By Daily Mail Reporter


-Photographer spent THREE DAYS waiting to take the perfect snap of gecko
-Nocturnal reptile gathers moisture on eyes from morning mist

Eye drops: A Namibian web-footed gecko licks dew off his eyes that has accumulated when mist forms over the desert in the early morning


This cheeky gecko certainly has things licked as it gets the morning dew off its eyes.

The web-footed creature is a rare reptile found on coastal sand dunes in Namibia between the sea and the desert.

The nocturnal geckos collect water on their eyeballs in the early morning when a mist bank descends as cool coastal air hits the warmth of the desert.


Then they lick it off to have a drink.

It took photographer Isak Pretorius three days to get the licking picture, following gecko tracks across the dunes through the mist.

The 32-year-old South African said: ‘In these coastal dunes, the warm desert air meets the cold air of the Atlantic ocean, creating a dense layer of mist almost every morning until about 9am.

‘This layer of mist only stretches about three miles inland and creates a very unique environment.

‘Their most fascinating characteristic is the way in which they gather moisture from licking droplets of water off their beautiful big eyeballs.

Licked, never beaten: The rare creature was captured in action after Isak Pretorius spent three days tracking the reptiles


‘In the mornings they would stand still on the dunes in the misty weather, waiting for the mist to form water droplets on their eyeballs.

‘They would then very elegantly lick the droplets off their eyeballs in five or six repeated strokes.’

Mr Pretorius, a consultant engineer, added: ‘The way to find these geckos is to find the tracks and follow them.

‘The tracks are very small and we had to drive very slowly, inspecting each square metre of dune very carefully.

‘On the third and final morning our patience finally paid off when we found two geckos that both entertained us with some eyeball-licking behaviour.

‘Seeing them for the first time in real life I was amazed how small they actually are. Probably only 4in to 6in long in total.

‘Their skin is beautiful shades of pink and very transparent which would offer no resistance to any harsh sunlight.

‘We learnt that as long as we approach them very slowly, especially when stalking them from a distance, they would not run away from us.

‘It would seem that fast moving figures from a distance away somehow make them more nervous than when these figure are right up close to them.

‘We were sad to leave, but felt privileged to have seen a private show of one of the world's natural wonders.’


source:dailymail

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Surprise delivery: Phillipa Durrant, from Berkshire, had bid for a belt on eBay - but when the package arrived it also contained Sahara the gecko


It's amazing what you can find on the internet - but not many would expect to get a gecko delivered by second-class post.

A leopard gecko called Sahara made a 100-mile trip in an envelope sent by his owner Lisa Richardson from his home in Sedgeford, near Birmingham.

The lizard spent two days inside the package before being opened by Phillipa Durrant, 44, who had been expecting the parcel to contain a belt she had bought on internet shopping site eBay.


Roving reptile: Thanks to the careful handling of the Royal Mail, Sahara the gecko was unharmed by his epic journey


Mrs Durrant, from Finchampstead in Berkshire, said: 'My daughter opened the envelope and came running upstairs saying ''There's something alive in the package''.'

The mother of seven took the reptile to a vet where it was given the all clear.

She said: 'I was worried that it might be poisonous but we soon realised it was harmless.

'We decided the best thing to do was to take the gecko to the vet as it was cold and looked a bit limp after its journey.'


Peek-a-boo! The gecko was unharmed after travelling around 100 miles from Birmingham to Berkshire


Mrs Durrant had bought the belt on eBay from Sahara's owner, Lisa Richardson. The package containing the belt had been left near the reptile's tank shortly before it was posted. It wasn't clear how he made it from the tank to the envelope.

Housewife Mrs Richardson, 33, said: 'We didn't realise Sahara was missing until we went to feed him later that night.

'There was absolute pandemonium. We cut the bottoms off the sofas to see if he was stuck in there. We were up until 2am looking for him.

'Then the email arrived the next day from Phillipa saying, ''Hi Lisa, received the belt in the post, only one problem - there's a live reptile in the parcel''.'


That's not what I ordered: Philippa Durrant, 44, had been expecting a belt in the post



Return to sender: Sahara the gecko was taken back home to Birmingham by courier


The gecko is now on his way back to Birmingham via a courier.


source: dailymail