[Tw1anJOO]

I am trying to identify an animal we have living in our home in Buriram. I was there for a whole month in February and never saw it but heard it everyday... It would 'screech' 4 or 5 times late every night and also do the same mid morning most days. My wife said it is similar to the ever present Jingjocks but much bigger (see indicated it was about as thick as her arm) and brightly coloured. I guess it mostly walked around on the beams in the roof and on more than one occasion I would be drinking a mug of tea in the evening and it's 'droppings' would land on the coffee table narrowly missing my mug.

Above our bed there is a large poster and one morning as I was lying in bed it did it's 'screeching' and with each one the poster moved so I am convinced it was behind it. I told Ubonwan and she said she thought it went behind there sometimes and got a broom to poke the poster but it was no longer there...

She told me it lives in a hole in the wall and some years back when he was little our son put money in the hole to save and when he went to get it found the animal had eaten it... She also says that a man comes once or twice a year to try buy the animals but they wouldn't sell as it is 'good luck' to have and no-one else in our part of the village has one in their homes.

When I asked what the animal is the best I can understand them saying is that it is called a two-kaiy. Does anyone have any idea what I am talking about? I would love to see a picture of one.

à´ÇÔ´

[SOgLak]

Its probably a "tuk-kae" lizard (pronounced as in tuk-tuk). However I don't think they are brightly coloured, or as thick as your arm. They are usually about a foot long and live in houses, preying on jingjoks. I wouldn't describe the noise as a "screech" either - its quite a nice sound really, rather like a little cartoon man shouting at the top of his voice. Whenever I hear that sound I am immediately reminded of my younger days, sitting on the verandah of my stilted house in the evening, watching the buffalo stroll past, sipping a Mekhong and mellowing out as the sun went down. Fond memories! We had a tuk-kae living behind a picture hanging on our living room wall. Once when I removed the picture to get a better look at him I got quite a shock. He came out bristling with aggression and was going to have me! I think you are right about them being regarded as "lucky" by Thais although one story I heard is thet they bring bad luck, rather than good luck. I also understand that their numbers are in decline nowadays - there used to be one in every house but now they are rare.

[Vobomei]

Does it look anything like the animal shown on this web page ? Well, maybe you wouldn't know, if you've never seen it.

DogoDon

[Tw1anJOO]

Does it look anything like the animal shown on this web page ? Well, maybe you wouldn't know, if you've never seen it.

DogoDon

Not having seen it I really don't know. But when I said 'brightly coloured' it is how I pictured it, my wife actually said it can be 'red or blue' and that lizard certainly has blue and a pinkish/red colour on it.

Thanks for the link.

à´ÇÔ´

[Tw1anJOO]

Its probably a "tuk-kae" lizard (pronounced as in tuk-tuk). However I don't think they are brightly coloured, or as thick as your arm. They are usually about a foot long and live in houses, preying on jingjoks. I wouldn't describe the noise as a "screech" either - its quite a nice sound really, rather like a little cartoon man shouting at the top of his voice. Whenever I hear that sound I am immediately reminded of my younger days, sitting on the verandah of my stilted house in the evening, watching the buffalo stroll past, sipping a Mekhong and mellowing out as the sun went down. Fond memories! We had a tuk-kae living behind a picture hanging on our living room wall. Once when I removed the picture to get a better look at him I got quite a shock. He came out bristling with aggression and was going to have me! I think you are right about them being regarded as "lucky" by Thais although one story I heard is thet they bring bad luck, rather than good luck. I also understand that their numbers are in decline nowadays - there used to be one in every house but now they are rare.

Thanks for that information Nam Phyyng, tuk-kae would be a much better way of spelling what my wife was saying than my original spelling. As to it's sound, I wrote 'screech' in speech marks as I really don't know how to describe it - I have never heard anything like it before. I will say at first it was a little unsettling knowing something I had never seen was hiding quite close to me and I couldn't see it. I think it is very loud for the size the animal must be?

As thick as your arm - my wife doesn't have particularly thick arms - I bought her a watch and it would barely fasten on my wrist, we had to remove three links on the bracelet for her to wear it...

à´ÇÔ´

[mr.nemo]

Usually spelled tokay in English, it's µØê¡á¡ in Thai. I've seen a couple and heard a lot upcountry. They are large enough to give a good scare if you see one indoors, but generally stay outside, unlike their smaller green cousins you see all over. Here is a wikipedia article including an ogg sound file which sounds exactly like what I heard every night outside my bungalow in Nan. I quite enjoyed the sound.

