• Question: Why do geckos tails fall off when they get scared?

    Asked by Olly Birch to Carrie, Ellen, Rupert on 16 Mar 2017.
    • Photo: Carrie Ijichi

      Carrie Ijichi answered on 16 Mar 2017:

      They fall off because that’s an area that a predator commonly grabs and the gecko can detach it without dying (no major organs in there). That way the predator is left with a mouth full of tail but the gecko gets away to live another day and regrow the tail. Very clever

    • Photo: Ellen Williams

      Ellen Williams answered on 16 Mar 2017:

      It is a means of escaping predators! In some species the tails even continue to twitch once the ‘body’ of the animal has run away, which is designed to distract the predator while they get to safety! Pretty cool huh!

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