tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31939170062853543732024-03-14T10:38:48.212+08:00Twoton's Pitcher PostTwotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.comBlogger92125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-81879073995763834202011-08-01T19:35:00.040+08:002016-12-05T18:53:35.228+08:00FHF Borneo Posts<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffff66;">
<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7450" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches - The Inaugural Issue</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7533" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches 002 - Kopstein's Bronzeback Eating Lizard</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7596" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #3: A Day at Bako National Park</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7631" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #4: The Unknown Critters Of Gunung Gading</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7837" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #5: First Night Walk</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7972" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #6: Night of the Tarsier</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8115" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #7: Li'l Temple Viper</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8266" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #8: Snake Night At Kubah</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8315" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #9: Jungle Medley 1 (Bonus Flying Lemur!)</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8390" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #10: Jungle Medley 2 (Bonus Takydromus!)</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8663" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #11: Sixteen-Foot Reticulated Python</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8761" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #12: Monster Phasmids, Flying Lizards</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8823" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #13: Signs of the Island</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9098" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #14: Dumeril's Monitor</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9141" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #15: Bornean Miscellany, Part 1 - Snakes</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9180" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #16: Python's Last Meal (GRAPHIC CONTENT!)</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9192" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #17: Oriental Whipsnake</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9281" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #18: The Snakes of Beach Seafood Cafe</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9552" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #19: Bornean Miscellany, Part 2 - Plungi</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9599" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #20: Huge Mangrove Snake on New Year's Eve</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9696" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #21: Wallace's Flying Frog</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9892" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #22: Bornean Miscellany, Part 3 - Scapes</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9922" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #23: Bornean Miscellany, Part 4 - Frizards</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10038" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #24: The Coral Snake Mistake</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10108" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #25: Bornean Miscellany, Part 5 - Primates</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10168" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #26: Smaug The Dragon</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10455" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #27: Big Borneo Photo Dump</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10593" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #28: Krait Road</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10654" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #29: New HerpMobile</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10906" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #30: Two Horned, One Flying</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10917" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #31: Ragin' Retic</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10996" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #32: Less Talk. More Kraits.</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11010" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #33: Cultural Stuff</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.herpnation.com/hn-blog/herping-in-the-tropics-%E2%80%93-ecstasy-or-nightmare/" style="text-decoration: underline;">Herp Nation Blog: Herping in the Tropics: Ecstasy or Nightmare?</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11258" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #34: Bungarus flaviceps (Red-headed Krait)</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11343" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #35: Two Malayan Racers - A Three-Act Play</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11550" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #36: The Hologram Snakes of MJC Forest</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11704" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #37: Bornean Short-tailed Python + Sundews</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11787" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #38: Bornean Leaf-nosed Pitviper</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11980" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #39: Invertebralooza!</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12027" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #40: Another Bornean Short Python...</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12247" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #41: Dulce et decorum est...</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12268" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #42: The Reluctant Naja Nemesis</a><br />
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<a href="http://fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12365" style="text-decoration: underline;"> Borneo Dispatches #43: Too Bloody Many Short Pythons</a><br />
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<a href="http://fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12450" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #44: The Coolest Eyes in LizardDom</a> <br />
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<a href="http://fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12479" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #45: The Saga of Snake And Pangolin</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=12694" style="text-decoration: underline;"> A Face Only a Mother Could Love</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12776" style="text-decoration: underline;"> Borneo Dispatches #46: Red-sided Keelback (X. trianguligera)</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12899" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #47: Family Night in the Jungle</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13051" style="text-decoration: underline;"> Borneo Dispatches #48: Flying Boigas, Spotted Loris</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13362" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #49: Wolfsnakes & The Trans Borneo Highway</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13564" style="text-decoration: underline;"> Borneo Dispatches #50: Boiga-Bitten</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13601" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #51: Red Trimeresurus borneensis</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13630" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #52: The Python and the Pussycat</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13650" style="text-decoration: underline;"> Borneo Dispatches #53: "Kiwi Nebula" Malayan Racer</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=13725" style="text-decoration: underline;">NOW IN STORES: My book "A Cobra Hijacked My Camera Bag!"</a> <br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13865" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #54: Sunda Slow Loris</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13893" style="text-decoration: underline;"> Borneo Dispatches #55: Peter's Bent-Toed Gecko</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13896" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #56: Eight Snakes, Plus Bonus Borneo Bits!</a><br />