[Hervams]

There is a lady on the skywalk near Siam Square that sells these little rubber cockroaches and tuk-kaes. I bought some and put it in my hotel room, she wasn't too fond of them.

[Tw1anJOO]

Usually spelled tokay in English, it's µØê¡á¡ in Thai. I've seen a couple and heard a lot upcountry. They are large enough to give a good scare if you see one indoors, but generally stay outside, unlike their smaller green cousins you see all over. Here is a wikipedia article including an ogg sound file which sounds exactly like what I heard every night outside my bungalow in Nan. I quite enjoyed the sound.

Now that picture is more like how I imagined from Ubonwans description and the sound file is exactly what I would hear in our bed room late at night and sometimes mid-morning. I have just downloaded it to minidisc to play in my bedroom here in Wales.

I am kind of glad I didn't look behind the poster the time I heard it there and can understand why Ubonwan took a broom to investigate when I told her about it.

Thanks for the link, I have been thinking about it for the last 4 months since I returned to Wales.

à´ÇÔ´

[FotoCihasWewb]

Now that picture is more like how I imagined from Ubonwans description and the sound file is exactly what I would hear in our bed room late at night and sometimes mid-morning. I have just downloaded it to minidisc to play in my bedroom here in Wales.

I am kind of glad I didn't look behind the poster the time I heard it there and can understand why Ubonwan took a broom to investigate when I told her about it.

Thanks for the link, I have been thinking about it for the last 4 months since I returned to Wales.

à´ÇÔ´

The Tuk Kae gets it's name from the sound it makes and it is definitely not seen as being lucky to have one around the house. In my experience they prefer to stay outside the house, in the eaves or other nooks and crannies in the upper part of the house.

[SOgLak]

A Thai friend in Chiangmai is terrified of tuk-kae lizards. She has a real phobia about them, possibly because they are meant to bring bad luck. Once on entering the toilet she closed the door and sat down, only to see a large tuk-kae on the back of the toilet door. She sat transfixed in horror, making incomprehensible noises "tuk! tuk! tuk! (she was so terrified she couldn't even say it properly!). Her husband heard the noises and asked what was wrong, but still she could only sit there saying "tuk, tuk". Becoming quite concerned, the husband put his shoulder to the door and with a lurch he burst the lock, flinging the door open. But in doing so he flung the enraged tuk-kae onto his wife's lap where it dug its fangs deep into her thigh!! Thats a true story.

[freeringsf]

Right, instead what Ubonwan said I also heard that they bring bad luck.

Often they are referred to Ghosts too and you see them a lot in Thai Ghost Movies.
Often their screams are the introduction of the Ghost soon coming.

So I don't really think that it is good luck to keep them in the house.

[FotoCihasWewb]

A Thai friend in Chiangmai is terrified of tuk-kae lizards. She has a real phobia about them, possibly because they are meant to bring bad luck. Once on entering the toilet she closed the door and sat down, only to see a large tuk-kae on the back of the toilet door. She sat transfixed in horror, making incomprehensible noises "tuk! tuk! tuk! (she was so terrified she couldn't even say it properly!). Her husband heard the noises and asked what was wrong, but still she could only sit there saying "tuk, tuk". Becoming quite concerned, the husband put his shoulder to the door and with a lurch he burst the lock, flinging the door open. But in doing so he flung the enraged tuk-kae onto his wife's lap where it dug its fangs deep into her thigh!! Thats a true story.

55555555 àΧæ«ÇÂæ

[Adamdjeffe]

Usually spelled tokay in English, it's µØê¡á¡ in Thai. I've seen a couple and heard a lot upcountry. They are large enough to give a good scare if you see one indoors, but generally stay outside, unlike their smaller green cousins you see all over. Here is a wikipedia article including an ogg sound file which sounds exactly like what I heard every night outside my bungalow in Nan. I quite enjoyed the sound.

Merely a by-note on this interesting thread. Do not attempt to play the sound file using WMP (Windows Misery Provider!) 11-it does not like the codec. Instead, download a free copy of Win Amp from here, which plays it without any bother at all.

http://www.winamp.com/player/

[Vobomei]

Thanks, Shuba, for that wiki link. The sound is one I was familiar with, although I never saw the creature making it.

Coincidentally, I just watched an episode of Bank Rak Soi 9 in which Maaruay and Man sneak into Atu's house making animal sounds. I just realized that the sound Man made is that of the Tuk Kae.

DogoDon