Thursday, April 07, 2011

Gecko Fever

If you are from Davao or have visited Davao... I am sure you have heard of this: "Tara bay, mangita ta ug TUKO aron maka kwarta ta!" Translated as: "Let's go and look for a gecko to earn some moolah!"

Yes! For Summer that's where most of the teenagers are... "Gecko Hunting". ( want to know what they look like and what a hunt is like? -> Albert's Gecko Hunt )

Gecko Lizard or Tokay Gecko... locally called as "Tuko" for it's unmistakable "Tu-ko" sound that would sometimes wake you up from sweet slumber.

I thought it was some sort of a joke. Making money out of some gecko lizard. I have no idea. But, I know.. Google would!!

And I kept telling them: "You've been hunting tuko's but the question is who would buy themmmm and how much??"

They say they are offering 50K - 100K for the gecko!!! Wooooo!!!!!! And they'd tell you some Korean would love to buy it.

Hah. Little did I know.... Google sure can provide you with Gecko buyers. They are looking for gecko which weighs 300-500 grams!! Now, that's rad!

Aside from the whooping money that awaits your 300-500 grams gecko they want to buy the lizard for it's health benefits. For one it is good for skin diseases and asthma.... and that they are still researching whether it can really cure HIV/AIDS. In China they use Gecko in traditional medicine and can be found in the menu.

Oh well... whatever the ruckus is.... they sure are getting money because it is currently one of the animals that has a high selling price.

I hope they'd just breed it... because I'm afraid if everybody goes for a gecko hunt our ecosystem would lose its balance. Please. let's not ruin the food chain... we've done enough to our nature to be where it is right now.

13 comments:

Heff said...

I had a neighbor who climbed a tree while wearing lose shorts. A boy looked up and exclaimed; "MAY TUKO!"

tina said...

Heff: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA napatawa mo ako dun ahhhhh!!!!!!!!!

Phoebe R said...

That's funny. What's so valuable with a gecko? I mean what's its use? :D First time to hear of this. :D

Cedric said...

Whew. Is it even legal? Yeah, left unchecked, this trade could spiral out of control.

kg said...

tuko for 50k-100k? oh my! talagang mapagkakakitaan yan! makapgahanap nga!

tina said...

Phoebe R: there are researches that it can cure cancer, asthma or any skin disease.

Cedric: im not sure. but i hope they'd just breed instead of disturbing the wild. but they are fast soooo it'd take some time for them to catch tuko's.

KG: haha. :P

WebbieLady said...

ARE YOU SERIOUS?????????? This is really new to me. I did not know until I visited this blog of yours. I should have known.

By the way, your writing's really cool!

Webbielady

Some Korean Website Highjacker said...

gecko hunting?! that's so wild, i've never heard of this practice before - stellar share lades! and way to point out it's potential crisis too. i wanted to thank you for visiting me and your very thoughtful comment! cheers and happy monday. ♥

Claire said...

My husband would LOVE to go on a gecko hunt. Haha. He's obsessed with them, especially when we visit Hawaii (since we don't have them here in LA). Haha, and he's Korean (though American)

Claire @
spinning-threads.blogspot.com

WebbieLady said...

Hi Tina! Thanks for passing by too.. just checking here what's new. ;)

When I get back to Philippines, maybe I'll hunt some gecko too... has so many of them in Iloilo as well!

Webbielady's When I Wander

Raft3r said...

2 beses na ko nanggaling dyan sanyo pero hind ko pa naririnig yan sinasabi mo
hehe

tina said...

rafter: were you here recently lng ba? mga 2 months lng ung chismis tungkol sa gecko eh. hehehe

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