Float like a butterfly, Run like a lizard; on water!

Have you heard of Jesus Lizards or Basilisk Lizards?

The former got their name from being able to split the streams they run in into two.. heh, Just kidding.

It comes from their ability to run across water for 4-5 metres at a time, at their hindlegs!

why my sudden interest in these lizards?

Because right now I may be taking care of one!

This little guy, I don't his common name, nor his species but what I can describe about him, is this.





He measures Around 8.5cm from head to tail, at the moment,
with the head and body taking up 3.0 cm.. the rest of him all tail!
He's got a splayed hind foot, with the fourth toe the longest,
and he's got eye marking on the back of his head, something reminiscent of Cobras.



I'm guessing what he will grow up to be

1)- A Chameleon,
2)- An Iguana
3)- A running lizard
4)- A house lizard. LOL

And his long tail piqued my interest.

Here's what I found.

Bipedal Lizards at blistering speed
explains via freeze frame as well as videos (lab) how lizards run faster bipedally.

Here's a National Geographic Video, of a Young Basilisk Lizard runs on Water

And here: Is the explanation of how it freakin does it!

And I'd appreciate any guesses to what kinda Dinosaur or Dragon he is! :-)::-)

Need Help With Species Identification

Calling out to Any backyard Naturalist that happen to pass by:
Need your help with putting a name to the subjects of my photographs!

Location: FRIM Outpost in Teluk Intan/ Bidor and Teluk Intan itself

More photos of this series can be seen HERE

Into the Twilight- Tiger Blogfest

Written in conjuction with the
Tiger blogfest, this poem sheds some light into the plight of our magnificent Panthera tigris,

May we stop and think, ere we send them to the brink

_______________________________________

Red dust, stung my eyes
I can do nothing, but stifle my cries

Swept up, as they cleared d trail
exactly where I had my first quail

My home, This was; yesterday
In fear, I live, day after day

Chainsaw, axes and machetes
with which our future are torn to bits

camouflage, I no longer can
My stripes stand out at every bend

the foliage was all lush and green
In the distant past, when I reigned King

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A scant thin familiar scent
Ignore it,I know I can't

It's the hut, It's the hut!
Should I, push my luck?

Creeping past the window
came a pang of sorrow

I can only shrug
as I saw the rug

Because of our skin

I lost my kin

spared not, are our Homes

sadly, Nor our bones

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My tail hangs low
walking towards the afterglow

the crow flies, one more time
Its thoughts, its cries; echo mine

We share a shadow
We share a sorrow

For the question, it begs:
"Is this my last sunset?"

Any idea what animal this is?

Mysterious ungulate?
I almost thought it is a statue ..

Seladang? X
Kerbau? X
Gaur? X
Banteng? X
serow? X (more of a goat lah)

got this from here

Here's
A true review of the Lok Kawi Zoo, KK, Sabah..
I think it almost represents all the zoos available in Malaysia.
SAD

Invasion of the body Snatchers??!!

One of the most notorious invasive species known is the Cane toad in Australia,
If not mistaken cats on the Island of Tasmania

Cane toads were originally imported to Aus in the 1980s to control the cane beetles... which are decimating the budding sugarcane industry.

Much to their horror, the toads do not prey selectively upon the beetles, despite their name!




Due to their size, they consume pretty much anything and everything... especially the native Australian frogs which are outcompeted and displaced! The wreak havoc on the Australian Native system and cause a number of species of animals to be threatened.

If that isn't the end of their problem, the toads secrete a noxious substance that cover their bodies... killing anything that tries to eat them! This of course leads to a population explosion and pretty much all of Australia has been colonized...



--G'day Mate! They Call me Toadzilla--


This ecological disaster has not yet been adequately rectified... conservationists are resorting to the last strategy...fencing up un-invaded ponds to protect the native froggies... this time its the size that plays to the toads disadvantage.



and in Malaysia itself....
The red ear terrapins!

Those terrapins or sliders or tortoises.. whatever you call them.. can be found in almost all petshops in Malaysia.

Cute while they are tiny... many outgrow the space in the house and in the hearts of their owners and get abandoned Throughout Malaysia

All the Rivers, Streams, ponds, Lakes are infested with these alien species...
causing native species like the Malayan Box Turtle to be outcompeted and threatened.



PLease educate your friends, relatives and monyet-hood to not buy these little critters if they do not plan to keep them for life.

you are indirectly destroying Malaysian wildlife... Based on limited data.. we known our own turtle is threatened... but how much more impact is undetected?

Stop the invasion of Alien Species...

IN the same vein... Protest against Malaysian Government's repeated attempts to replant all the highways roadsides with ACACIA trees! (as if the Palm Oil plantations are not ENOugh!!

All that glitters is.....

From an interesting E-mail...






Looking like giant leaves floating in the sea, thousands of Golden Rays are seen here gathering off the coast of Mexico . The spectacular scene was captured as the magnificent creatures made one of their biannual mass migrations to more agreeable waters.


Gliding silently beneath the waves, they turned vast areas of blue water to gold off the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula . Sandra Critelli, an amateur photographer, stumbled across the phenomenon while looking for whale sharks.
She said: 'It was an unreal image, very difficult to describe. The surface of the water was covered by warm and different shades of gold and looked like a bed of autumn leaves gently moved by the wind.

'It's hard to say exactly how many there were, but in the range of a few thousand'






'We were surrounded by them without seeing the edge of the school and we could see many under the water surface too. I feel very fortunate I was there in the right place at the right time to experience nature at its best'
Measuring up to 7ft (2.1 meters) from wing-tip to wing-tip, Golden rays are also more prosaically known as cow nose rays.

They have long, pointed pectoral fins that separate into two lobes in front of their high-domed heads and give them a cow-like appearance. They are known to be shy and non-threatening when in large schools.

The population in the Gulf of Mexico migrates, in schools of as many as 10,000, clockwise from western Florida to the Yucatan .

Tanjong Karang- Lively Haven

Where buildings are low
The pace of life is slow
Can healthy children grow
Nature has much to show!

As the coconut trees sway
Birds are singing gay
Oh my kite's flying away
Perched, I am on the quay


That quite summarises the carefree life of Tanjong Karang, and here's additional photos from the 'insects on my hand' series!





Iridescent Grasshopper outside my house!



Green Living!



Black, is Quality. I'm referring to both, thank you :-P



"Oi! your hand slippery la..'told you not to shave your hand already, I can't even scuttle properly"
*Conversation if for wu liao purposes only and have no relation to real life events!!*



'now, that's more like it!'



'Come closer and let me have a good look at you!'




'Errr my shift for interacting with humans in up! But fear not cause here comes my cousin to entertain you, adios!'






Praying Mantis on the Prowl














LongHorn on a Stroll





Or two









Moth that's as big as a letter


Mole Cricket!