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<a href="http://fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13942" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13959" style="text-decoration: underline;"> Borneo Dispatches #58: The things you roadcruise in Borneo</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13995" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #59: 2 Mean-Fanged Snakes + Tarantula</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=14204" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #60: Seven Snake Adventures</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=14325" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #61: Boiga jaspidea "Black Velvet"</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=14350" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #62: Three Pretty Little Snakes</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=14721" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #63: Scraping the Barrel</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=14814" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #64: Roadcruising Study (HELP REQUEST!)</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15286" style="text-decoration: underline;"> Borneo Dispatches #65: IMS (Insane Mimicry Spider) ID PLEASE</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=15338" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #66: Monster Bug! (Dragon-headed Katydid)</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15768" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #67: Shuriken Turtle</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=15785" style="text-decoration: underline;"> Borneo Dispatches #68: Phantasmagasmical Photo Phalanx!</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=15940" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #69: Sibynophis! Hymenopus! Chalcosoma!</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15964" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #70: Boiga drapezii, green morph</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17019" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #71: Sumatran Pitviper (Parias sumatranus)</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17077" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #72: Rare Snake (?), Common Snake (?)</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17079" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #73: The Frogs and Freaks of Summer</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17561" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #74: Stray Cats vs. Spitting Cobra</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=18039" style="text-decoration: underline;"> Borneo Dispatches #75: Tarsiers, Wallacians & Token Kraits</a> <br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=19210" style="text-decoration: underline;"> Borneo Dispatches #76: Mean Green Ratsnake Machine</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=19257" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #77: A Spring Collection</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=19295" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #78: Cobra Rasslin', Ozzie Style</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=20163" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #79: Eleven Reed Snakes In Five Minutes</a> <br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=20693" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #80: The King and Us</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=20707" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #81: Spitter Baby</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=21773" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #82: Exploring Planet Kinabalu</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=22077" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #83: Peter's Forest Gecko</a> <br />
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<a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=23965" style="text-decoration: underline;">Borneo Dispatches #84: What happened to Borneo Dispatches?</a> <br />
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<br />Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-34234789675524228962011-02-08T17:53:00.002+08:002011-02-08T17:58:03.077+08:00Another Year, Another Cherry SeasonAnd I live right inside Cherry Central (Sanchih/三芝) - these photos were taken just across the road from my house....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TVETDrfOZiI/AAAAAAAAA98/gq8A1uqaISY/s1600/Cherry_Datunshan110208%2B%25282%2529.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TVETDrfOZiI/AAAAAAAAA98/gq8A1uqaISY/s400/Cherry_Datunshan110208%2B%25282%2529.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571255167968241186" border="0" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TVETDtxqScI/AAAAAAAAA-E/OV_B0mMuDvY/s1600/Cherry_Datunshan110208.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 283px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TVETDtxqScI/AAAAAAAAA-E/OV_B0mMuDvY/s400/Cherry_Datunshan110208.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571255168582437314" border="0" /></a>Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-22132711798733256242010-11-15T17:26:00.006+08:002010-11-19T10:30:12.460+08:00Pangolin - The Armor That Burrows Through The Mountain<div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">I think I'm not too far off the truth when I say that few of us have ever seen a pangolin, and until last Saturday night around 2030 hours, that included me.<br /><br />I was lying in bed, reading Thomas E. Ricks' "Fiasco - The American Military Adventure in Iraq", when the phone rang downstairs in the living room. I heard one of the kids pick up, and half a minute later both boys erupted into joyous ululations, yelling up the stairs "DAAAAD! GET DRESSED AND COME DOWN, QUICK! THE NEIGHBORS CAUGHT A PANGOLIN AND WANT TO GIVE IT TO US!!"<br /><br />It took me a while to extricate my brain from the sticky cobwebs in which all those complex politics and military operations in the Middle East had thoroughly shrouded it, and tried to recalibrate it for use on the matter at hand. A <em>pangolin</em>? Shyeeeaahh. Right. Spitting cobras fly out of my butt, and Martian storm troopers are bivouacking in my ghetto blaster. I was convinced I had misheard, and reckoned the neighbors were actually bringing over pomelos or home-made dumplings, as they often do, or maybe a present for Hans' twelfth birthday today. But the inquiry I yelled back down the stairs while trying to pull on my britches without tripping over them still brought back the same message: the neighbors had found a pangolin, and did we want it, us being known snake catchers and all?<br /><br />Wow. TRIPLE wow! You see, as crazy as I am about snakes, I'll gladly trade three of my cobras for one of your pangolins any day of the week. I have night-herped Taiwan's mountains extensively for two years and never ever seen a pangolin, not even a single scale. I managed to put on my shoes without strangling myself with the laces, and then my entire family accompanied me across the street to the neighbor's yard. There on the ground stood a blue wire cage for dogs, containing not a poodle, but one of the oddest creatures I have ever had the pleasure to lay eyes on.