Gecko and Cactus Save Rare Flower

On the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, a brilliant green lizard and a palmlike shrub are helping to save a rare flowering plant from extinction. The blue-tailed gecko pollinates the threatened Trochetia flower while the shrubby Pandanus plant does its part by providing the lizard a safe haven from predators as it performs pollinations.

Previously, a nectar-sipping bird called the olive white-eye pollinated Trochetia, but the bird is nearly extinct. The Gecko has taken over as the key pollinator for this flower and the flowers that produce offspring are growing near the Pandanus plant (a cactus) because that plant provides protection for the Gecko from the Mauritian kestrel, which is a type of bird that loves to eat lizards. Isn't amazing the way God has designed the planet and species to adapt to changes in their environment! Amazing!

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