Cute or Creepy: Top Southeast Asian Animals

-
Travelling around South-East Asia you get to see a bunch of mind-blowing things, from breath-taking landscapes to perspective changing culture. But as a biologist you can bet it is the local fauna that has me captivated! Imagine trudging through the dense Bornean rainforests, the air hot and humid, a chorus of wildlife buzzing all around, when a giant cloud-like butterfly glides gracefully above your head – more of a mirage than reality. It doesn’t flap its wings, instead it simply floats, levitating. After a day of hard work, you crawl into bed under your bug net, only to have a firefly rest inches from you, a tiny light in the pitch-black rainforest.

Southeast Asia is the place to be to see next-level wildlife, and today I bring to you my 10 favourite fauna friends that I made on my own travels. 

10. Old-World Porcupine (Hystricidae)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Hystrix_brachyura%2C_Malayan_porcupine.jpg
Where to find: Throughout Europe, Africa and Eurasia. I met my porcupine friends when I was treking through the caves of Mulu National Park, and our guide suddenly stopped short and urged us to be quiet. Sticking their little noses out of a hole in the cave wall was a family of baby porcupines. 
Awesomeness rating: 20/100
Class: THE CUTE/The creepy/The cool/The weird
Fun Fact: Some porcupine quills can grow up to 30cm long, and most porcupines will have well over 10,000 quills!

9. Brahman Cattle (Bos indicus)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahman_cattle




Where to find: All over the world as meat processing cattle. I met some of these cows when on a cycle through the farming villages in the outskirts of Yogyakarta.
Awesomeness rating: 38/100
Class: The cute/The creepy/The cool/THE WERID
Fun Fact:

8. Spiders of Dark Cave (Psechridae)

https://hiveminer.com/Tags/macro%2Cpsechridae

Where to find: South East Asia, in forests, rocky areas and caves. When I went walking through Dark Cave in Malaysia, I was not impressed when the guide suggested we avoid touching any of the millions of webs lining the path, as the venomous spiders are motion sensitive and will jump into action when a passerby knocks into a web. Extra useful knowledge when the lighting is so lacking that you cant actually see the webbing on the paths. Its not called Dark Cave for nothing.
Awesomeness rating: 43/100
Class: The cute/THE CREEPY/The cool/The weird
Fun Fact: These spiders form elaborate webs and have a nasty bite!

7. Pygmy Squirrel (Exilisciurus)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/25872797@N02/42477819992

Where to find: Asia. This little guy darted across my footpath on my way to Deer Cave in Mulu, and I have never been so in love with something so tiny!
Awesomeness rating: 48/100
Class: THE CUTE/The creepy/The cool/The weird
Fun Fact: One of the two species of pygmy squirrel in Malaysia are actually the smallest squirrel species in the world!


6. Green Crested Lizard (Bronchocela cristatella)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronchocela_cristatella#/media/File:Green_Crested_Lizard_(Bronchocela_cristatella).jpg

Where to find: Found all throughout Southeast Asia. Speedy little guy, I spied him darting across our campsite in Mulu, all legs and tail. 
Awesomeness rating: 49/100
Class: The cute/The creepy/THE COOL/The weird
Fun Fact: The tail on these lizards can make up over 75% of its total body length! 

5. Ants of Mulu  

https://pixabay.com/en/ants-insects-borneo-brown-nature-469150/
Where to find: Literally everywhere! At least three times the size of any ant I've seen at home, in the rainforests you just have to look down and you'll see hundreds of the little guys scuttling about!
Awesomeness rating: 50/100
Class: The cute/THE CREEPY/THE COOL/The weird (depends on who you ask)
Fun Fact: 790 species (compared to <70 in the UK)


4. Bats of Mulu

https://kktang1217.wordpress.com/2011/12/03/cave-adventure-deer-cave-langs-cave-and-bats-exodus/
Where to find: Most places! If you catch Deer Cave at around sundown, you will be able to see the famous bat exodus. Millions of bats leaving a cave all at once, forming a spectacular wave formation as they fly. Trust me, its not one to miss. 
Awesomeness rating: 53/100
Class: The cute/The creepy/THE COOL/The weird
Fun Fact: Every evening millions of bats of over 12 different species fly out of Mulu's 'Deer Cave'. It is estimated that each bat eats around 5g of insects, adding u to 9 tonnes of bugs entering bat bellies every evening!

