The Story of the Thriving Gecko

Hi! I’m the Grenadines Clawed Gecko. Here’s how USAID has supported the conservation efforts of my species.

Thanks to conservation efforts, the population of geckos in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is growing and thriving. / © bennytrapp, Adobe Stock

I might be very small — only 3 cm (1.18 inches) in length to be exact — but my bright colors shine when the Caribbean sun hits my scales. You may be wondering who I am.

My scientific name is Gonatodes daudini, however you can call me the Union Island Gecko. I live in a small forest in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, with thousands of my kind. We are endemic to the country.

My friend Roseman Adams, head warden of the Union Island Environmental Alliance, describes us as “a resilient species which we, as Unionites, identify with: hardworking, tenacious, and determined, with a constant fight to survive.”

She is very right. We are a resilient species that previously had to struggle to survive.

USAID asked me to share my story so that other critically endangered species are also protected from the hands of The Collectors, a group of people who buy and collect critically endangered reptiles and animals to keep as pets.

Cute? Sure! Tiny? Absolutely! Geckos typically measure about 3 centimeters or a little over an inch. / Courtesy of re:wild, Jeremy Holden, Fauna & Flora International

One day, as I was eating my daily cricket and larvae, I was taken by a poacher and put in a cage.

“Finally, you’re mine,” he said as he continued looking for my clawed gecko friends.

I was terrified.

He added several of my equally frightened friends to the cage and proceeded to remove us from our community and take us into the nearest town. Thankfully, a member of the community saw us and alerted the authorities. The poacher was taken into custody, and we were returned to our homes.

I was very lucky that the Vincentians saw what was happening to me, but many of my gecko friends haven’t been so fortunate. In 2018, a survey done in my community discovered that the population density of my species had decreased significantly in less than a decade, due to The Collectors.

Thanks to USAID, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Flora and Fauna International, my friends and I were able to grow our population by 80% since 2018. Wow! How did they do that? Well, my human reader friends, here are a few critical actions that helped protect us.

1. Protecting our habitat. Humans from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines started patrolling the area we lived in, helping the authorities to detect and respond to the illegal collection of my gecko friends. Community rangers helped to notify the authorities about our wellbeing, and over 250 square kilometers in four countries are currently patrolled to protect species like me.
2. Helping empower government officials. Over 100 humans were trained on countering wildlife crime, national wildlife laws, and other tools to protect us. Members of the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines forestry departments, customs, police, the military, ports authority, and many others are now fully capable of protecting me and my gecko friends.
3. Engaging in campaigns to build human pride in our species. Lots of humans that live close to us now work to combat illegal wildlife trade, monitor sales, and understand The Collectors behaviors to reduce trade. Over 100,000 people have been reached with national and international awareness-raising campaigns. Thanks to these efforts, poachers have been detected and apprehended.
4. Listing me and my friends in a really important (and well known!) document. USAID and Fauna and Flora International supported Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Government’s efforts to list us in the Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Thanks to all the wonderful humans, the proposal was supported by parties from the region and approved.

Work from agencies like USAID and the U.S. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service alongside efforts from communities in the Caribbean are helping Geckos survive and thrive. / Courtesy of re:wild, Jeremy Holden, Fauna & Flora International

The Vincentian humans have been great leaders in the protection of me and my friends, as well as other endangered species.

Glenroy Gaymes, who is the chief wildlife officer of the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Forestry Department, says it best: “It doesn’t matter the size of the country, the people, or the size of the species. What matters most is the endless sacrifice and teamwork of those individuals and organizations to ensure that all of their efforts pay off in the best conservation interests of those species.”

“It has been fascinating to witness how local Unionites, non-governmental organizations, and authorities came together to protect the critically endangered, endemic, and charismatic Union Island Gecko,” says human friend Amanda Gonzales, a program officer of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “The story of the Union Island Gecko is a powerful testament of what can be achieved to protect the least charismatic species inhabiting remote areas when we bring together our unique skills and common sense of purpose.”

Thanks to these conservation efforts, we now have more than 18,000 gecko friends. Our population is growing and thriving.

Before I leave, I’d like to share a few messages to humans.

To The Collectors: I know you love reptiles and other endangered species, but please stop buying my friends and other animals from non-authorized breeders. I’m suffering when I hear that a friend of mine has disappeared, or that our habitat is being destroyed because someone was looking for me or for another gecko.

To all humans: Remember that poaching and trading endangered species is illegal. Please tell others so that my animal friends do not get illegally trafficked. YOU have the power to protect your endangered animal friends. Never forget it!

Kind regards,

The Union Island Gecko

About the Author

Brenda Silverio is the Social Media Specialist at USAID’s Mission in the Dominican Republic.