Video of foreign children playing with dangerous tokay gecko shocks Thai netizens
Netizens in Thailand are baffled by a clip posted by a Thai TikToker of three foreign children playing with a tokay gecko, an aggressive lizard feared most by Thais.
Tokay geckos are not venomous but are known for being aggressive, territorial and inflicting strong, nasty bites that draw blood and get infected easily.
Once a tokay gecko bites, it locks its jaw and doesn’t let go. For this reason, when a Thai sees a tokay, they more often than not run the other way.
In the TikTok clip, three foreign girls sit on the floor taking it turns to hold and stroke the tokay as if it was their pet. At the end of the video, they pick up the gecko and walk off their reptilian friend.
Contrary to its bad reputation, the tokay gecko in the clip is docile, doesn’t try and escape or resist the children picking it up and playing with.
TikTok user @cupisdlove posted the video on Wednesday, February 22, with the caption…
“I walked past them when going to 7-Eleven and thought the gecko was a rubber gecko toy. I looked at it again and realised the gecko was a living one! Omg! #tokay #cutetokay” Watch the video HERE.
The video got 126,100 likes, 3427 comments, and nearly 9,000 shares on Tiktok. Thai netizens expressed their admiration for the girls’ innocence and cuteness, while many others were worried that the gecko would get angry and give them a harmful bite. Netizens commented…
“No more Disney princess, the tokay is their best friend!”
“Thai tokay gecko might wonder how to say, “leave me alone” in English haha”
“I am surprised that it did not seem to be angry or try to bite”
“The tokay at my house bites everything!”
“The foreign children living near my house are the same as these girls. Not scared and playing with tokays all the time. They can bite!”
“I saw a boy bitten by a gecko and ended up getting his finger amputated!”
One of the largest, most common, and well-known gecko species in Thailand is the tokay, which has a distinctive blue and grey body and bright orange spots on its back. They can be found in rural and suburban areas throughout the country.
You’ll often know a tokay is nearby before you see it, upon hearing the distinctive and loud call it’s named after, “To-kay! To-kay!”
In Thailand, 19 species of geckos were protected wildlife according to the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act. Whoever hunts or trades protected geckos shall be punished with imprisonment of up to four years, a fine of up to 40,000 baht, or both.
