New York, September 3, 2008--Lacking eyelids and true eyelashes, a New Caledonian crested gecko at the Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo licks its eyeballs to keep them moist in a photo released last week.

The geckos are native to their namesake French territory in the South Pacific Ocean. Scientists thought the species was extinct until a population was rediscovered in 1994.

Today the gecko is widely kept in the pet trade. Its conservation status is under review by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.