Agamids on the Mountains

I hadn't posted anything about animals that I saw on the mountains. Well there isn't anything apart from this. I was told by my parents that they saw a few well-camouflaged black lizards sunning themselves on the rocks. They also told me that they were extremely fast and that it is very hard to spot them. Well, I looked around the place they told me to look and found a very camouflaged lizard hiding underneath a huge rock crack. I did manage to get a picture of it but it wasn't very clear.

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The moment I took the first shot, it ran away into the bushes. I didn't see it again. Judging by its shape and look, it is most probably a type of agamid lizard, like changeable lizards. Well, soon I started looking around every huge dark rocks to see if I can spot anything. My Uncle told me that I could possibly find a small species of viper here. Although I didn't see any snakes, I came across another agamid hiding under a rock crack during my search.

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After taking this shot, I realised that it wasn't clear enough. When I turned and looked, the lizard was still there. I quickly took the chance and photographed it again. I did get a picture clearer than the previous one.

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Soon after the second shot the lizard turned away and went in deeper into the rock crack. This species seems to look rather different from the first one as it has a partially orange head and neck. I don't know its species and hence I can't be sure on what name it has. Well, maybe I can find out after doing some research.

High Up the Mountains

We had a rest for about half an hour before we left for the Mountains. We had an uncle who helped us in clearing the thick vegetation to make a route to the Mountain Tops. The path was scary; the grass was very long and thick, and we had to step on them as we go. If there is any Venomous Snake below, we will never know if it will bite us. Well, as we walked along the cleared path, we passed by a number of fallen trees. After that, the path was extre,ely steep. It was about 45 degrees up and we had to climb that with no proper path. We found it rather hard to walk with our slippers, so we left them on a specific part of the path. The journey up there from then was barefooted. Once we saw some light, we would think we had reached but then you will realize that there is still another steep slope to go. Well the journey continued for about half an hour longer...

Until we finally reached the top. Here are some pictures that I took:

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There were a number of Mountains at that area itself. After checking out the first one, our parents stayed where they were enjoying the cold breeze. Our Uncle and and we set off to the next mountain.

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My photographs are all positioned very randomly. Sorry for that, all I want to do is show you the photos. Well we soon climber up a number of mountains, while my parents walked around the first one itself. There were many forested mountains around, but we didn't go there as there could be many dangerous Wild Animals like Elephants and Tigers. Even the mountains we were on have been visited by Elephants, Wild Boars and Deers. But we didn't see any, which may be good as you would not want an elephant to be chasing you on the mountain!

Anyway, here are a number more of photographs...

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In the end we managed to cover 4 mountains. The elevation up there was 1100 metres above sea level hence and was very cold. On the top of the forth mountain, we were very thirsty and tried to have some salt that we took along, incase we were bitten by leeches. We managed to find our way to a tiny pond on the verge of the forth mountain. The water was so cold and refreshing... I drank about 2 litres from it, although there could be some impurities in the water. Well I must learn some survival skills! As we made our way down the last mountain, we passed by a cleared circle netween the tall grass. Our uncle says that it was made by wild boars to stay during the night. A few more minutes, and we reached the first mountain we were on.

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We finally made our way back down the mountain, into our slippers and over the fallen tree trunks, and into the backyard and into the house. Phew! An awesome experience, a wonderful day, and am I exhausted!

Wild House

A very enjoyable time I had in the stream. Well as soon as I headed home (which was a few metres from the stream), I got my camera and walked in and around the house hunting. I didn't really find very interesting creatures like snakes or frogs, but I got to photograph a number of them just around that tiny house. Here they are. The first was a Gecko with round pupils. In Singapore only the Kendall's Rock Gecko has round pupils, but here, there seem to be many species of geckos with round pupils.

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Close-Up shot showing its round pupils.

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A Common House Beetle.

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A small Brown Mantis about an inch long. It was hopping around wildly in the bedroom when I spotted it. At first I thought it was some type of fly but only after taking a closer look did I realize what it was.

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The Mantis was one of the best finds in the house so I decided to take another shot.

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A few species of moths.

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Another shot of the same one above.

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A much tinier one with torn wings.

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A rather big moth resting on the side of the wall.

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Two Hairy Caterpillars in the leaf litter around the house.

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This one was bigger and had slightly different colouring from the other.

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Lastly a Butterfly resting on the underside of the metal roof.

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I managed to get very close and take a close-up photograph of its eyes.

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Hide and Seek

I was still hunting around the stream, when my Sisters moved furthur away to see an eagle hover in the sky. I examined a tree trunk. I didn't see anything until I noticed a few tiny green legs appear before me. My initial thought was a stick insect. And it was! I turned around and so did it. I got a first shot of it hiding behind the end of a dead leaf. It was hiding now...

