After our daytime photo session with the tree-loving Tropidolaemus, we spent the day making a long drive south to the Krabi area. As we got closer to the border with Malaysia, we began to see more Muslim influences among the people there, and in the food choices available to us. Travel means rolling with the changes and embracing new things, and for my part, banana roti for breakfast was easily embraceable.
That night we engaged in some city herping, visiting an old temple that was once out in the countryside, but was now surrounded on all sides by a rapidly expanding urban area. We parked on a nearby street and immediately upon entering the property we encountered our first serpent, a Malayan Pit Viper (Calloselasma rhodostoma).
The snake lay in the middle of a path among the weeds, perhaps twenty feet behind a bus stop shelter and the sidewalk, and then a busy street beyond. It was coiled in the typical ‘land mine’ position for Calloselasma, patiently waiting for a meal to pass close by.
We found more of these vipers, some on the move, others in their classic ambush coil. Not far from the first snake, I came across another viper, crawling through weeds up to a collapsed Red-eared Frog (Hylarana erythraea). It was apparent that the frog had been envenomated, and the snake was moving in to swallow its prey.
I moved on to give the snake some peace and darkness to complete its task. I checked on its progress maybe twenty minutes later – the frog had been consumed, and the snake was coiled in ambush mode, waiting for another opportunity.
I couldn’t help but wonder how these vipers could continue to exist in an area just a few city blocks on each side, and as we moved about the grounds we found a pond just outside the temple itself. That explained the presence of aquatic frogs like Hylarana erythraea, and the place undoubtedly attracted other prey items such as rodents and birds. Come to think of it, we had disturbed a large owl sitting in a tree near our parked car, no doubt the bird was making a living on the property as well.
We didn’t stay much longer – we had encountered six pit vipers in less than an hour on this small plot within the city. We then drove up to a forest preserve in the hills for more herping, coming across another Calloselasma in the road along the way, and finding several more Beautiful Pit Vipers (Trimeresurus venustus). These outstanding serpents just took my breath away.
We saw a new cyrto as well – the Pegu Bent-toed Gecko (Cyrtodactylus zebraicus), with small dark spots on the dorsum. The variability in these bent-toed geckos, in pattern, colors, and size, really sparked my interest.
The next morning, we visited another boardwalk, this one spanning a freshwater stream that emptied into a tidal estuary, and all of it tucked up against towering hills of karst limestone. There were a lot of kids and teenagers present, guaranteed to scare off any herps close to the edge of the boardwalk.
Our goal this morning was to find Mangrove Cat Snakes (Boiga melanota), which might be up in the trees, and as such less likely to be disturbed by a lot of kids. We managed to find two mangrove snakes, but only one of them showed its head to us. Once again I worked with my 100-300 lens, moving back and forth on the boardwalk to get the best shots possible under difficult circumstances. Here was another snake I had dreamed of seeing for half a century or more, and while I wished the encounter could have been at close quarters, I took what I could get.
Among more common finds during the day, we managed to scare up a Nine-keeled Sun Skink (Toenayar novemcarinata), formerly in the genus Eutropis. It was one of those lizards that scoot around to hide on the other side of the tree, but Bank moved in behind and chased it out into camera range for us. Aoud thought this skink was a rare find for Thailand, a species more commonly seen to the east in Myanmar.
During our forest herping that evening we turned up more Tropidolaemus wagleri! This time, they were closer to the ground, and more accessible for photographs.
We found two females and a male, which was exciting, since this species is sexually dimorphic in a significant way – the females are large, heavy-bodied, and colored in black and gold and yellowish-green, while the males are small and thin, and mostly green with some small spots of paired white and red.
For most coveted species, my initial thoughts are along the line of “I’d sure like to see one of those” and then keeping my expectations low. Getting to photograph a nice series of said species is immensely satisfying. It doesn’t happen every time, such as with the Boiga melanota earlier that day.
While photographing one of the wagleri, an Orange Balloon Frog (Glyphoglossus guttulatus) hopped close by, and I did a pivot to take a few shots. I had seen this species on an earlier visit to Thailand, but missed the chance to get photos.
Other forest finds that evening included several impressive Phuket Horned Tree Agamids (Acanthosaura phuketensis), arranged on slender vertical branches, ostensibly to rest during the night.
The last herp of the evening was a small Calloselasma rhodostoma, coiled up in a small stream. These snakes were turning up everywhere and provided a good reason to wear sturdy snake boots.