3. Crab Eating Macaque (Macaca fascicularis)


Where to find: Southeast Asian Jungles. These funny little guys can be found all over the entrance to Batu Caves, causing chaos and stealing from tourists! I had one try to jump into my skirt, thinking it was a bag!
Awesomeness rating: 63/100
Class: THE CUTE/The creepy/The cool/The weird
Fun Fact: The 'Crab Eating Macaque' actually doesnt eat that many crabs - over 50% of its diet is actually made up of seeds, fruit and nuts - unless you're talking about the Batu Caves monkeys which typically live off a diet of stolen sandwiches and pinched picnics. 

2. Forest Nymphs (Idea stolli)

http://www.butterflycircle.com/checklist/showbutterfly/53
Where to find: Southeast Asia, mostly in West Malaysia. I was enchanted as I was 4 hours into one of the most challenging hikes of my life, hot and sweaty and going mad, when a pair of these magical butterflies floated down from the skies like a dream. If it wasn't for the fact that they have a Wikipedia page, I could easily believe I had hallucinated the vision of natural beauty. 
Awesomeness rating: 75/100
Class: THE CUTE/The creepy/The cool/The weird
Fun Fact: These butterflies are named after the way that they move, gliding like fairies on the wind. However when they need to move, they can kick their wings into action and move like any other butterfly. 

1. Fireflies (Lampyridae)

https://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/are-there-more-fireflies-year.html

Where to find: Everywhere-  but particularly fond of temperate, marshy climates. My personal experience was when one such creature landed happily on my tent, glowing happily at the end of a long day of trekking. It really felt like he was there to welcome us to the jungle! If you're used to fireflies then this may not be your own number one, but for me it was a magical experience!
Awesomeness rating: 88/100
Class: The cute/The creepy/THE COOL/The weird
Fun Fact: Not all fireflies glow, and the ones that do may glow in yellow green or orange light!


So there you have it, my top 10 Southeast Asian animal friends! And if you want to make some friends of your own, or try to track down some of the rarer wildlife such as wildcats, deer, boar and orangutans, then get yourself over to Southeast Asia, home of some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world! Until next time...

 Happy Travelling!

 Vicky

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Box Hill - Tales from the Home Counties

-
Image
Box Hill lends its name from Buxus sempervirens , or more commonly, the Boxwood tree, a species whose members shade the western slopes of this Surrey summit. When venturing up by car you climb these very slopes, taking the appropriately named ‘zig-zag road’ from base to peak, in a slalom of single-track hairpin bends cocooned by both the aforementioned Boxwoods, and numerous gnarled Yew trees, a common sight around the area. It was at the top of this twisted road that I found myself at lunch time on a sticky summer’s day. Upon leaving the carpark and picking up a (free!) map from the National Trust café, I made my way toward the first viewpoint, where I could fuel up on pac ked lunch before my adventure began.  I rounded the corner, and the hill dropped off ahead revealing the viewpoint as promised. It did not disappoint. What felt like the entirety of this beautiful home county was staring up at me, the river Mole flowing below, the railway line running alongside. As I sat
Read more

Oslo Survival Guide

-
Image
I have now returned from my adventures in Oslo, and I can confidently say that it is possibly the most beautiful country I have ever visited. Stunning pine woods thick with snow lie above a clean and charismatic city in a medley of nature and human creation. I stayed just outside the city, up in the hills near Holmenkollen, and I could easily spend hours talking about the breathtaking views and the crisp mountain air, but instead I present to you a survival guide - my top tips on how to make the most of the city. KEY FACTS Language: Norwegian Currency: Nordic Krona Cost: $$$ Best way to get around: The city itself is very easy to explore by foot, but to reach just outside the city to areas such as Holmenkollen you are best taking the metro which costs around £3 for a single ticket - which is valid for one hour to any destination.  When to go: Pretty much any time of the year would be worth it, but you will get very different experiences. December-February if you love the s
Read more

Unexpected Lessons From Copenhagen

-
Image
First of all I'd like to say - welcome to my blog! I want to invite you on my adventures as I document my travels and discoveries. I recently went on a spontaneous weekend trip to Copenhagen with one of my good friends. Now before I go further, Copenhagen is a beautiful city and I thoroughly enjoyed my trip. BUT... I was firmly reminded of some of the limitations of travelling. As I set off at 7:15am, I was buzzed to be venturing abroad for the first time in over a year, and as we flew over the English Channel I felt so at peace. I had a moment of realisation that for me, being above the clouds, being free, is the most important thing in life. All I want to do is see the world. And then we arrived. Whilst everything I just said remained true for the entire trip, I did lose a little of that starry eyed wonder as I remembered that I am a human, who can't quite handle getting up at 3am after 24 hours trying to take in a whole city without feeling exceptionally rough. Not to
Read more