There were a lot of monkeys in Sukau, and here are two pics of the pig tailed macaques.
Most of the rain we had, and we had some big rain, was dumped by wandering storm cells. However, most was either late at night or while I was in the cave, so on the last night in Sukau I finally got a chance to take a photo of a storm cell that missed us to the east.
I am now at the airport in Los Angeles and just one more flight to get home. I have been going for 52 hours at this point without a bed to sleep in. A little sleep on the planes and a little on the floor in the airports. With no delays I will be home in just over 12 hours from now. And since I have no pics from LA to post, I will cover a short topic that some don't much like when working in Borneo. Terrestrial leeches. These things live on the leaves in the brush along the trails and attach to you as you pass by. They are very fast and active, and move like an inchworm. They are also very pretty. Long layover here in Seoul so Warren and I went into town for lunch. It was busy, busy, busy. And everyone was crowding in to get some chicken. Somewhat less of a rush for the dried fish. And finally, I don't know what a Pocari is, but I was drinking a bottle of its sweat all day. Honestly wasn't very good.
As I am heading home, my internet is getting much faster but time is getting shorter for posting. Once home I will put up a bunch of stuff that was too much to deal with in Sukau. Back in Kota Kinabalu I walked around the Saturday evening seafood outdoor grill. A huge area with all kinds of seafood ready to eat and at prices way less than the restaurants. I am currently in Seoul, South Korea, and only have a minute for one more pic. I don't think I ever posted this Brahminy Kite that I saw above the Kinabatangen River in Sukau.
Having slightly faster internet today I have made a few posts and of note, I updated the coffin cave posting with more photos so check it out.
And can't have a post without a photo, so how about some baby birds... I have had a lot less time at night in the forest on this trip than my usual. However, yesterday I had 20 minutes for a walk along the Gomantong road and saw three animals. This is our last day here in Sukau and working at the Gomantong caves. I have wrapped up my work and am taking time today around town to catch up on things and organize for the trek home. Tonight will be my last night in a hotel for a couple of days, so it will be a slog. Interestingly, due to a mis-communication, we got booted from the Greenview and will be spending tonight at the Barefoot Lodge. Nice place, but no air conditioning, so I am hoping it is a cool nights as my last night in a bed for a long time. First up, Guy and his quad copter. He is using it to take aerial videos and it gets some great footage. It's also just fun to watch him zoom the thing around. And I should put up another bat. This is Hipposideros diadema, an insectivorous bat that has some very cool white spots down its sides. And yesterday, the nest guards were on high alert as some nest harvesting has started and they have to stay sharp as there is a lot of activity. And up at the top of the pit?
I spent most of the day by myself in the upper cave photographing colonies of bats and birds on the ceilings. I will eventually put up a couple of those shots, but for tonight it is late some random shots. |
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Keith Christenson Wildlife Biologist Archives
September 2021
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