“Bamboo bat!” My eyes gleamed when I heard that and I rushed for the bats, which were hanging in cloth bags.
I gently rubbed my fingers on the outside of each bag and picked the one with the smallest bat. I delicately removed the flying mammal, holding it with just the tips of my first three fingers. This was no ordinary bat. Its head was flat as if slammed with a shoe! It also had suction pads on its thumb and toes to help it cling to and sleep inside thin, hollow bamboo culms. The bat in my hand was an evolutionary marvel. The lesser bamboo bat Tylonycteris pachypus marked the beginning of a successful night. After it, eight other species flew into our nets in quick succession. Borneo was beginning to justify itself as a chiropterologist’s dream destination.
In August 2015, I was in Sarawak to attend the 3rd Southeast Asian Bat Conference organised by Universiti Malaysia (UNIMAS), Sarawak, and Southeast Asian Bat Conservation Research Unit (SEABCRU). After four intense days of talks, discussions and workshops with the most renowned bat biologists of the world, we were off on a bat lover’s ultimate pilgrimage – Gunung Mulu National Park.
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Esta historia es de la edición August 2017 de Sanctuary Asia.
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Why Children Are Needed To Help Save The World
On my very first day in India, I encountered many marvelous new customs not practiced in the United States, my home country. But the most curious by far involved trees. Here and there, alongside the roaring streets of Mumbai were rings of marigold wreathed around twisting banyan trunks like dried rays of afternoon sunlight…
Who's Who?
Fact: all toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads! Let’s unpack this...
The Sea Raptor
The White-bellied Sea Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster is one of the most common raptors along the Indian coastline. Nevertheless, the sight of this soaring, broad-winged, white and black bird of prey is nothing less than majestic
Bringing Up Bob Hoots.
While we were visiting a friend’s farm in the village of Yelachetty, near Bandipur Tiger Reserve, we found Spotted Owlets nesting on the tiled roof… and one of the chicks on the kitchen floor!
Yala, Land Of The Leopard
Yala is not only Sri Lanka’s second-largest, but also the most-visited national park in the island nation.
The Wizards Of Oz!
Australia is not only a country, but also a continent. The land down under, cut-off from the rest of the world has an abundance of unique species of native animals, birds, reptiles, insects and plants.
Scales & Tails
I was really excited and looking forward to the workshop on reptiles and amphibians at Nature’s Nest in Mollem, Goa, between June 24 and 26, 2017. It was my opportunity to meet renowned herpetologist Varad Giri.
Big, Brilliant And Endangered
When one thinks of elephants, the first word that probably comes to mind is BIG! But elephants, while they may be the largest creatures on land, are not just big and powerful, they’re wise and sensitive as well. Recent scientific studies have established that they are among the most intelligent animals in the world.
Earth Manners
Everyday habits matter! Let’s be kind to the planet, animals and ourselves!
World Scan
CHINA’S IVORY TOWNAn explosive investigation by the Environmental Investigation Agency has revealed how criminal gangs originating from an obscure town in southern China have come to dominate the smuggling of ivory tusks poached from African elephants.