Pete, Aoud, Bank and I continued southward as usual, and the next evening we worked some roadside forests on the edge of a national park. The forest sloped away down a hill, with small trickles of water here and there. In this habitat we saw many Tenasserim White-lipped Frogs (Hylarana eschatia), brightly colored and with slender limbs and digits.
There was a green snake in a small tree a short distance away, and before we approached it I thought it was another vine snake, but it was not an Ahaetulla – it was a Red-tailed Rat Snake (Gonyosoma oxycephalum). It was moment of joy, finding yet another iconic species that I had only seen in old books (back when these snakes were in the genus Elaphe), and with a couple of sad DORs on previous trips.
Picking up a trail on the next upslope, we came across a cohort of Lesser Malacca Toads (Ingerophrynus parvus). The toads were mostly males working hard to call in females to the small puddle next to the trail. These are small toads, perhaps two inches long at most, and very shy – it took some work for me to photograph a male with its throat sac distended, and I never captured one while fully calling.
Continuing on, the trickle next to the trail provided more exciting finds – we found several Nakon Si Thammarat Caecilians (Ichthyophis supachaii), hiding among the leaf litter in less than an inch of water. Both were fairly small, less than ten inches in length. I did not have caecilians on my night-hike in the forest bingo card, but this trip had been full of surprises, with more to come.
It’s always a good idea to look up above your head while walking in the forest at night, since not everything will magically appear at your feet or at eye level. I think Pete spotted the snake first, in a small tree near the trail, maybe seven feet up – a Dog-toothed Cat Snake (Boiga cynodon). The cat snake genus is full of arboreal specialists, slender and with a triangular shaped body profile, hunting from the ground up at night in search of lizards and other prey.
We hiked up the trail for another quarter hour or so, spotting several more caecilians wriggling around in the shallow water but not bothering them other than a quick in situ voucher photo. Turning around and coming back down, we found another Boiga, in a tall bush very close to the spot where we had seen the Boiga cynodon. It was a Bengkulu Cat Snake (Boiga bengkuluensis), and in the process of slurping down what looked like Aphaniotis fusca, the Dusky Earless Agama. Looking at the timestamps on my photos, it took less than 15 minutes for the snake to completely ingest the unfortunate lizard.
We had encountered more rain as we moved south, and the next night’s herp work was cut short by driving rain, heavy mosquito activity, and an amazing number of leeches out to suck our carcasses dry. We plucked dozens of leeches off our boots and clothing as we slogged along through the downpour. I wished for an umbrella, as there was too much rain to safely put my camera in play. But before calling it a night and turning back to the car, I managed to photograph and video a Malayan Horned Frog (Pelobatrachus nasutus), calling from the edge of the trail which was now a flowing stream.
Once upon a time, Megophrys was the junk-drawer genus for all the frogs in the family Megophryidae, but no more, with many species sorted out into new and recycled genera, including this iconic species. For me, watching and recording a calling male P. nasutum was just as awesome as witnessing a Boiga horking down an agamid.
As we neared the border, we ran into some problems getting meals. There were a number of Muslim holidays taking place in June, and as a result many local restaurants were closed. Fortunately the rest stops along the way usually contained a 7-11 store and a Cafe’ Amazon, so we could scrounge some road food and a cup of coffee if local cuisine wasn’t available. Of course, the local people were in the same boat – they either ate at home, or they hit the 7-11 as we did. After a few days, the shelves were looking bare and our choices for food were whittled down to some interesting and less-than-filling items. Adventure travel!
In the morning we headed to yet another forest preserve, and on the way, we encountered a Golden Flying Snake (Chrysopelea ornata) crossing the road. I have yet to see one of these snakes ‘fly’, but I remain hopeful. Even when they are not flying, they are an impressive serpent.
We poked around the reserve a bit, and found a trail leading into the forest. In what proved to be a complete understatement, Aoud said it looked like a good place to herp after dark.
After dinner and sunset we returned to the forest trail. It had rained there before our arrival, and it was still drizzling a bit as we started our hike. Leech activity here was low, thank goodness. As per usual, the trail was now a shallow stream of flowing water, and frogs were out and active, including several Marten’s Puddle Frogs (Occidozyga martensii), some very plain but cool little discoglossids.
Looking back down the trail the way we came, I spotted a large snake in a brush pile, positioned in a way that none of us could have seen it as we passed by. It was a White-bellied Rat Snake (Ptyas fusca), close to six feet in length, and Bank ran back and plucked it out of the branches for us. Another impressive snake with a triangular body shape in cross section.