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And soon I manged to get around and capture a shot of it with its full body in the image.

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After having sensed that it has been spotted, it immediately climbed up the dead leaf and onto the tree, and slowly slipped underneath a green leaf, hoping to stay camouflaged. But I knew where it was, so I slowly creeped under the leaf and took a shot.

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And as I walked past a huge rock on the way back, I spotted another one walking away into the bushes. It was slightly bigger than the previous one and was brown in colour. Since it was rather fast, I could not get such a clear image. You should be able to spot it.

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An exciting day to be. Frogs, Sticks Insects, Crabs, how better could it be? Well I still had a trip up to the highest mountain that day. Wait for the next post.

Life Cycle: 3 Generations

I was having a rather hard time trying to photograph the small black frogs swimming around. Whenever they see me, they jump back into the water. As I splashed around the stream looking for any frogs sitting on the rocks, I noticed something like a Jelly Fish. I was sure it could not be a jellyfish as they only occur in Sea Water. As I looked closely and examined it, I realised that they were actually frog eggs. I got my camera out and took a shot.

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Just a few minutes after photographing the frog eggs, I came across a small yellow tadpole swimming around in the water near the rocks. It was as big as the frogs and so I don't think they belong to the same species. I did encounter a few of these tadpoles but I didn't manage to get a shot because they wee too fast. I took my chance and photographed the tadpole before it swam away.

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After hours of hunting in the stream, our parents started to use sticks to hit down Wild Pomelos. Poor folks, they didn't even manage to hit one down. Just as I was about to try, I noticed 2 frogs clinging nearby onto a rock. I just tried my luck. I moved in and managed to take a shot. It wasn't very clear though. But the picture did show a clear image of the frog on the left.

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After taking that shot, I realised that the frog which could not be clearly seen was still there clinging onto the wet rock. The other one had jumped away the moment I stood up. I tried my best to move in slowly and take a shot. Bingo! I got a clear shot of the tiny frog.

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In the meantime I managed to hit down 3 big Pomelos for my parents. They were satisfied at last. But just as I was about to start eating a piece I noticed another frog nearby. My camera was so close to the frog but it didn't move at all. Without even moving my camera, I used a soft flash and took a shot. Wow, I got it clear!

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After looking through these photos did I realise that I had seen all three generations in the life cycle of a frog. First I saw the Frog Eggs, then the Tadpoles, followed by the Frogs!

Little Crabby, I missed your Daddy!

Here in this post, I shall start the off with the creatures that I found during my walk in the streams. Well, I was looking around trying to photograph some tiny frogs when I found a crab about 10 cm in length. As soon as I noticed it, it noticed me too and started fleeing away at the moment. I tried my best but the water kept reflecting the flash and I could not get a good shot. The shot without flash wasn't clear either. In the end the crab made its way into a deep hole in the water. It was a good opportunity missed.

But just when I was about to give up hope, I spooted another crab on the other side of the stream. I slowly moved in, so that I don't startle it like the previous one. I managed to get rather good shots as it stayed where it was for the entire time. Here is a photograph I took:

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A closer look after cropping the image.

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Soon the crab seemed to have realized my presense that it cautiously moved in deeper into the water, and under a couple of stones. I took a shot of it as it started to move.

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I then decided to move off and continue on my mission to photograph the fast-moving black frogs.

Walking Along the Cold Stream

After a few more minutes in the jeep, we finally reached our destination. The House was very small and had no electricity. That was not a problem, though, as it seemed more of a Forest Camp for us. It is a rather dangerous place as there had been reports of Elephants visiting that area. And it was also beside a few densely forested mountains too. Venomous Snakes and other harmful creatures could make their way into houses.

Anyway, once we reached the house, we got our backpacks out, changed into our home clothes and were ready for adventure. My sisters and I noticed a small yet long stream nearby and decided to take a look. These are two shots I took from a huge rock beside the House. One shows the forested mountain and the other, a part of the stream.

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The water was Freezing Cold and we almost made our feet partially numb while walking through the water. We weren't wearing anything on our feet either. The chill water ran across my feet as I took another two photographs of the water faling from the Huge Rocks.

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The stream was about half a kilometre long and we hadn't even reached half of it when we spotted a big tree beside the stream. When we went closer, we realized that it was actually Hollow! We slowly creeped into the tree to check out the view inside. But we did keep a look out for any snakes, scorpions or centipedes hiding in there. As I looked up, I saw a bat flapping its wings after sensing our visit. It didn't fly away though, but I could not see it even after using flash to take a shot. Here's the shot that I took:

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We made our way all the way back. As we did, I randomly took a photograph of the beautiful running water.

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