A striking, bright green lizard found throughout the North Island. The green gecko is diurnal, active during the day, and often seen basking in the sun on shrubs. Its bright green colour provides excellent camouflage among leaves. At fourteen to eighteen centimetres in total length, it is a medium-sized gecko, slender and agile, with a prehensile tail that helps it grip branches. A gecko of the forest canopy. The green gecko lives in native forests, scrub, and forest margins from Northland to Wellington. It prefers dense vegetation with abundant hiding places. It is a diurnal forager, hunting insects and spiders among the leaves and sipping nectar from flowers. Its toe pads are specialised for climbing smooth surfaces, allowing it to move easily through the branches. Viviparous, giving birth to live young. Females produce one or two offspring each year, a slow reproductive rate that makes the species vulnerable to population decline. The young are born in late summer and are miniature versions of the adults, independent from birth. They are born bright green, ready to blend into the leaves from their first day. Threatened by habitat loss, predation, and illegal collection. Land clearance has removed much of its native forest home. Rats, cats, hedgehogs, and stoats prey on it and its young. Its striking appearance makes it a target for the pet trade, and collectors remove individuals from the wild. Listed as At Risk – Declining. To see a green gecko is to see one of New Zealand most beautiful reptiles. A living jewel, a flash of green in the North Island bush. Its survival depends on us – on habitat protection, predator control, and enforcement of laws against illegal collection. The forests of the North Island have held these geckos for millennia. With luck and effort, they will hold them for millennia more.