I have never seen a gecko before, the only kinds I met from their family were house lizards and Agamids which I encountered almost daily or in the case of agamids, every once in a while.
Imagine my surprise when I saw this huge lizard-looking thing for the first time in my life (June this year) and in our very own backyard! I literally shout my heart out, out of fear and of shock. I thought that lizards could only grow as long as an average human palm, but this one is so huge I don’t know if it’s still a lizard or a baby alligator – thinking of the latter only creeps me even more!
Thanks to my ‘get-over-it’ and ‘move-on’ mantras, my shock subsided and my fear was lessened by the fact that the thing almost did not move an inch the whole time I was watching it (and that was like 10 minutes), I took pleasure at taking pictures of my newfound friend.
Introducing GG, “the gentle” Gecko. You may not see it instantly at first, talk about camouflage in action!
But look closely…
It says “hi there!”, (friendly huh).
A much closer and obviously creepier look.
If I remember it right, it was last year until early this year when I heard tales about rampant but discreet seizure and selling out of these geckos. Rumor has it that they are priced around P1,000 to as much as P10,000 per gram and that they are used in some medical studies. Others say it heals almost all diseases hence, the pricing. In fact, a whole segment in a local TV show named Rated K has been dedicated to that story. But it has never been officially confirmed. My take on these rumors? Simple. If it’s too good to be true, then maybe it’s really just a hoax. Small talk.
According to this article in wiki, geckos are unique among the lizard family because they use vocalizations when communicating with others of their kind. And based on my experience, they really are gentle, in fact I have to nudge GG every now and then just to make sure it’s alive and not dead. But don’t take my word for it, you have to exert every care in dealing with animals, you’ll never know when they feel irritated and attack you.
Life is full of surprises. Sometimes the thing we fear most, may turn out to be nothing more than self-imposed or self-inflicted. How will you enjoy life if you don’t give yourself a chance to discover things? And how do you even fear the things you don’t encounter yet? Remember, fear is not a wall.
My encounter with GG may have been rapid and short (I haven’t seen it again after that day), but it was all worth my while.
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