Crouching Tiger, Hidden Gecko: The Tale of an Unexpected Reptilian Visitor

Cleaning up the apartment today, I moved my laundry basket and found this:

It’s a gecko, what most locals call a 壁虎 bíhǔ, and they used to be a common sight when I was living in a courtyard many years back. But here’s the thing... I just got back from a trip to Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Laos) and I didn’t check my luggage. The lizard was near the laundry. Since I don’t really know my lizards that well, I had an irrational fear that my dirty travel clothes had introduced some exotic species into the Beijing ecosystem.

But first things first: before I got into the international import ramifications of my discovery, my initial problem was what to do with the gecko. Catch it? Leave it be? Buy car insurance?

I figured the gecko was lucky that I found it before my cat did. I knew I just couldn’t leave the lizard to a sudden, almost certain, demise as “chew toy.” On the other hand, I wasn’t sure I should just catch it and take it outside. It’s not warm outside right now, and my knowledge of gecko physiology is admittedly weak. 

So I took the Donald Trump approach having discovered an undocumented interloper: I locked the poor gecko up in a jar until I could figure out the best course of action.

Unlike Donald Trump, I provided my prisoner with shade and water.

I then contacted Birding Beijing, the only people in Beijing who would could a) confirm that this was a local lizard and not some potential invasive species and b) tell me what I should do with said lizard.

Terry, the man behind Birding Beijing, sent a quick, kind, and very informative response:

Now in posession of all the facts, I gave my prisoner a brief hearing, and deported him to a sunny stone wall in a relatively remote part of our apartment complex courtyard. May the stones be warm and the cockroaches plentiful.

Beijing often seems devoid of wildlife, but it’s out there. Birding Beijing, I now know, also has PDF identification guides to the birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles of our fair city. There’s a shocking amount of biodiversity beyond hutong weasels and stray cats, even more so for those who leave the city limits and venture up into the Northern Hills. 

The Great Gecko Grab of 2019 will now live on in our household lore, and it’s nice to know that even in a city of 25 million-plus people (unofficially) there is still a little room for nature.

READ: Rockin’ Robin: Beijingers Flock to Spot Rare Bird

Photos: Unsplash, Jeremiah Jenne