Most predators, on land and in the ocean, have a relatively poor success rate when it comes to snagging prey. Even when they’re successful, there’s no guarantee they’ll get to savor their prize.
I don’t know whether this Gold Dust Day Gecko was the one that caught this moth because, an instant after the capture, two or three other geckos swooped down to snatch it. There was a flurry of bodies and this one emerged from the scramble with the moth firmly stashed in its jaws. This look suggests it was guilty of robbery.
I thought this Gold Dust Dy Gecko looked quite scenic on this railing, surrounded as it was by tropical foliage. It has a sort of purposeful look, but wasn’t doing much of anything while I watched it.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Love Your Pet.’ See more responses here.
Since I don’t have a regular pet, the next best thing would be The Big Galoot, our resident House Gecko. He (or possibly she) has been the dominant gecko in the house for several weeks now. House Geckos are nocturnal, but The Big Galoot does not seem to have seen that memo. He makes appearances at any time of day.
Nocturnal geckos tend to be very shy. If they’re caught out in the open, they scoot to shelter. This appears to be another memo missed by The Big Galoot. When I see him, he tends to remain in place and looks at me with a puzzled expression. There have been occasions where he has held his position so long that I’ve wondered if he was still alive!
The behavior of The Big Galoot has brought to mind the memoir, Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt. In it, Frank’s father, who hails from Northern Ireland, is described as having the ‘odd manner.’ This seems, to me, to be a perfect description for The Big Galoot!
Also posted in response to this month’s Becky’s Squares challenge theme of ‘Odd.’ See more responses here.
I was going through some old photos, came across this one, and realized I’d never posted it before. This was a gecko that lived in our house a few years ago. We called him Jones because he had a peculiar fondness for ant bait.
Like all geckos, he shed his skin periodically, but on this occasion he was having difficulty getting rid of the old skin around his feet. That’s a problem for a gecko because it meant he wasn’t able to climb around everywhere having lost the ‘stickum’ qualities of his feet. So he would wander around on the floor and once in a while make his way into the bathroom and be unable to navigate the step to get out. So I made this little set of steps for him, shoved it up against the big step, and waited. Jones quickly got the hang of it and used it for several days until he finally shed the last remnants of his old skin.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘The Pink Side of Life.’ See more responses here.
The top photo shows a leaf cutter bee on what I think is a zinnia violacea flower. Next we have a ball of Egyptian starcluster (Pentas lanceolata) flowers and Pinkfringe (Arthrostemma ciliatum) flowers.
Next comes the lovely marking of a shell ginger flower and the puffy blooms of a sensitive plant.
Finally, there’s a pink banana hosting a visitor, a gold dust day gecko after a little something to drink.
Also posted in response to Becky’s October Squares challenge theme of ‘Past Squares – In the Pink/Flowers.’ See more responses here.
I played a game of peek-a-boo with this mourning gecko as it clung to a clothes line. I leaned one way to get a photo, it scooted round the other way, keeping the line between me and it. But patience won out and I was able to get several good views.
Graham's Island 