Quiet Kingdoms: March 2022

First published on March 01, 2022

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Photo Feature

Holding On For Dear Life
A bark gecko Hemidactylus sp. pursues its prey on a leaf in an urban park in Rajkot, Gujarat. Unlike tree frogs, geckos maintain a dry but firm grip by employing Van der Waals force, which involves the weak molecular bonds between minute hair-like structures called setae on its toe pads and the surfaces on which they stand. This ability to attach itself to surfaces that cannot possibly support most other creatures, spells the difference between life and death for the gecko. Photo: Bhavya Joshi