Thailand: First Two Months
It’s crazy to think I have been living in Thailand for over two months now. In some ways time has flown by but at the same time it feels like I have been here forever and ever and ever. For those that do not know, I am working as a field technician on a project investigating the spatial ecology of King Cobras (Ophiophagus hannah)Â through the means of radio telemetry. The position is for 6 months and so I will be in Thailand until the end of April!
As a king cobra tracker we are required to track the cobras four times a day, roughly around 06:30, 11:00, 16:00 and 20:00. Each cobra has a transmitter implanted and we use a receiver (digital or analog), cable and antenna to pick up it’s signal. Most of our snakes are in villages or agricultural areas and so come into contact with humans fairly often which is really interesting to document. So far we have pinpointed the snakes to be sheltering under rocks, in burrows, in mixed high vegetation, alongside man made canals called ‘Klongs’ and sometimes in rather strange places such as a ditch in the middle of a motorway and underneath someone’s porch!
Whilst on tracks and within the station biosphere reserve i’ve been very lucky to see lots of other interesting animals as well as many different species of snake. The other night it was brought to our attention that there was a Slow Loris (Nycticebus – I’m not sure which species yet) in the tree right next to the station canteen. The glow from it’s eyes could be seen even without a torch! We have also caught Civets and Leopard cats on the common cobra project’s camera traps over the past week.
It’s not always fun and games tho – tracking snakes, as with any field work is physically and mentally demanding. Even your dream job can get monotonous after a while and it’s important to understand that this is normal and accept this especially when you’re tired. Luckily the station is full of wonderful people who are always up for fun and a break from the hard work. We have regular film nights, bug parties and dance and drink in the middle of the forest for any occasion 🙂
There’s so much I could continue to talk about but for now I shall leave you with some photos and try to keep these posts more regular!
Enjoy x
Keeled Slug Snake (Pareas carinatus), These specialise in eating slugs and snails and are super cute!
Snake Team HQ where all the magic happens.
Juvenile Green Cat Snake (Boiga cyanea). Adults turn completely green.
One of the freshwater turtle researchers collecting data.
An impressive Owl Moth (Erebus macrops) from a far this moth is super camouflaged against trees.
Chocolate Tiger Butterfly (Parantica melaneus)
Some awesome wildlife shots! I love the little snakes 🙂 Will post some of my nature photography soon 🙂
The wildlife is stunning.