prop-fr:texteOriginal
| - The subpopulation in Kimboza Forest Reserve was estimated at 150,000 adults in 2009. The size of the remaining subpopulations is unknown, but their size is not thought contribute significantly to the total population. Neither of the reserves where it occurs is well-protected.
In the wild, turquoise day geckos live exclusively on the screwpine, Pandanus rabaiensis, mostly in the leaf crown. They eat small insects and drink water from leaves. They are also fond of nectar.
Although there are no legally wild-caught turquoise day geckos, wild-caught geckos are commonly sold in pet shops. It is estimated that between December 2004 and July 2009, at least 32,310 to 42,610 geckos were taken by one collecting group, ~15% of the wild population at the time.
Collectors commonly cut down the screwpine trees to reach the geckos living in the leaf crest, destroying the gecko's habitat. Many geckos are thought to die while being shipped to market. The pet trade is likely a worse threat than even habitat loss.
Most of the remaining forest is in Catchment Forest Reserves, but is still seriously threatened by clearing for farmland, illegal logging, increasingly frequent fires, and mining of the limestone outcrops on which the screwpines grow. There is little forest left unaffected. (fr)
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