gecko talk

My husband and I have been renting a house for quite some time now and a few months after we've moved in to that property, he heard a really loud croaking sound in the back garden one night. It was made by a gecko famous for its mating call which goes by the name "tuko" or Tokay Gecko. He was very curious as to what it looks like that he began looking for it, searching every nook and cranny of the wide open space. After 6 months and a few days of searching and almost giving up, a few days ago, my cousin asked him to pop around next door. We are actually next door neighbours to my parents. My cousin was trying to explain to him that the elusive tuko is actually sitting on the area where the water tank is. So they hurriedly went around my mom's to check it out. Fortunately it didn't move at all. When they went up to look for it, it was still there. My husband said it probably is about a foot long and got really big eyes that were staring at him. And it looks exactly like the ones on the internet. He actually wanted to take a picture of it but sadly my camera, which he also took there to get some hard evidence, failed as the battery was flat. But the good thing is, his long agonizing quest to actually see the gecko has been fulfilled. He told me a lot of things that he had found out on the Web about this creature. Although I very much doubt all, or at least one, of them are real, the internet is loaded with buying/selling posts of the gecko. So here are some information that dear wikipedia have provided regarding the 'tuko'.

* The Tokay Gecko is nocturnal. They can only be heard (and most likely seen) at night.
* Their mating call, a loud croak, is variously described as sounding like token, gekk-gekk or Poo-Kay where both the common and the scientific name (deriving from onomatopoeic names in Malay, Sundanese, Tagalog, Thai, or Javanese).
* When the Tokay bites, they often won't let go for a few minutes or even up to an hour or more, and it is very difficult to remove without causing harm to the gecko. (This I found frightening though I couldn't find any fangs or teeth being shown on the pictures)
*They are quickly becoming a threatened species in the Philippines because of indiscriminate hunting. Collecting, transporting and trading these animals without a license can be punishable by up to 12 years in jail and a fine of up to 1 Million pesos under Republic Act 9147 in addition to other applicable international laws. Chinese buyers and other foreign nationals are rumored to pay thousands of dollars for large specimens, reportedly because of their alleged medicinal value or as commodities in the illegal wildlife trade. The Philippine government has issued a warning against using geckos to treat AIDS and impotence, saying the folkloric practice in parts of Asia may put patients at risk.

We were googling for actual trades or sales that involved these geckos but there has never been any published black-and-white proof that they have been sold for a very hefty sum at all. It seems that nobody has evidently tried to use tukos to cure the incurable diseases such as cancer or AIDS. Not one scientist has ever done any type of research on these lizards whether they are the long-awaited answer for deadly diseases or just some old wives' tale. I find the buyer ads very ridiculous. Asking for a short video clip to prove that the gecko is real and not just a scammer asking for money. My husband read one blog entry in a forum that there was a guy who wanted to buy the gecko but in order for him to get to the province where it is being held captive, he is asking the seller to lend him some money to get there. I find these things odd and not to mention completely bonkers.

I guess the only thing to disperse all these rumors is to prove they are wrong, isn't it? I don't think there are any medical doctors nor scientists who will be prepared to do this task. But then again, having no hard evidence that what people say about the healing properties of the Tokay is also an obvious assurance that it is a false assumption to hold on to that promise that it is a cure for anything at all. And there will be no short cuts to getting well, not that I want to bash on any sick person's dream of coming back to their normal healthy state, by killing (and nearly exterminating) wildlife preserved animals such as the gecko. But to my fellow Filipinos, remember the era when old people say if you have asthma you can just boil a house lizard and it'll cure it? Remember that kind of stuff? (a long pause to go into a flashback) Yes, Exactly.

So where, what or who do you put your trust in when it comes to matters of health and well-being? There's only one thing that my hope is secure in, with regards to being cured and getting well - Jesus Christ, healer of all.

Jeremiah 30:17 ~ I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares the LORD.

1 Peter 2:24 ~ “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

This I am very certain of because I have been healed by Him when I thought all is lost.