There was a lizard in my studio on Friday. As we were setting up for the Classic Hits 93.1 Comedy Couch interview, my colleague Kyle saw the little creature on the wall in the corner behind the door. It didn’t look like the five-lined skinks in my backyard. Its larger head reminded me of a gecko. In fact, the comment I made on air that afternoon was, “some companies will do anything to sell you car insurance.”
On Sunday night, I stopped by the station to prepare a couple of things for Monday. I used the staff entrance in a part of the building that was dark, empty and quiet. I opened the door and saw something scurry. I thought it might be a cricket. I was wrong.
When I turned on the light in the foyer, I saw that it was another lizard. This one was even smaller than the lizard I saw on Friday. It looked like it could be related. I picked it up and put it outside, which seemed like a good idea at the time. I now wonder if it will find its way back in.
When I got home, I scrolled through Google Images of “lizards in Tennessee.” Based on the photos, I think I found a non-native species. My best guess is that the radio station is home to at least two house geckos, a species from Southeast Asia. The geckos have spread throughout much of the world, including the Deep South of the United States, which still doesn’t explain what these two are doing in Knoxville.
