Over the past few days, I spent time in the primary rainforests of eastern Thailand, which are the largest protected primary rainforests in mainland Southeast Asia and is established as a UN World Heritage Site. Words can not describe its beauty, so I will post some pictures.
This is ca. 200m from where I set up camp. It was the most successful trip to date.
Of the three species that I specifically targeted for observation (wish list), I found two of them. #1 was the least likely,
Crocodylus siamensis. 2 adults are known to exist in the 50km2 area which is open to the public. I not only found both of them, but found a hatchling, which the park rangers did not know about (did not know that they laid eggs or that they had hatched). I startled the female, which I later determined was at where she laid her eggs. I was also startled, because she was concealed behind a log (which will be pictured later). I also found one of the hatchlings on my side of the river, which quickly went deep into the murky water. Both had disappeared so quickly, that I was not able to get pictures. A few hours later, I found the male basking 1km away from where I found the male basking.
My movements to get a clear shot of him alerted him to my presence and he slowly moved into the water and went slowly downstream.
#2 on my list was
Varanus salvator salvator. Although it commonly occurs in my area, I live in the central flood plains and it is interesting to observe their behavior in different habitats, which differs significantly. I found 4 different specimens and saw them on 7 different occasions, including one, which is the largest one I have ever seen. I conservatively estimate its length at 220cm (over 7 feet).
This is the same site where I had seen the
C. siamensis the day before. The log that concealed the crocodile is directly behind the monitor. To give you a true appreciation for how massive this male is, the next picture shows a female, which is ca. 150cm. This picture also shows the entire site better and you can also see where there had been some excavation.
#3 was
Varanus bengalensis nebulosus, which I had found on my previous trip and occurs occasionally in the area I was working, but did not come into my view.
I had to leave a day early, due to too many tourists coming into the area and scaring away all the animals.
I know many keep
Physignathus cocincinus, so here is a picture for them of what they look like in their natural habitat (almost always in trees close to water). I was lucky enough to find a few of them.
Many other species were also found, but I will save them for later.
