In your younger days you might have done some crazy stuff like climbing up Bukit Tabur in the middle of the night, scuba diving in the sea full of sharks, going camping alone in a remote place or perhaps going out at night to look for frogs and snakes in the jungle! Fast forward 30 years later, i kinda rekindled my childhood adventures by joining the MNS Herpetology Group in one of their outings recently. The rain came just before the trip but it did not deter 21 enthusiastic adventures including a few children to gather around for some good outing.
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| Oriental Whip Snake (Ahaetulla prasina) |
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| Oriental Whip Snake (Ahaetulla prasina) |
Even before we set for the trek, our group leader Steven Wong has found this common whip snake. The children got really excited seeing their first wild snake.
It looks menacing but it is totally harmless to humans.
The kampung name for this snake as i can recall was 'ular lidi' while some book also named it as 'oriental vine snake'. After a few photograph sessions, the snake was released back to its habitat. The good news was that we also saw another whip snake of the same genus not too far away.
Parents and mums getting their children all prep up for the excursion. Fortunately the rain stopped at 9.20pm.
Herpetologist in action and watched closely by future herpetologists ! Whether is for fun or to eliminate the fear of snakes (ophidiophobia), it was heart warming to see that parents are encouraging their children to join such trips.
And here is what the group leader has got for them - a handful of frogies. The enthusiasm and tenacity shown by the group leader in explaining and getting the subjects in hand was really appreciated by the group.
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| Common Grass Frog (Fejervarya limnocharis) |
This frog was indeed found among the weeds and was said to be the favourite food for ikan haruan (snake head fish).
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| Common Wolf Snake (Lycodon capucinus) |
This was the second snake found in this trip.
One thing i have learnt from this trip was that not all poisonous snakes have triangle shaped head - cobras (naja naja) and coral snakes (Calliophis) do not have triangle shaped heads. Fortunately this wolf snake is not poisonous but it will not hesitate to bite if annoyed as i was briefed.
There were more frogs than snakes in this trip and here are some of them:
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| Lesser Stream Toad (Ingerophrynus parvus) |
This was the only lone toad found in this trip.
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| Tanah Rata Frog (Limnonectes nitidius) |
This frog was initially thought to be found only in Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands,
Malaysia but subsequently it was reported that it can also be found in quite a number of places.
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| Rhinocerous Frog (Limnonectes plicatellus) |
You can see a small bulge on its head (between its eyes) where it got its name from.
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| White-lipped Frog (Hydrophylax labialis) |
Another common Grass Frog i believe. Look how well it blended with its surrounding.
Besides frogs and snakes we have also seen other creatures of the night like these ones:
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| Common Orb Weaver Spider |
Giant centipede
Note: the above centipede is called: "Malaysian Cherry Red Centipede" (Scolopendra spp)
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| Marbled Bent-Toed Gecko (Cyrtodactylus quaddrivirgatus) |
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| Green Crested Lizard (Bronchocella cristatella) |
I think this cicak is half asleep.
Being a birder i did look out for roosting birds, owls etc but unfortunately did not see any. I did however heard a nightjar calling (most likely a large tailed nightjar) (caprimulgus macrurus) as well as a call which sounded like coming from an OMR (Oriental Magpie Robin). Oh yes you can hear lots of other insects' calls in the night and some of which may be quite intriguing.
Overall i think everyone was very happy in this trip especially the children.
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