Homestay On A Working Organic Farm Near Kuching, Sarawak
Despite the building and improving of barriers the pesky water monitors are still getting lucky and making off with our ducklings and chicks. We have turned to trapping them and yesterday caught our first which seems to be the smallest of the visiting lot, a mere 5 footer.
Now we have to decide if we are going to release it far far away off risking it coming back or save the fuel and conjure up a recipe for water monitor lizard.
This photo from one of our wwoof’ers Claire. Would be great if we actually knew what kind of bird it was happily pecking away at our starfruits.
Never mind if you are about to taste your warm scrambled eggs, never mind if the morning is extra chilly from the heavy rains the night before, never mind if you are startled by the high pitched scream. If she screams bloody murder you better run to her.
Another Reticulated Python. But this time no casualties in the hen house.
The Turkey’s were making a racket last night. Waking up to that and the dogs barking in excitement, they themselves not knowing what they were barking about then. The farmhands woke up too and all of us went to the Turkey pen to see what the fuss was about cursing that it had to be another python or monitor lizards.
Flying Foxes decided to pay us a visit. Been a while since we seen them around usually only during the fruiting season more so when there are durian flowers it seems. Maybe they were missing us.
The Water Monitors are becoming more daring these past weeks. No longer to come after dark and harrass the ducks and geese they now appear at all hours of daylight. There have losses in the duck pen where we suspect at least 20 ducklings have been taken over the past 2 weeks and 3 ducks dead from defending their nest not to mention untold numbers of eggs.
The dogs seem to have a keen ear and eye. Every time there is a racket from the pens the dogs make a beeline for the location and sure enough the water monitors are running off and they sure do a fast 100 meter dash for the jungle.
Ever so often we get a glimpse of this very shy forest animal either darting across the farm either in the very early mornings or at dusk. Coming across them feasting on fallen fruits is quite common at night only if you are very quiet and are patient enough to wait for them to appear.
I think we have 2 species that visit The Kebun, and the one pictured is the lesser mouse deer and the other yet to be photographed the greater mouse deer.
Sometimes we come across tortoises in the stream more often at night when we go skinny dipping hunting for freshwater prawns. This time we had the camera handy. I don’t know what kind of tortoise this is but it is one of the more common types we have come across on the farm.
It would be good if someone could help us identify the species.
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