<br /><br />As a long-time resident of Taiwan, I actually knew quite a bit about Chinese pangolins and had seen countless pictures, but never the animal itself. Until 1990, when <em>Manis p. pentadactyla</em> was put under strict protection, the natives used to catch these animals to use their scales in Chinese medicine and their meat in Chinese cuisine. All pangolin species are reportedly very tasty; and the African pangolins are very popular bushmeat. The "Armor that Burrows Through The Mountain" (穿山甲), as the Chinese call the animal, still falls prey to poachers here in Taiwan, but nowadays Taiwanese pangolins don't end up in local woks anymore, but are instead smuggled to Mainland China where they command top dollar.<br /><br />Chinese pangolins spend their nights prowling lowland forests for ants and termites, and their days sleeping in self-dug underground burrows. Legend has it that they roll around in ant nests, trapping the insects under their movable armor scales. They then find a creek or pond, submerge and relax their scales. This forces the ants to the surface where the pangolin's tongue laps them up. Wikipedia has more:<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 255, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 255);"><em>Pangolins have large keratin scales covering their skin and are the only mammals with this adaptation. They are found in tropical regions of Africa and Asia. The name "pangolin" derives from the Malay word </em>pengguling</span><em><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 255);"> ("something that rolls up"). Pangolins lack teeth and the ability to chew. Instead, they tear open anthills or termite mounds with their powerful front claws and probe deep into them with their very long tongues. Pangolins have glands in their chests to lubricate the tongue with sticky, ant-catching saliva</span>.</em></span></div><br /><div align="justify">In case you're wondering where they put all that tongue - it retracts right down into the abdominal cavity, at or near the pelvis (no uncouth jokes, please.) Thanks to an anal gland similar to the model found in skunks, pangolins can give off a monstrously hideous stink, but this little guy, a rather young individual, just smelled of earth and dirt. Picking him up did not always cause him to roll up into a ball, whereas touching his surprisingly soft and hairy belly and palms did so without fail.<br /><br />The main reason for my intense excitement at finally coming face to face with one of these "Old World Armadillos" (to which they're actually not at all related) is not so much their rarity or their weirdly cute appearance, but their ancientness. This is a living fossil, an animal that has not changed one iota for at least 56 million years. Compounding the awesome sensation of observing a genetic witness to prehistory is the fact that all these deliciously freaky features - the scales, the tongue, the toothless mouth, the über-specialized lifestyle - have actually <em>survived </em>those endless eons without a single major mutation, while the rest of the planet's fauna evolved into the furry hunters and grazers we commonly associate with the term "mammal".<br /><br />Apart from all that, pangolins are also bona fide archetypes of antediluvian adorability, i. e. terribly cute. The next morning we took the ant fiend out of the dog cage and brought it to a spacious private garden featuring a lawn and large decorative rocks which I planned to use for backgrounds. The pangolin is such a docile creature that we didn't even bother with caging or bagging it for the short ride - the boys just held it on their laps, where it snored contentedly, snot dripping out of its little pink nose. At the garden I discovered that this docility does not readily translate into willingness to be photographed. As soon as we had placed the still bunched-up critter on the ground, it tentatively started to sniff and look around, and once we had stepped back about five feet, it unwrapped itself and took off across the lawn at quite an impressive clip. Photographing the creature in its rolled-out state seemed impossible, and the strategy of placing it on top of a large rock in the hope that it would not dare to jump off failed miserably: trusting his scales to dampen the impact, it ran straight for the edge, hurled itself off the precipice and hit the (fortunately muddy) ground tumbling, stumbling, and finally running. In the end, we discovered a large, artsy birdbath into which we lowered the animal. In the tub it immediately started to look for an exit, which afforded me a few shots of its active state, if only from above.<br /><br />In the afternoon, we showed the primordial beast to Hans' birthday guests. Ten awe-hushed sixth-graders standing in a circle around the animal created second thoughts about escape. However, the pangolin didn't seem to want to curl up and sulk either; it only seems to do that if someone approaches within touching distance. So it just swung its neckless head here and there, walked around at a slow gait (on his knuckles - how freaky is that?), and I finally got a few proper shots of it in motion.<br /><br />That night, we released the little pineapple pinscher at a remote place in the mountains. He wasn't well: dripping profusely from the nose, watery eyes, and since I can't imagine any vet here knowing anything about these walking pine cones, we released him in the hope that he'll dig himself a nice burrow and sleep through his cold before it gets worse. </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><strong>CLICK ON PHOTOS FOR LARGER VERSION</strong></div><div align="justify"><br /><em>Footnote: Further and very detailed reading on the status and natural history of </em>Manis pentadactyla<em> can be <a href="http://www.blogger.com/url=http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/12764/0">found here</a>... </em><br /></div><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEGbIlcTAI/AAAAAAAAA9s/ZEGZtlIYk5w/s1600/Pangolin101114_053.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 259px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539716079873182722" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEGbIlcTAI/AAAAAAAAA9s/ZEGZtlIYk5w/s400/Pangolin101114_053.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEGa0IqPOI/AAAAAAAAA9k/6-sm_9fRzrE/s1600/Pangolin101114_030.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 267px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539716074383752418" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEGa0IqPOI/AAAAAAAAA9k/6-sm_9fRzrE/s400/Pangolin101114_030.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEGavBX1TI/AAAAAAAAA9c/iTDtGpVw6b0/s1600/Pangolin101114_035.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 268px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539716073011008818" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEGavBX1TI/AAAAAAAAA9c/iTDtGpVw6b0/s400/Pangolin101114_035.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEGab2U9NI/AAAAAAAAA9U/1NwCZRE_oMU/s1600/Pangolin101114_046.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 279px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539716067864409298" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEGab2U9NI/AAAAAAAAA9U/1NwCZRE_oMU/s400/Pangolin101114_046.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEFOr9jolI/AAAAAAAAA9M/xm80WJV4dg4/s1600/Pangolin101114_158.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 268px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539714766519640658" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEFOr9jolI/AAAAAAAAA9M/xm80WJV4dg4/s400/Pangolin101114_158.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEFOSmNZdI/AAAAAAAAA9E/VWWInFXDhhM/s1600/Pangolin101114_007.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 296px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539714759710827986" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEFOSmNZdI/AAAAAAAAA9E/VWWInFXDhhM/s400/Pangolin101114_007.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEFOCoGdtI/AAAAAAAAA88/whBzE6Vi5PU/s1600/Pangolin101114_035.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 268px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539714755423794898" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEFOCoGdtI/AAAAAAAAA88/whBzE6Vi5PU/s400/Pangolin101114_035.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEFN4wei-I/AAAAAAAAA80/9yJtv_2EKI4/s1600/Pangolin101114_B__10.