 |
| Photo taken at the Maludam National Park HQ |
Our second field survey is at Maludam National Park, one of the state's peatswamp forests. Our first survey was conducted in August at Kubah National Park. See this entry, Studying Frog Calls in Sarawak Totally Protected Areas. This project has five study sites: Kubah National Park, Maludam National Park, Batang Ai National Park, Tun Ahmad Zaidi Nature Reserve, and Pulong Tau National Park. We have three more sites to survey after Kubah NP and Maludam NP.
 |
| Hylarana raniceps observed on the pandanus plant. |
Peatswamp has the least diversity of frogs. We recorded only two advertisement calls of two frog species, Hylarana raniceps and H. baramica. The total observation results include only four species of frogs, two of which are listed above, and the other two are H. glandulosa and Limnonectes paramacrodon.
 |
| On the boat with our field equipment. |
What are my challenges this time? This national park is a PEATSWAMP where saltwater crocodiles live. We conduct our surveys at night, so I feel insecure almost all the time. My flight and fight mode is always ON within those two to three hours of our night survey. Even when I bathe after our night survey at our field station, I still feel like the crocodile is eyeing me. The other challenge is to stay stable on that moving longboat. I require minimal movement and talking from my team members, but it is particularly challenging on the boat. Besides, we can not reach some locations where we hear these frogs making calls or where the frogs are seen deeper inside.
I would like to thank Pak Nan, Ayak Sudin, Sanjay, and Rickey, our boatmen, who make our field trips so much fun. While we have nothing much to do during the day, Pak Nan took over with his jokes and stories. Their exceptional cooking skills and new menu that I hadn’t tasted before. They also advise us on where it is safe and what to do to avoid danger from being attacked by a crocodile. Thank you, Maludam. We will return!
No comments:
Post a Comment