Mediterranean Gecko Hunting At Night

Each night as I come or go from my apartment, I’ve noticed a sizable Mediterranean Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus) hunting in the dim lights on the side of the building. As their name implies, Mediterranean Geckos are an introduced species, naturally occurring in parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Not being a herpetologist, I’m not sure if they’re having any harmful effect on native species. But being nocturnal and highly associated with urban / suburban environments, you might think of them as the House Sparrows of reptiles. My guess is that they’re filling a niche that was previously unfilled (nocturnal insect hunter on the walls of human structures) and that they’re not hurting anything. But that’s just a guess.

I’ve been meaning to grab the camera and try and get some shots. Here’s an excellent one of a beetle walking by. He didn’t make a lunge for it, but seemed attentive to the movement nonetheless.

And another one of him clinging to the walls with those incredible suction pad feet. (For further edification, here’s a BBC article on the fascinating foot structure of geckos.)

And as always, there are larger versions of the pictures in the photo gallery. Clicking a picture will take you through.