Crossing a rocky stream we encountered several Triangular Keelbacks (Xenochrophis trianguligerus), colorful semi-aquatic snakes out looking for fish and frogs to eat. Rain brings out the frogs, and the serpents who eat them.
At this point Aoud had gone off-trail to the left, up a slight elevation and into the forest proper. Poking around off-trail can be an excellent strategy, putting eyeballs in more places. It wasn’t very long before he came back, carrying a small but mighty treasure – a neonate Malayan Flat-shelled Turtle (Notochelys platynota). This little gem was fresh from the egg – it still had its egg tooth, used to slash an opening to exit the egg, and its shell was still soft and pliable.
After we took some photos and unsuccessfully tried to get the little turtle to stick its head out, Aoud took it back to where he found it, but he did not return empty handed. The look on Aoud’s face says it all. After oohing and aahing again, and failing to coax any little turtle head out of a shell, Aoud returned all three neonates to their point of capture. Obviously the eggs had been buried nearby, and Aoud had managed to be in the right place at the right time when these cuties had made their aboveground debut.
I don’t think we had walked more than a half mile at this point – this forest was filthy with awesome herps. And we continued running the table. Off to the right, in a small twig of a tree, was an adult Indonesian Pit Viper (Trimeresurus hageni), looking a bit awkward in that undersized bit of timber. Its long and spear-shaped head reminded me of the lancehead Bothrops I see in Peru. The pit vipers had all been fantastic on this trip and those green belly scutes just took them over the top.
“Draco!” said Bank, pointing to a lizard sleeping on the end of a thin branch. It was a Five-lined Flying Dragon (Draco quinquefasciatus), and a gorgeous lizard it was. I have seen a number of Draco species gliding back and forth between trees, and from trees to the ground, but I have come nowhere close to capturing that behavior with a camera. Yet.
A stop at yet another temple gave us a few more interesting finds, including an Abah River Flying Frog (Rhacophorus nigropalmatus), perched in small tree near the road. I tried to get a photo of the frog with a complete display of its gliding apparatus, but it would only spread its fully webbed hands. I think you get the idea.
Any little bit of standing water seemed to attract frogs and toads, and in a roadside puddle we found a Taman Negara Bug-eyed Frog (Theloderma licin), an odd-looking yet beautiful anuran about the size of a North American Gray Treefrog. There are a number of interesting frogs in this genus, including the Theloderma corticale I saw in Vietnam.
We had just a few days left before Pete and I were scheduled to fly back to Bangkok, and the herping rolled on. We were right down on the Malaysian border now, dipping into forest preserves and temples day and night to get in those last few herps.
We had a nice supper at a beautifully planted arboretum just a rock throw from the border, on a lazy afternoon while we waited for sunset. After dark, we visited a small stream nearby in search of a specific frog – Hylarana nazgul, the Black Stream Frog, recently moved from the genus Abavorana. Who doesn’t want to add a frog with a Middle Earth epithet to their life list?
Our last night in the forest provided a few more interesting herps, including several Peters’ Forest Dragons (Gonocephalus doriae), which look a lot like the casque-head lizards (Corytophanes) that I saw in Costa Rica.
A nearby stream provided us with a number of frogs, including a few Painted Indonesian Treefrog (Nyctixalus pictus), hanging out on plants near the ground.
In the stream itself I spotted a Bukit Larut Wart Frog (Limnonectes utara), and managed to sneak up close for a picture while filling my boots with water at the same time.
We also saw several Larut Sucker Frogs (Amolops larutensis), a species that typically hangs out on rocks and boulders around waterfalls and rapids.
The last snake of the trip was a good one – a large Blue Krait (Bungarus candidus), crawling around the visitor’s center (at this time of night, we were the only visitors).
My last frog of note was a Thai Spadefoot Toad (Leptobrachium hendricksoni), a species I had seen before, but I had yet to get a good in situ photo of this frog. At night, they typically sit upright, holding their heads off the ground while they wait for insect prey. Walking up trails, you can see their red eyes glowing in reflection, but as you draw close, they drop down to a prone position, head flat upon the ground and pretending to be something else. I saw this particular frog through a screen of bushes, and found an open gap where I could grab a shot while it remained in the upright position. That was a satisfying end to an incredible herp odyssey.
The next day we headed to Hat Yai, where Pete and I flew back to Bangkok and then home. Bank and Aoud then made the long drive back up the peninsula. I can’t thank these two gentlemen enough – pleasant companions, excellent naturalists, and great tour operators – they got us fed, they got us beds, and they put us onto an incredible selection of herps. And Pete – well, he’s a great traveling companion and I look forward to our next trip together.
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