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 268px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539714752774573026" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEFN4wei-I/AAAAAAAAA80/9yJtv_2EKI4/s400/Pangolin101114_B__10.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEFNQHhwYI/AAAAAAAAA8s/l1ARTZTG4fg/s1600/Pangolin101114_B__13_1.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 268px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539714741865398658" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEFNQHhwYI/AAAAAAAAA8s/l1ARTZTG4fg/s400/Pangolin101114_B__13_1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEEXpOWAaI/AAAAAAAAA8k/ywitPwrb4Ss/s1600/Pangolin101114_B__22.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 268px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539713820891939234" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEEXpOWAaI/AAAAAAAAA8k/ywitPwrb4Ss/s400/Pangolin101114_B__22.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEEXOliD6I/AAAAAAAAA8c/VbJ_BOqPHLQ/s1600/Pangolin101114_B__01.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 268px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539713813741440930" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEEXOliD6I/AAAAAAAAA8c/VbJ_BOqPHLQ/s400/Pangolin101114_B__01.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEEW5PlMNI/AAAAAAAAA8U/gxJsHYW4-rY/s1600/Pangolin101114_B__52.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 245px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539713808012226770" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEEW5PlMNI/AAAAAAAAA8U/gxJsHYW4-rY/s400/Pangolin101114_B__52.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEEWsd0F4I/AAAAAAAAA8M/XTKqqanl7RI/s1600/Pangolin101114_178.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 268px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539713804582262658" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEEWsd0F4I/AAAAAAAAA8M/XTKqqanl7RI/s400/Pangolin101114_178.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEEWZqosAI/AAAAAAAAA8E/-avczbERlrY/s1600/Pangolin101114_170_1.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 268px; display: block; height: 400px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539713799535767554" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEEWZqosAI/AAAAAAAAA8E/-avczbERlrY/s400/Pangolin101114_170_1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOECiYkc8eI/AAAAAAAAA78/Rj7p9D3hph0/s1600/Pangolin101114_138.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 268px; display: block; height: 400px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539711806376571362" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOECiYkc8eI/AAAAAAAAA78/Rj7p9D3hph0/s400/Pangolin101114_138.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEChqieVZI/AAAAAAAAA70/dPDipX9RzsY/s1600/Pangolin101114_202.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 267px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539711794020242834" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEChqieVZI/AAAAAAAAA70/dPDipX9RzsY/s400/Pangolin101114_202.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEChbG3WXI/AAAAAAAAA7s/1LQBfKlFVpo/s1600/Pangolin101114_B__62.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 268px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539711789877909874" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEChbG3WXI/AAAAAAAAA7s/1LQBfKlFVpo/s400/Pangolin101114_B__62.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEChO8HP_I/AAAAAAAAA7k/urpSk3ovGNA/s1600/Pangolin101114_B__28.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 268px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539711786611589106" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOEChO8HP_I/AAAAAAAAA7k/urpSk3ovGNA/s400/Pangolin101114_B__28.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOECg7w405I/AAAAAAAAA7c/Io52oSenRdM/s1600/Pangolin101114_B__57.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 267px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539711781464232850" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/TOECg7w405I/AAAAAAAAA7c/Io52oSenRdM/s400/Pangolin101114_B__57.jpg" border="0" /></a>Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-59985365412614720852010-06-12T12:42:00.050+08:002011-07-01T20:59:33.251+08:00New FHF Posts So FarHere are the links to all the photo threads I've started so far on the NEW fieldherpforum.com<br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=325">Sparkling Habu</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=372">Red Bamboo Ratsnake (O. p. kawakamii)</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=521">Enhydris chinensis - Chinese Water Snake</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=619">KraitZilla, Part One</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=666">Taiwan Trash Snakes, Part 1: Dinodon rufozonatum</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=891">Habu & Owl - A Taiwan Adventure</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=936">The Curious False Viper</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=954">Minimalist Krait</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=957">Green Day Vipers</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=990">Sleeping Greater Green</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1010">Dinodon eating Bufo</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1082">Big Fat Chinese Cobra - AT LAST!!!</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1137">Stinky Kings and Herping Clowns</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1167">Snakes On A Plate, Part II: Ptyas dhumnades</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1236">Russell's Viper (warning, crappy pix!)</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1237">Chinese Cobra & Little Twotons</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1258">Endemic Taiwan Elapid - Sinomicrurus hatori</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1323">An Indian Cobra in the Taiwanese Woods</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1353">Snakes On A Plate III: World's Most Beautiful Snake Belly?</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1376">Large Ptyas dhumnades</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1423">Two Greater Green Snakes (Cyclophiops major)</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1479">Rain Krait</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1660">One Man's Trash (Boiga kraepelini)</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1722">MacClelland's Coral Snake - Ecstasy & Tragedy</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1769">The Cobra That Hijacked The Camera Bag</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1835">Itsy Bitsy Baby Cobra</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1876">Ptyas dhumnades - Educating The Masses</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1901">Two Blackheads, One Orange</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1903">Mad Cobra At Night, Herper's Delight</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1934">Unruly Many-Banded Baby Krait</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1976">Psammodynastes pulverulentus - (Wannabe) Badass Ruler of the Sands</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2025">Green is Good; Greater Green is Better</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2046">FBK (Frickin' Big Krait)</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2078">Hello Kitty Cobra</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2122">Donald,the Chinese Pearl Snake </a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2187">Orange-Red Bamboo Ratsnake</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2460">Scavenging Bamboo Viper</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2511">Horrible Habu, Heroically Hooked!</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2984">Pangolin - "The Armor That Burrows Through The Mountain"</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4827&p=58400">Dark Mock Viper</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5861">Seriously Overfed Taiwan Pitviper Baby</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5917">Taiwan Gringo Herping, Part 1: Taiwan Beauty Snake</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5964">Taiwan Gringo Herping, Part 2: The Other Snakes</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6688">Big Fat Taiwan Herping Vacation!