gecko, active almost exclusively at night, occasionally makes a kind of fast "clucking" sound. Our friends do not do this, however.