Ok coz I'm still here I thought I might as well tell another anecdote. I posted a story on her previously about how I met my wife and some of the creatures I became aquainted with during my stay in the Fils. While we we're visiting my inlaws in Butuan my wife decided to take me down to the south part of the Island to visit Davao where she used to teach at the local uni. It doesn't sound far when you say south part of the Island but it took around 12 hours by bus! These days there is a brand new highway and the journey takes about 6-7 hours. In those days some parts of the road we're very good and others we're just dirt track! It passes through some great scenery with virgin rain forest on both sides and you get glimpses of all sorts of exotic animals along the way. While stopping in Davao we paid a visit to one of my wifes fav beach resorts Paradise Island which is a short boat journey from the mainland. Its a great place with the usual beach bar and sun loungers overlooking a rockey cove with a breakwater at each side. I noticed a couple of locals bobbing about in the water and decided to join them. I kept my plastic shoes on because they do have stonefish in this part of the world and I didn't fancy standing on one there were also patches of rock and coral good for cutting the feet on! I was in quite deep and nearly as far out as the locals when I noticed something quite long and black and white slipping through the water, banded sea Kraits! Then I noticed another and another. There we're quite a few around me and I did bottle it a bit at first but kept my nerve and decide to observe. I'd been diving in leyte but had never seen any this close and not in this number. Plus I'd been wearing a diving suit which does give an element of protection. I know now but didn't know then that they rarley bite and only if severly provoked. Infact i remember steve erwin putting one on his head (they do come onto land occasionaly to breed i think or to lay eggs). Anyway I stuck around in the water for a short time but started to lose my bottle again as I didn't have my dive knife and there we're a Reefies about (reef sharkes). It turned out that due to a strom at see a large shoal of sardine type fish had been forced closer to land and the snakes we're out hunitng as indeed we're the sharks. Hence the large numbers in one place! I swam back to the beach and my wife who asked me about my swim. I explained it had been much more interesting than I'd expected. I spent the rest of the day chilling out and talking to the resident parrot that could speak several languages! lol. As we we're leaving for the boat the beach came alive with small crabs all making there way down to the waters edge to feed! As we walked up the plank onto the boat my wife pointed out several kraits swimming around the breakwater. A day not to forget.....Venom wise the Banded sea krait is one of the deadliest snakes in the world but it sin't regarded as being to dangerous as it sedlom bites and is rear fanged. Fishermen only get bitten when the snakes get caught in their nets. Link... http://www.divegallery.com/sea_krait.htm
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Thats the thing I never thought to at the time !! We've just got tons of family photos with lots of exotic backgrounds!I guess its because it was more about seeing relatives than wildlife and to them this is just ordinary everyday stuff! I go batty about fruit bats. They have a large mango tree in the garden and the bats come by to help themselves I just sit and watch and they think I'm nuts! Next time we visit i'm going to have a camera with me 24/7.
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Oh man that must be brilliant! Its got to be pretty amazing seeing such awesome animals in their natural habitat. Feel free to post any more stories you have, I love hearing about things like this one!
You HAVE to take some pics of the fruit bats next time! Bats are my fav animal I absolutley love them - hence why I'm a member of Hampshire bat group!! Sounded a really cool trip!
I'll see what I can dig out photo wise. Like I said it was mostly a "meet the relatives gig" so the wildlife wasn't top of the agenda. I now realize on my visits I should have been a bit more camera wise and took more photos of the things around me (not just the people!). If you love lizards especially geckos its awsome, they are just permenant house guests, running across the ceilings and up and down the walls. I've been to greece and egypt (most of the middle east/med) but those places aren't a patch when it comes to variety of species. The Big Tokays are so noisey sometimes, its like having a rooster in the house. Good times................
1.0.0 cash snow corn 0.0.3 koi carp 0.0.18 assorted gold fish axolotl eggs ready to hatch 0.1.0 Chaco golden knee T 0.1.0 chilli rose pending!
My Phillipine adventure part deux hahah
Posted - 11/07/2009 : 22:27:38
