Got it licked: Cheeky gecko uses tongue to drink morning dew from his EYES

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Eye drops: A Namibian web-footed gecko licks dew off his eyes that has accumulated when mist forms over the desert in the early morning


Photographer spent THREE DAYS waiting to take the perfect snap of gecko

Nocturnal reptile gathers moisture on eyes from morning mist

This cheeky gecko certainly has things licked as it gets the morning dew off its eyes.

The web-footed creature is a rare reptile found on coastal sand dunes in Namibia between the sea and the desert.

The nocturnal geckos collect water on their eyeballs in the early morning when a mist bank descends as cool coastal air hits the warmth of the desert.


Licked, never beaten: The rare creature was captured in action after Isak Pretorius spent three days tracking the reptiles


Then they lick it off to have a drink.

It took photographer Isak Pretorius three days to get the licking picture, following gecko tracks across the dunes through the mist.

The 32-year-old South African said: ‘In these coastal dunes, the warm desert air meets the cold air of the Atlantic ocean, creating a dense layer of mist almost every morning until about 9am.

‘This layer of mist only stretches about three miles inland and creates a very unique environment.

‘Their most fascinating characteristic is the way in which they gather moisture from licking droplets of water off their beautiful big eyeballs.


The skin of geckos is made up of shades of pink and very transparent which would offer no resistance to any harsh sunlight


‘Seeing them for the first time in real life I was amazed how small they actually are. Probably only 4in to 6in long in total.

‘Their skin is beautiful shades of pink and very transparent which would offer no resistance to any harsh sunlight.

‘We learnt that as long as we approach them very slowly, especially when stalking them from a distance, they would not run away from us.

source: dailymail