Predation by the wolfsnake Lycodon aulicus (Linnaeus, 1758) on the house gecko Hemidactylus frenatus Duméril & Bibron, 1836 in Tsirang District, Kingdom of Bhutan

Wolfsnakes, genus Lycodon Fitzinger, 1826, are known to prey upon rodents and frogs (Fritts, 1993), and they may even endanger the survival of bird species (Khamcha and Gale, 2020). However, their biggest impact as a predator is most likely on the broad variety of lizards they consume, including house geckos, skinks, and agamids (Fritts, 1993; Pauwels et al., 2005; Vogel et al., 2009; Zhang and Wang, 2014). Lycodon aulicus (Linnaeus, 1758) in particular is known to feed on common house geckos (Daniel, 2002; Jackson and Fritts, 2004) and, consequently, it may frequently be seen in and around residential buildings where these prey species are most commonly encountered (Shroff, 2016).