Workplace Hazards!

The Tokay Gecko (Gekko gecko) is one of the most commonly encountered reptiles in Southeast Asia (This one is from Thailand, near the Burmese border). They frequent houses and man-made structures, coming out at night to hunt for insects and smaller geckos. They are quite enormous for a gecko, reaching lengths over a foot long!

Tokays are renowned for their their loud vocalizations. Their mating call, a loud croak, is variously described as sounding like 'tokeh' or 'gekk-gekk', from which both the common and the scientific name are derived.

Now this information is all well and good. What they don't tell you in the text books is that Tokay Geckos have extremely strong jaws (as can be seen from the well developed jaw muscles) and really enjoy to bite anything they perceive as a threat. Fair enough. Not only do they like to bite, what they really enjoy is to bite and then hold on - chewing on their victim the whole time.

I found this out the hard way, after my hand came too close to a Tokay and we both decided to mount a small scientific experiment into bite strength...