</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6703">Habu Baby - Baby Habu</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6764">Bitten By A Dinosaur</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6765">Greening The Planet, One Snake at A Time</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6791">Diurnal Pitviper Surprise</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6896">Extra-Cool Bamboo Viper Mimic!</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6988">Super Mom Pit Viper (Protobothrops)</a>Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-68984947659883080302010-03-12T10:43:00.001+08:002010-03-12T10:45:24.287+08:00Herper's Ball, Taiwan StyleMr. Onionsack, the man in these images, was so nice as to put this together....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/S5mqmoudyXI/AAAAAAAAA6Y/YFJk9gmEAMs/s1600-h/Herp_ball_650.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 337px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/S5mqmoudyXI/AAAAAAAAA6Y/YFJk9gmEAMs/s400/Herp_ball_650.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447572805025384818" border="0" /></a>Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-37584857821778244652010-02-28T22:58:00.003+08:002010-02-28T23:16:07.230+08:00SNAKESOFTAIWAN.COM finally ONLINE!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.snakesoftaiwan.com"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 50px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/S4qH1l5Ls7I/AAAAAAAAA6Q/RpMgL_kPyDQ/s400/SOT_banner_728_PIXELS.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443312454405436338" border="0" /></a>Ladies and gentlefolk,<br /><br />I'm proud to announce that after six months of gruesome toil, our long-awaited website <a href="http://www.snakesoftaiwan.com">SNAKES OF TAIWAN</a> has finally gone online.<br /><br />This website was conceived out of a need for complete, one-stop information on the snakes of Taiwan. Before we created this site, the only comparable resources were a number of field guides in Chinese, most of them outdated. Similar material in English did not exist at all.<br /><br />With this site we hope to provide exhaustive and current knowledge in both languages: tons of photos and videos from the field, taxonomic descriptions, info on biology, ecology, distribution, etymology, toxicology and more - and if that's not enough, there are copious links to even more information on the Web.<br /><br />The site is organized like a field guide, i.e., all species on the main menu are arranged by colors and patterns rather than in alphabetical order. This facilitates quick identification of any snakes you might encounter in the wilds of Taiwan.<br /><br />Mr. Onionsack and I, the authors of this site, are not professional herpetologists, just two average guys with a strong infatuation for Taiwan's serpentofauna. We have researched and now present the information on this site to the best of our knowledge and abilities. If you spot any mistakes, errors, blunders, bloopers, typos, or maybe just have a comment or two, or want to link to your site with our banner, we would love to hear from you - please drop me a note!<br /><br />Thank you very much in advance for your help and your patronage!<br /><br />Cheers<br /><br />Hans<br />PS: The Chinese part is still being translated and will go online in March - we'll let you know when it's done :-)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.snakesoftaiwan.com"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 50px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/S4qH1l5Ls7I/AAAAAAAAA6Q/RpMgL_kPyDQ/s400/SOT_banner_728_PIXELS.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443312454405436338" border="0" /></a>Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-66143769044330120922010-02-13T10:46:00.004+08:002010-02-13T10:52:39.892+08:00Mammals Suck At Ambush Hunting?Guess the sit-and-wait approach just doesn't work for endotherms, as these two images prove.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/S3YTNAypyXI/AAAAAAAAA6I/moJe68htMt8/s1600-h/PBS+-+Hunting+Lion.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 127px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/S3YTNAypyXI/AAAAAAAAA6I/moJe68htMt8/s400/PBS+-+Hunting+Lion.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437554714368133490" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:78%;" >(Pearls Before Swine, 2/9/10; copyright Stephen Pastis)</span><br /><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/S3YTAmuOKDI/AAAAAAAAA6A/LorfH-8cVNw/s1600-h/Reach+for+it.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/S3YTAmuOKDI/AAAAAAAAA6A/LorfH-8cVNw/s400/Reach+for+it.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437554501211793458" border="0" /></a>Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-58452194509351181002010-01-01T11:20:00.000+08:002010-01-01T11:21:20.694+08:00Flickr: Snakes Eating in the Wild<a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/snakes_eating/pool/">Twelve pages of images</a> of one of the Holy Grails of field herping.....there's videos, too.Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-32259408112434981132009-12-24T21:29:00.004+08:002009-12-26T10:56:36.913+08:00Snake Talks in Schools: Media UpdateThe media are taking note. Two cable news stations have reported so far, one more to come tomorrow, and the second-largest newspaper ran a <a href="http://libertytimes.com.tw/2009/new/dec/24/today-taipei8.htm">piece on my snake classes today</a>.<br /><br />Here's one of the TV news reports online:<br /><br /><a href="mms://wms.media.hinet.net/elta/yesgogogo/n047.wmv">Part One</a> <br /><br /><a href="mms://wms.media.hinet.net/elta/yesgogogo/n048.wmv">Part Two</a> <br /><br />Happy Christmas from (relatively) Christmas-free Taiwan!Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-78269467313031697172009-12-20T11:23:00.002+08:002009-12-20T11:56:04.155+08:00An Approach to Fear of SnakesI talk about ophidiophobia during my snake lectures in elementary schools (there are always some kids who display it). I tell them I know some of them fear snakes, and that it's OK, because phobias are normal. I tell them I'm not afraid of having any "disgusting" animal walk all over my body, including tarantulas, cockroaches and millipedes. I ramp up the excitement listing these eeew-y animals that I don't fear at all, eeeew-ing the students out to the max....and then I put the needle to the balloon: "But you know what I really AM afraid of? Flying. I become a pant-wetting wreck as soon as the plane takes off." (Well, it's not THAT bad, but "Chief Whiteknuckle" is one of my nicknames). That results in much head-shaking and giggling, because for most kids, sitting in an airplane is boring at best, not a cause for utter terror. Then I continue "And you know why? No? Me neither. It's all in the head, and it's something you need to identify as irrational and then fight it, because phobias mess up your lives"<br /><br />That usually makes them think . "Wow, that big man with the six-foot snake around his neck, the guy who seeks out kraits and pitvipers in the dark of night, and takes close-up photos of them.....he actually FEARS something, and something that silly at that?"