Snails from Semporna

The first phase of Semporna Islands snail project have been completed (Mac 2007 – Dec 2007). We found 45 species of land snails and 2 species of freshwater snails in Tun Sakaran Marine Park (TSMP) which consists of 8 islands.

Now, we know the species that can be found in those island. However, we also want to know why these islands are differ in their land snail’s composition? Thus, we begin with the second phase of the project – the snail's ecology and evolutionary biology.

During the last fieldtrip (together with & thanks to boss Hamid, Dato Noramly and Niza), we have started to look at their ecology and behaviour of some species. Also, we brought back some living specimens for some experimental studies. Now, they are being kept in INSECTARIUM.

Amphidromus sp. and its eggs







Obba cf. marginata, In Sabah, this genus only can be found in TSMP. Obba is a very speciose genus in Philippines. How did they get to TSMP?













Look like marine species? But this is freshwater Neritina. Collected during the night - in a small......stream. Had visited the stream twice (Apr 2007 and May 2007) but never seen them.....but found them during this trip (Aug 2008)......strange.....



liew

Looking through the eye of a rhino

You wouldn't see anything great looking through one - just a simple eye that is dark in nature, a little bluish on the sides, more wrinkled skin around it.. then you start to see the rough eyebrow. The animal might've been seeing something else, that was so different, a large eye with another weird  bipedal animal behind it.. and it suddenly burst with a flash, and again!

"Neeeee!" it said.

"niiiih" I said.

Suddenly we were friends.

I visited the recently captured Sumatran rhino who decided to venture out of the smallish Kretam Forest Reserve into an oil palm plantation. Suddenly we became concerned and capture operation was launched - although it failed to create any surprise, not even a tiny bit. "Kretam" walked into the crate. Closed. Lifted onto a truck. Sent to a paddock. Released. No surprise at all.

Only, Kretam is a bloke, hardly capable of becoming pregnant!

Dedi Chandra, a Vet from Way Kambas (Indonesian captive rhino facility) is now with him and taking care of him. Dedi said, looking at his appearance, he might still be reproductively sound. We need a girl for him, obviously. Fiffy, why haven't you visit him?

Top right: Mr Rashid Saburi (Officer In Charge for Tabin WR and Kulamba WR), Dr Dedi Chandra and I, just before I left Tam's paddock Tuesday.

Lower left: Tam's begging eye. This is one of the rare time when people get to see the real color of a Sumatran rhino - otherwise he color will always be "muddy".

Hamid (Still with a little bit of that nostalgic smell)

Journey to Bodgaya

We left IBTP yesterday, about mid morning - late for an east coast destination. There were many stops: Indah Permai (for brunch), Telupid (another brunch - Telupid residents use free water from the hills), check Point (refuel only), Lahad Datu (to buy towels, as always, towels were left at home, just at the place you would have remember to put them into bags, and also to have a little bit of canai roti - I reckon Haruo Sensei speaks a little bit of Malay "Teh O kosong tanpa gula") and Semporna. To be exact, we went to Kalsom's family place.

Wanted to tell about the food we had at kalsom's. The order was done by Kalsom from a phone while driving out of Lahadatu.

Items for order includes:
Tehe tehe
Latok
Ba'at
... and several others.

We had them last night, mostly for the first time. Thanks, Som.

Hamid.

new members

I welcome Liew Thor Seng, May, Jan and Bunga. May is doing the taxonomic works on the climbing perch (Anabas testudineus). Jan and Bunga will work on the ecology of the Bornean wild cattle Bos javanicus lowii in the Maliau Basin - They will work outside of the basin because there is no tembadau in the basin. Both of them (now they are taking another friend with them) will go cattling in the third week of September.

Happy blogging!

Updates on giant reptiles

Dear wildlifers,

Ralf Sommerland (former Chair for Tomistoma Task Force SSC/CSG IUCN) sent us this website on giant crocodiles. I nice reading. Please follow link here http:/madrascrocbank.blogspot.com/.

This is interesting since all "giant crocs" that have been "seen" by people were dubbed as being more than 30 feet long. Paitan residents have seen even larger croc there - 100 feet!

So, how large does a croc get?

Camponotus gigas from Lanjak

Can you the bright yellow femur of this C. gigas from Lanjak Entimau? In many parts of Sabah and other places, femur of this species is normally dark brown.

Camponotus gigas from Lanjak

Dear all,

Camponotus gigas (the gigantic ants common in pristine forest) are different in Lanjak Entimau. They have bright yellow femur compared to the ones in Sabah.

New Specimens

Dear friends,
Petherine has just received 13 soecimens of wildlife (various species) from Wong Siew Te of Danum - who left for the us recently. they are either from roadkills of given to them in danum. The specimens are kept in a frezer in borneensis. We have a problem to identify which freezer to store them - most of them are full of dead animals.

If some of you would need to anything to them, please do and it is good if we will some space in the freezer for future specimens.

Specimens are legal and we have notified SWD for their arrival here.

Hamid.