Have you been hearing an odd animal noise in your home at night? It's probably a gecko

House gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia). Photo by John Murphy

For those of you living in Trinidad and Tobago, you may have heard an odd sound coming from your wall or roof at night. Chances are, it was an African House gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia).

Other common names include African wood-slave and twenty-four hours. (NB: A few different lizards are referred to as 24-hours in Trinidad, whereby when the lizard falls on you, you have 24-hours left to live - a common folklore in the country).

Here is a YouTube Link to what these geckos sound like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dP33YLo-KU (1 minute long, but can skip to 25 seconds). Have you heard this sound in your home? Let us know!

You can learn more about this lizard and the folklore of local reptiles in the "Field guide to the amphibians and reptiles of Trinidad and Tobago" available in most leading bookstores nationwide, or directly from the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' Club.