<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/Sy2gRGa4gZI/AAAAAAAAA5I/0jJLKijJjWc/s1600-h/Bali+Guoxiao091214-Class1B_1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/Sy2gRGa4gZI/AAAAAAAAA5I/0jJLKijJjWc/s400/Bali+Guoxiao091214-Class1B_1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417162142438162834" /></a>Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-51907554853927804802009-08-16T12:10:00.047+08:002011-08-01T18:38:39.586+08:00FHF Posts so FarHere are the links to all the photo threads I've started so far on fieldherpforum.com<br /><p></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22231"><br /></a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22231">Howdy from Taiwan</a><br /></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22368&hilit=taiwan">First Photo Encounter with a Bamboo Viper</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22847">Herping Taiwan on Jason Voorhees Night (DUW)</a></p><p></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22736">Daytime Chinese Soft-shell Turtle</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22949">Taiwan Slug Snake (Pareas formosensis)</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=23002">Taiwan Habu, Chinese Tree Toad, and other ugly pix</a><br /></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=23028">Thar's Snakes In Them Thar Sakuras! (Pareas formosensis)</a><br /></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=23786">Bankoro Toad and Swinhoe's Frog</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=23713">Bugs & Flowers </a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=23959">More crawlies from the Taiwanese woods</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=24069">Tree Snake Babies, Walking Sticks and Fishing Spiders</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=24228">TwoTon's Terror Tooth, Tree Toad & Takydromus Trifecta</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=24279">JACKPOT - Taiwan's prettiest and rarest pitviper!</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=24463">Snakes on a Scooter, or Boigas on a Bike</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=24466">My First Live Krait!</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=24530">CruisinArt....or is it?</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=24725">The Hundred-Pacer That Wasn't - A Tale from Taiwan</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=24921">Formosan Dino Sex Show</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25094">Beautiful Taiwan Kukri Snake</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25098">MacClelland’s (Asian) Coral Snake</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25161">Two Taiwan Habus</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25162">Bamboo Viper vs. Tree Frog</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><span class="postdetails"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25214">Finally, an adult Habu in the open</a></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><span class="postdetails"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><span class="postdetails"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25242">Dinodon eating Toad</a></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><span class="postdetails"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><span class="postdetails"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25241&p=253585">Water Wall Krait</a></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><span class="postdetails"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><span class="postdetails"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25465">DOR Chinese Cobra</a></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><span class="postdetails"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><span class="postdetails"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25527">Another Day, Another Green Tree Viper</a></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><span class="postdetails"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><span class="postdetails"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25560">Lots of Sundry Taiwan Snakes & Frogs & Stuff & Such</a></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25717">High Noon at the (Asian) Rat Snake Corral</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25191">Red Bamboo Rat Snakes</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25806">Big Habu</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25845">Nother Krait and a few photo tech questions</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25925">Whole Bunch of Taiwan Herps & Inverts</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25956">Big Fat Stinking Goddess (Elaphe carinata)</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=26048">Another Stinking Goddess…in my backpack!</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=26563">Green Tree Viper Potpourri</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=26813">THE PEASANTS ARE REVOLTING! and other Taiwan Snake Sightings</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=26816&p=273186">Snake & Turtle Temple</a></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27015">Tree viper – actually IN A TREE this time!</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27140">Bunker-Guarding Pitviper</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27156">Close Encounter of the Third Krait</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27214">White Plum Blossom Snake</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25499">False Taiwan Habu<br /></a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27263">Two more False Taiwan Habus</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27264">Mock Viper (Psammodynastes pulverulentus)</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27265">King of the Ditch - Sauter's Water/Grass Snake</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27285">Asiatic Many-toothed Snake (Sybinophis chinensis chinensis)</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27310">Northern Taiwan - Huge Habitat Post</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27344">Where's Waldo (the Pitviper)?</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27368">The Fastest Snake in the East (Zaocys dhumnades)</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27413">Green Tree Viper Potpourri, Part Deux</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27414">Wild Taiwan - Herps, Inverts and Monkeys, oh my!</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27488">Taiwan's Prettiest Pitviper - The Second Coming!</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27502">Monster Taiwan Beauty Snake</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27622">Saturday Night Kraitapalooza</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27659">Taiwan Habitat, Part Two</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27684">Boiga kraepelini - Rare Coloration Pattern</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27704">Taiwan Herpers Association - 2009 Meeting & Show</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27735">FULL REPORT: Taiwan Herpers Association - 2009 Meeting & Show</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27919">Snakes of Borneo - need material for new website!</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=28117">Record Hundred Pacer (graphic images!)</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=28156">King of Taiwan's Aboriginal Culture - The Hundred-Pace Viper</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=28174">Winter's here! All snakes are gone! (just kidding, see post)</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=28285">Fighting Kraits</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=28471">Fastest Snake in Asia - FINALLY BAGGED!</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=28580">Snake Shows in Taiwan Grade Schools - a few photos</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29112">Taiwan Turtles</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29367">Taiwan Red Bamboo Ratsnake (O. p. kawakamii)</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=30104">Juvenile Sinonatrix percarinata suriki</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=30356">The Viper and the Walrus</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=30893">Large Taiwan Beauty Snakes doing the Nasty</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=30972">Sunday Night in the Taiwan Mountains - more pix</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=31590">Taiwan (Herpeto)Fauna Potpourri</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=31624">Huge Knife Crossing The Mountain</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=31653">Three-Ring King Rat Circus</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=31711">Viridovipera stejnegeri - a selection</a></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7450">Borneo Dispatches - The Inaugural Issue</a></p>Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-83313609635189755782009-08-06T19:32:00.007+08:002009-08-06T20:13:35.711+08:00Family OutingFor the first time I've been able to see and observe wild monkeys in Yangmingshan National Park behind our house: Formosa macaques (<em>Macaca</em> <span style="font-style: italic;">cyclopis</span>), the only monkey species on the island. The group consisted of one boss male, an adult female, a younger male and two kids. All of them were just as curious about me as I was about them, in particular the juvies, who kept trying to intimidate me with furious branch-shaking. They often came closer to get a better look at me, but never closer than six, seven meters. Of course, the light was completely useless - I was standing on the road in the blazing midday sun, and the monkeys were sitting under the murky light of the roadside canopy. Still, a very impressive encounter - at least half an hour went by before they took their show back on the road....