I was alerted to an ongoing dispute between a Green Anole and Gold Dust Day Gecko outside the kitchen window. By the time I got there, the two were had moved away, but were still squabbling. I grabbed my camera, thinking that by the time I got outside, the fracas would be over, but that wasn’t the case. The two were still going at it.
When it comes to territorial disputes, an anole puffs out its dewlap. If that doesn’t work it will act aggressively towards the intruder. A gecko leans over to one side to make itself look bigger and pokes out its tongue. These two went through the full repertoire, with the anole making a few mouth-open lunges.
In the end, the anole wandered off to the end of the overhang and the gecko headed back the way it came from. It wasn’t clear whether there was a winner or loser in the exchange but neither was hurt, which is not unusual in these encounters.
Graham's Island 
How interesting to see this encounter and also to see both species side by side. I have never seen an anole (we don’t get them in Africa) and the geckos here are completely different, so both species look rather ‘alien’ to me, especially sporting those bright colours. Bright green is probably an excellent camouflage colour in Hawaii!
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The gecko is a Gold Dust Day Gecko and hails from Madagascar. They were introduced by a University of Hawaiʻi student in 1974 and have spread to most of the islands in a very short space of time.
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Fantastic commentary and coverage, Graham.
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I love seeing these kinds of encounters, and usually no harm is done.
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The pictures are so cool! 📸 It’s amazing to see the territorial display between the Green Anole and the Gold Dust Day Gecko 🦎. What a cute little gecko, though. 😄 I love how they both put on quite a show with their unique strategies. It’s always fascinating to watch nature in action. 🌿🌞
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I love seeing interactions like this. Nature at work!
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Love their greenness. Do they make a sound in their battles? There body posturing is great
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I’ve not heard any sounds other than when one of them falls off!
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😂 thanks
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Wow – so large compared to our beige coloured smaller creatures.
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They’re not that big. The anole is probably 6 to 8 inches long including the tail.
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They look as though they’d have a lot in common, and I suppose that’s part of the problem. They’d have to share supper.
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Yes, there’s some overlap there. I’ve seen this activity before, but sometimes they seem unbothered by the presence of the other kind.
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What a treat to both hear and observe them in full debate.
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Kind of like politicians!
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😂
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I didn’t realize their territory overlaps. Great pictures of the wee beasties.
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I guess it did in this case!
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