Bat End

The beautiful Jurong Lakeside is always a pleasure to stroll at anytime of the day especially in the evenings and mornings. The tranquility of the lake and its surroundings never fail to make you feel relaxed.

I have always taken that lake park for granted as i stay a stone's throw away but about a week ago i decided to explore the lake with my new camera.

As I was walking, I was looking up at the trees to see if I could get lucky and see an owl or something. I then saw a sad sight that actually kinda ruined the evening for me actually.

I noticed something floating up high in the tree. Upon closer inspection I noticed it was an abandoned triple hook fishing lure connected to a fishing line that had got stuck in a tree. At the sharp end of the abandoned hook was its victim. I took a photo to confirm.

The clear outline of a Bat.
I can only guess that it had got stuck when it accidentally flew into it. Its wings were caught in the barbed hooks.

Click for larger image

The bat must have struggled for a very very long time before dying a very slow death. It was sad to see that our carelessness or just plain disregard has is consequences. There were a few other abandoned hooks around.

More can be done at our local parks, the least is having periodic checks to remove this stray hooks.
Fishing if permitted must also be limited to certain area where it is safer to do so without endangering people or wildlife.

Details of Photos
Camera used: Nikon D90 and Canon 7D MkII

Wild Crocodile Eats Fish

Since I just started this blog, with the constant encouragement and persuasion of some of my friends in the nature circle, I realised that they were many occasions this year that I have been fortunate to witness nature at its best or wildest. This is one of them.

To see a truly wild estuarine crocodile (Salty) catch and eat a large fish, bird or even a monitor lizard is something many would call lucky. I just know that if we respect, cherish and are mindful God's wonderful creations, they would just present themselves wonderfully.

I also have been very fortunate to be able to observe and study these beautiful reptiles, in their natural habitat, thriving on our little Island we call home.

Singapore, being such a tiny island with extremely rapid development, loss of forest and mangroves, has left us little in terms of wildlife and nature. Let us conserve and appreciate what we have left.

Now, back to this fellow here....... This very active Estuarine Crocodile (Saltwater crocodile)(Crocodylus Porosus) is known to the Sungei Buloh Staff as Croc Solomon. I discovered him in June 2011 when he was only about 50 cm long. He is now approximately 2.6m. I also discovered that we would be are able to tell different crocodiles of the same species apart, by their features and markings, that was how i could ID this fellow match with old photos i had of him as a baby, but that would be for another write up.

As you can see, he has got quite a large fish, maybe a snapper, and had a hard time swallowing it. It even had to regurgitate the fish that it tried to swallow the wrong side up. You would be able to see that in the video below.

A Close up of this beauty!

After a good 15 mins the fish was gone and with one of the efficient digestive system in the world, almost all of its food becomes body mass. This is why they can go long periods without food. What amazing animals..

Enjoy the video above.


Details of Photos and video
Camera used: Canon SX50HS
with circular polarizer and tripod.

Brahminy Kite chases Great Egret for frog

Spent a rainy morning at a paddy field in Muar. Sungai Balang to be exact. Nice cool weather was a real bonus compared to the blistering sun the week before.

It was still drizzling when I noticed a raptor flying through a harvested field causing a ruckus among the feeding egrets.

Little did i realise what was going on till i was at my PC reviewing the shots of the day.

The Brahminy kite was actually chasing a Great egret which had a frog in its beak. The Kite out-maneuvered the Egret in everyway. Out of fear the egret dropped the frog.

The kite grabbed the frog in mid air.....which i missed as i was not expecting this chain of events and flew off with its "free" meal.

p.s. The white dots in this series of photos is rain.

This Egret knew it had no chance.

The poor little Mynah got caught in the middle!

The Brahminy Kite Zeroing in.

Frog Away!

Mission accomplished!

Details of Photos / video
Camera used: Canon 7D Mark II
400mm prime, hand held.