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SnrADBNieBI/AAAAAAAAA3E/AydjzU_O7TY/s1600-h/Taiwan+Macaque+Macaca+cyclopis+Macao090730_18B_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SnrADBNieBI/AAAAAAAAA3E/AydjzU_O7TY/s400/Taiwan+Macaque+Macaca+cyclopis+Macao090730_18B_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366813064062728210" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SnrAD55v5vI/AAAAAAAAA3U/0FQRBqgcEu0/s1600-h/Taiwan+Macaque+Macaca+cyclopis+Macao090730_29_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SnrAD55v5vI/AAAAAAAAA3U/0FQRBqgcEu0/s400/Taiwan+Macaque+Macaca+cyclopis+Macao090730_29_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366813079280543474" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SnrBV6sNZTI/AAAAAAAAA3s/rAbz_p1PZW4/s1600-h/Taiwan+Macaque+Macaca+cyclopis+Macao090730_43_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SnrBV6sNZTI/AAAAAAAAA3s/rAbz_p1PZW4/s400/Taiwan+Macaque+Macaca+cyclopis+Macao090730_43_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366814488241464626" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SnrADtPuWoI/AAAAAAAAA3M/9k6MBUK6SaI/s1600-h/Taiwan+Macaque+Macaca+cyclopis+Macao090730_25_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SnrADtPuWoI/AAAAAAAAA3M/9k6MBUK6SaI/s400/Taiwan+Macaque+Macaca+cyclopis+Macao090730_25_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366813075883055746" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SnrBVdggQFI/AAAAAAAAA3c/t4tFMUSn9FM/s1600-h/Taiwan+Macaque+Macaca+cyclopis+Macao090730_37_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SnrBVdggQFI/AAAAAAAAA3c/t4tFMUSn9FM/s400/Taiwan+Macaque+Macaca+cyclopis+Macao090730_37_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366814480407740498" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SnrACmGzpdI/AAAAAAAAA28/v9ayYzq02n0/s1600-h/Taiwan+Macaque+Macaca+cyclopis+Macao090730_08_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SnrACmGzpdI/AAAAAAAAA28/v9ayYzq02n0/s400/Taiwan+Macaque+Macaca+cyclopis+Macao090730_08_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366813056786736594" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SnrBVgzc8oI/AAAAAAAAA3k/QpBJYdzGV0Y/s1600-h/Taiwan+Macaque+Macaca+cyclopis+Macao090730_41_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SnrBVgzc8oI/AAAAAAAAA3k/QpBJYdzGV0Y/s400/Taiwan+Macaque+Macaca+cyclopis+Macao090730_41_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366814481292522114" border="0" /></a>Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-89916115587962746882009-03-19T19:13:00.005+08:002009-03-19T19:35:38.093+08:00Graveyard CobraThis morning I searched a dilapidated and heavily overgrown cemetery for basking reptiles. The individual plots in <a href="http://www.weltrekordreise.ch/bilder%20my/281-P1070536.jpg">Chinese graveyards</a> are often quite large, covered with bricks or concrete and surrounded by low walls. I was sitting on one of those low walls eating a rice dumpling when I noticed a faint rustling behind the tombstone three feet away, and got to witness an almost seven foot long Chinese cobra (<span style="font-style: italic;">Naja naja atra</span>) slinking off into the undergrowth without much apparent haste. I was too gobsmacked to take a picture (never saw his head anyway), and kept sitting there for at least another twenty minutes, savoring the privileged experience of having lunch at arm's length from one of the most awe-inspiring predators on this island.Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-20644614218419622312009-03-14T22:11:00.002+08:002009-03-14T22:16:05.785+08:00Wild taro seed pod(<span class="binomial"><i>Colocasia esculenta</i></span><span class="binomial"><i>)<br /><br /></i></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/Sbu8Aic0_6I/AAAAAAAAA2s/eRb_5H0R2mA/s1600-h/Taro+seeds_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 262px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/Sbu8Aic0_6I/AAAAAAAAA2s/eRb_5H0R2mA/s400/Taro+seeds_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313046902847373218" border="0" /></a><span class="binomial"><i></i></span>Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-37420078188684077452009-03-14T21:54:00.005+08:002009-03-16T09:58:15.893+08:00Fencin'I've been meaning to post this since I took it last July....<span style="font-style: italic;">Japalura polygonata xanthostoma</span> is one of the more common lizards in Taiwan. He didn't mind me getting as close as two feet, not even when I set up the tripod and took a huge series of shots from various positions (there was also a baby mantis next to him on the fence)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/Sbu51aVPR0I/AAAAAAAAA2k/2e6LiZbnk-I/s1600-h/Eidechse+%26+Mantis_2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 252px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/Sbu51aVPR0I/AAAAAAAAA2k/2e6LiZbnk-I/s400/Eidechse+%26+Mantis_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313044512666240834" border="0" /></a>Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-76101744983138233612009-03-14T21:40:00.004+08:002009-03-14T21:50:56.491+08:00Mossy DragonA stone dragon guarding a small pond that's part of a luxuriously designed, but now dilapidated private grave in the Sanchih hills.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/Sbu1m3Wg9zI/AAAAAAAAA2c/tK5tmhVigsk/s1600-h/Stone+Water+Dragon_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/Sbu1m3Wg9zI/AAAAAAAAA2c/tK5tmhVigsk/s400/Stone+Water+Dragon_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313039864711673650" border="0" /></a>Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-23775983552256307382009-03-14T21:29:00.003+08:002009-03-14T21:40:28.284+08:00Bamboo Viper, Update<div style="text-align: justify;">The night of Friday the 13th (always my lucky day!) of February I went herping with a few friends, and on the way home I decided to show them the spot where I had discovered the <a href="http://two-ton.blogspot.com/2009/01/bamboo-viper.html">wee tree viper</a> in January - and would you believe our luck!?! Not only did we find it again, but it was actually perching on the <span style="font-style: italic;">very same twig</span> as four weeks before!! Dig the infrared sensor pits between eyes and nostrils...<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SbuzbG_4TiI/AAAAAAAAA2U/MRwHlsuuNoA/s1600-h/BambooViper+Trimeresurus+stejnegeri090213-3_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 289px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SbuzbG_4TiI/AAAAAAAAA2U/MRwHlsuuNoA/s400/BambooViper+Trimeresurus+stejnegeri090213-3_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313037463730015778" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/Sbuza2-HtrI/AAAAAAAAA2M/EMJE6CQIAVY/s1600-h/BambooViper+Trimeresurus+stejnegeri090213-1_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/Sbuza2-HtrI/AAAAAAAAA2M/EMJE6CQIAVY/s400/BambooViper+Trimeresurus+stejnegeri090213-1_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313037459427669682" border="0" /></a>Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-13299478140609490432009-03-14T21:15:00.003+08:002009-03-14T21:24:17.795+08:00Buffalo at WorkThis is one of the last working water buffaloes in Taipei County (and Taipei City, I would presume). The gentleman behind the harrow (if that's what it is) was quite aware and proud of this fact, too: "Bet you haven't seen one of these in a long time, eh?" he beamed.