wow, the forest so rich and diverse.
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wow, the forest so rich and diverse.
This is an inspiring set of photos. Nothing better than seeing the species in situ! Thank you!
Zain, do ever see platyceriums? And my other question is...tigers. Are they in the jungles you trek through? I've always wondered about that when viewing your photos.
Sorry to jump the gun on Zainal, Cat. I'll leave the platycerium question to him to answer.
In our Malaysian jungles, it is almost impossible to see wild animals like you see the wild animals in the African savanna. The jungle is so thick and dense that even if an elephant is just 3 feet away from you, you wouldn't see it.In my younger days when I used to go to look for 'virgin' waters to fish, I used to see plenty of signs of wild animals especially at salt licks and river banks. My longest jungle 'sojourn' was in April 1972 where together with my brother and our guides we spent 12 days in the Upper reaches of our second longest river the Trengganu River and had the most unforgettable fishing adventure ever. I consider myself one the most fortunate human alive for these 12 days in virgin forest - unfortunately the same area is now inundated by by the waters of Lake Kenyir when a dam was built across the Trengganu River for a hydro-electric project. In all of the 12 days except for a few glimpses of wild pigs, monitor lizards and otters, we never saw single big animal. There were plenty of signs by the river banks of elephants, tigers, seladang(Malaysian gaur, like a buffalo), deer. Indeed one morning we across the skull of a barking deer, a fresh kill by a tiger.
In 1962 an American Peace Corp volunteer who was teaching with me in the same school expressed a desire to see tigers in the wild and asked if I could help. I consulted my sifu(mentor/teacher/guru), whose knowledge of the jungle and wildlife is awesome and unsurpassed by anyone I've ever known. In short we made a date ,on a moonless night and 4 of us drove off in my car and after 2 hours came upon an unpaved path used by loggers to stack their their sawn logs. We drove up the path and after nearly an hour my sifu told me to switch off the headlights and he took over driving the car after our eyes had gotten used to the darkness. After 20 minutes of driving he switched off the engine when we were on top of a low hillock. Below us about 40 yards away we could make out the silhouette of logs stacked up by the side of the path. After about 5 minutes our sifu whispered to us to watch the logs when he switched on the headlights. As soon as the lights were switched on we could see 4 or 5 tigers lying on top of the logs and staring directly into the headlights. In those few seconds it was as if time had stood still, The tigers froze and we were mesmerised. It must have been a few seconds and then the tigers leapt up and bounded off into the forest. That was an experience to be treasured! My sifu told us that a tiger family loves to lie on top the logs at night until the early hours of the morning.
I just loved the story, Yew. I'm so entranced by jungles and all the flora and fauna that make up it. I could almost see you sitting in a darkened car, everyone holding their breath and not making nary a sound waiting for tigers. The buzz of the nighttime insects in your ears. Then that moment of flipping the switch and seeing a family of tigers. What an amazing story. Thanks for sharing. ...and I bet you are a great storyteller with your friends and family. I could listen for hours.
Thanks, Cathy! That was the only time I have ever seen tigers in the wild.Unfortunately this story does not have quite a happy ending for my sifu passed away 5 years ago and we didn't go on the fishing trip we had planned for later that year.
Very sad on you mentor, Yew. I would imagine fishing the wilds of a river in a Malaysian jungle is a story all to itself. I fished much as kid and when I was married. Never rivers but the Gulf of Mexico. I can just imagine the exotic species that you caught. I know there are monster catfish in your rivers.
You know, you've inspired to reread Tyler Whittle's book The Plant Hunters.... in fact I think you should write a book.
Peter, you are a modern day plant hunter, as well.