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SbuvV0yxM9I/AAAAAAAAA2E/mGFcfPdF6Rw/s1600-h/Water+Buffalo+in+Field_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SbuvV0yxM9I/AAAAAAAAA2E/mGFcfPdF6Rw/s400/Water+Buffalo+in+Field_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313032974897329106" border="0" /></a>Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-34369088105573472232009-03-14T21:01:00.001+08:002009-03-14T21:15:06.441+08:00Fern FrondLate Thursday afternoon, in a neighboring forest.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SbutnJaM7bI/AAAAAAAAA18/mQQTgDdZaS0/s1600-h/FernFrond_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 261px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SbutnJaM7bI/AAAAAAAAA18/mQQTgDdZaS0/s400/FernFrond_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313031073465953714" border="0" /></a>Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-1889966687019337952009-03-14T20:51:00.003+08:002009-03-14T21:01:09.259+08:00Tree. Doves. Mountain.Not necessarily in that order. Red-collared Doves (<span style="font-style: italic;">Streptopelia tranquebarica </span>), Guandu Nature Park, early February.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SbuqGGtlE5I/AAAAAAAAA10/f9_trytFu3E/s1600-h/Doves+before+Datunshan_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 301px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SbuqGGtlE5I/AAAAAAAAA10/f9_trytFu3E/s400/Doves+before+Datunshan_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313027207271355282" border="0" /></a>Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-35641762065417541912009-03-14T20:42:00.004+08:002009-03-14T20:51:31.915+08:00Adieu, cherry seasonThe red cherry blossom season is drawing to an end here in North Taiwan, the blossoms are littering the ground, and the canopy's hot pink is slowly being replaced by the tender green of the new leaves. These trees nicely represent the time before and after the change.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/Sbun4JCKMRI/AAAAAAAAA1s/CkbO1OAetAA/s1600-h/Cherry+blossoms+RedGreen090210_1_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/Sbun4JCKMRI/AAAAAAAAA1s/CkbO1OAetAA/s400/Cherry+blossoms+RedGreen090210_1_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313024768353120530" border="0" /></a>Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-6781523748692709222009-03-02T15:11:00.005+08:002009-03-02T15:27:25.961+08:00(Biological) Treasure IslandI found these four signs at the Taipei Zoo's Taiwan Animal Area. They show in nice detail the wondrous biodiversity and immense endemism this little island has to offer.<br /><br />The foremost reason for such bounty is the Central Mountain Range which, topping out at almost 4000 meters (13000+ ft), provides La Ilha Formosa with a large variety of biotopes at various elevations, from tropical beaches to alpine meadows. Being an island, endemism just thrives in such surroundings.<br /><br />Out of every 120 known animal, plant, fungus etc. species in Taiwan, one is endemic: 12333 out of 1450832.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SauH3l6VKOI/AAAAAAAAA1M/M73JqFVEaQ4/s1600-h/Taiwan+World+Endemic+Species+List_1_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 298px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SauH3l6VKOI/AAAAAAAAA1M/M73JqFVEaQ4/s400/Taiwan+World+Endemic+Species+List_1_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308485974925584610" border="0" /></a><br />One in forty known animal, plant etc. etc. species on the planet lives in Taiwan - 36880 out of 1450832.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SauH33Mh8vI/AAAAAAAAA1U/XbLrxriMp0Y/s1600-h/Taiwan+World+Endemic+Species+List_4_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 246px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SauH33Mh8vI/AAAAAAAAA1U/XbLrxriMp0Y/s400/Taiwan+World+Endemic+Species+List_4_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308485979565322994" border="0" /></a><br />For a better understanding of the next two signs, which elaborate on the numbers for various plant and animal groups, check out <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://two-ton.com/photogallery/SnakesHikesKewetc/Snakes/TaiwanBiodiversity.htm">this chart</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SauH4Fh8E4I/AAAAAAAAA1k/Ok89bPT52pM/s1600-h/Taiwan+World+Endemic+Species+List_3_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 252px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SauH4Fh8E4I/AAAAAAAAA1k/Ok89bPT52pM/s400/Taiwan+World+Endemic+Species+List_3_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308485983413212034" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SauH3xHskJI/AAAAAAAAA1c/enQzzbM-xSU/s1600-h/Taiwan+World+Endemic+Species+List_2_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 238px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SauH3xHskJI/AAAAAAAAA1c/enQzzbM-xSU/s400/Taiwan+World+Endemic+Species+List_2_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308485977934434450" border="0" /></a>Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-62873366255799475692009-02-25T20:19:00.003+08:002009-02-25T20:28:35.395+08:00Misty HillsSanchih County's Longyan Columbarium, nestled in the surrounding hills. The tall ridge in the back is Little Guanyinshan, the northernmost finger of the Yangmingshan range.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SaU4j4zcIDI/AAAAAAAAA1E/9No-jTvPORM/s1600-h/LongyanColumbariumMorning1_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SaU4j4zcIDI/AAAAAAAAA1E/9No-jTvPORM/s400/LongyanColumbariumMorning1_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306709925120712754" border="0" /></a>Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-68485451085271593842009-02-25T20:00:00.004+08:002009-02-25T20:14:42.614+08:00Cherry Blossom Season 09, Part 1Cherry blossom season is again upon us in Sanchih County, home of the finest sakura trees in all of Taiwan, so here's a selection of the hot pink ones adorning the countryside around these parts. The soft pink and white ones to follow soon (usually about a month later)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SaU0MF8OvVI/AAAAAAAAA00/TzDVSa_xRrE/s1600-h/Cherry+blossoms+Red090203-7_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SaU0MF8OvVI/AAAAAAAAA00/TzDVSa_xRrE/s400/Cherry+blossoms+Red090203-7_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306705118283873618" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SaU0MZn2PgI/AAAAAAAAA08/MsKTc5V3N1U/s1600-h/Cherry+blossoms+Red090203-3_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SaU0MZn2PgI/AAAAAAAAA08/MsKTc5V3N1U/s400/Cherry+blossoms+Red090203-3_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306705123567091202" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SaU0L8wIMwI/AAAAAAAAA0s/UX-pyLUW32Y/s1600-h/Cherry+blossomsRedEarly_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SaU0L8wIMwI/AAAAAAAAA0s/UX-pyLUW32Y/s400/Cherry+blossomsRedEarly_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306705115817194242" border="0" /></a>Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193917006285354373.post-26007976209216670092009-02-04T12:00:00.014+08:002009-02-04T12:17:10.178+08:00Getting Lost in the Woods<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SYkUQjNRJiI/AAAAAAAAA0c/f3pglyT9tTA/s1600-h/Jungle+Taro_resize.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iyYyAENKd_o/SYkUQjNRJiI/AAAAAAAAA0c/f3pglyT9tTA/s400/Jungle+Taro_resize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298788711139452450" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-family:arial;">During a recent hike, I got lost in a dense, pathless jungle. It was an unsettling experience, but this is what my good friend Chris Logan had to say about it:</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 153);font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">"It seems dreadfully serious when you're tired and scratched up, watching the sun drop. But when you get home it has invigorated you by insisting that there really is a mysterious forest out there with no taxis, signs or crazy humans to draw you into the machine. It's a great luxury to get lost in the woods. Most people will never enjoy that.</span>"</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Couldn't agree more.</span><br /></span>Twotonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03756503904326892071noreply@blogger.com0