Greetings Everyone,
Following our visit to the Philippines we flew back to Bangkok, Thailand on November 26. The following morning we flew to Chiang Rai and were transferred across the border to Laos. We stayed in a fancy new hotel but appeared to be the only guests other than the locals who rent karaoke rooms to sing and drink beer. The plan was to do the "Gibbon Experience" where you zipline from treehouse to treehouse to look for gibbons and other wildlife. When we arrived at the office we were by far the oldest people. The Gibbon Experience appeared to have turned into a zipline activity for 20-year old thrill-seeking backpackers who were not interested in wildlife. After viewing the safety video, Marc looked at me and said "Are you sure you still want to do this?" Having never ziplined before, there seemed to be much more to think about than what friends had told me. "Make sure your safety line is attached, if you start to turn on the line reach up and squeeze a piece of tire over the wheel but make sure you don't touch the hot cable, don't mess with your safety line or you'll get stuck in the middle, once on the other side, pull 3 times on the cable to let the next person know you've arrived so they don't come careening into you, etc." I looked at Marc and said "No!" Given that the gibbons were sighted on only half of the trips, it seemed like a lot of risk for little reward.
A guy in the office drove us back to the border where we had arranged for our next hotel to pick us up a couple of days early. We checked into our room and started looking at our next adventure. We were to look for animals in Kaeng Krachan National Park, the largest and least visited in Thailand. The plan was to stay in a hotel the first night and camp the next 4 nights deep in the park. I went on the Park's website to read about the camping situation and found this:
"During the week-ends the camp may get overcrowded by local tourists, especially around public holidays."
We had booked our camping stay on Friday to Monday nights and to make matters much worse, I discovered Monday was a national holiday in Thailand! It was now the Tuesday before the holiday weekend and we frantically called our local guide to see if she could move our camping bookings up by a couple of days. We made plans to fly back to Bangkok that afternoon after Aon our guide called us back to let us know she had made the changes. Whew!
On Wednesday morning Aon picked us up and we drove to the park stopping at the Khao Yoi Cave to see the Long-tailed Macaques that hang out here.
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Long-tailed Macaques
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Besides seeing the monkeys, the cave was interesting in that it was a Buddhist temple complete with statues, monks and nuns.
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| Buddhist Statues in Khao Yoi Cave |
We were met at the park by Toon, our ranger, and Oh, our driver, who along with Aon accompanied us during our visit. We drove to the Ban Krang campsite where our tent had already been set up. The campground was almost empty so we were hoping for a quiet night, not so much for sleeping, but for seeing nocturnal visitors. We drove up the road and encountered our first mammal, a Dusky Leak Monkey or Spectacled Langur. They are quite common in the park and don't mind sticking around to have their photo taken.
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| Spectacled Langur |
A number of squirrel species are commonly seen in the park including this Black Giant Squirrel and the much smaller Grey-bellied Squirrel.
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| Black Giant Squirrel |
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| Grey-bellied Squirrel |
We drove past our campsite to some salt licks hoping to see more animals at dusk but they were empty. When we arrived back at the campground we were dismayed to find a large school group of 35 teenagers and their teachers had moved in and set up their tents below us! Oh well... Aon told us that dinner was ready and that she had a surprise for us. Behind the restaurant were 3 Malayan Porcupines, a new species for us. They came for the food scraps that the cooks toss out after preparing meals at the canteen. It is probably not the best thing to do but we sure had great views of the porcupines. At one time seven had gathered and we watched them squabble over who got the most food by raising and shaking their quills.
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| Malayan Porcupines |
We went for a night walk but didn't see much so we turned in around 10:30. I had just fallen asleep when we were rudely awakened by people arriving at midnight despite the Park closing the entrance at 5:00! I was grumbling when Aon and Toon showed up saying there was a bear in camp! I threw on my clothes and rushed off to see it. He was at the food dump looking for a free meal. Marc showed up late, he wasn't sure where we had gone but managed to get a good photo. Again it was probably not the best situation but to see a Malayan Sun Bear at such close range was a rare treat!
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Malayan Sun Bear
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The next morning our plans were thwarted by the Thai tourists who drive up the park road at 5:30 to see the Cloud Lake or "Thale Mog" at sunrise. This meant that any wildlife on the road would be scared away so we waited for the traffic to pass before we headed up.
At the end of the road was a viewpoint at 3000 feet. Aon told us that most Thai tourists that visit the Park come to see the cloud lake or "Thale Mog" that forms over the forest every morning.
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| Cloud Lake Overlook |
We were hoping to find the Banded Surili or Langur and were not disappointed. Four were feeding on palm fruits near the viewpoint and were so preoccupied with eating that they didn't bound off.
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| Banded Surili or Langur |
After the morning rush of "Cloud Lake Viewers" left the restaurant at the upper or Phanoen Thung campground we went to wait for the Yellow-throated Martens to show up. While waiting a Northern Treeshrew came to inspect a banana blossom for insects.
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| Northern Treeshrew |
We sat quietly for an hour but the martens didn't appear so we went for a short walk in the forest. We returned to the restaurant and just as we finished lunch we got the call that the Yellow-throated Martens had arrived! A family of 4 cautiously approached the food dump at the back of the restaurant. We've seen these mammals before but only a fleeting glimpse or at night so it was great to have a prolonged view of them and to hear their chattering.
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| Yellow-throated Marten |
On the way back to our campground, we encountered a Muntjac standing on the side of the road. At first I thought it was a common Muntjac but Aon told us it was a Fea's Muntjac, a rare species that is not often seen let alone photographed!
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| Fea's Muntjac |
After dinner I noticed an animal sitting in a tree behind the restaurant. I couldn't make out what it was until he came down to raid the "compost pile". He was a Long-tailed Macaque, normally diurnal so it was strange to see him after dark. Aon thought he may have been a pet that someone released back into the wild. The Malayan Porcupines showed up and the macaque was successful in fending them off until he was outnumbered 5:1!
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| Long-tailed Macaque and Malayan Porcupines |
The Malayan Sun Bear showed up early and chased everyone off for control of the food dump.
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| Malayan Sun Bear |
The show wasn't over yet. A Brush-tailed Porcupine made an appearance and was very small next to his Malayan Porcupine cousins.
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| Malayan and Brush-tailed Porcupines |
The show ended around 9:00 and we went off for a night walk. We were hoping to see civets but they weren't around. We turned in for a relatively quiet night. The following morning we hiked along some nearby forest trails but didn't see much. After lunch we were fortunate to encounter some Lar or White-handed Gibbons in a tree next to the road above the campground.
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| Lar or White-handed Gibbon |
We drove to the upper reaches of the Park where the Thai royal family has a residence. On the way there, I almost stepped on an Oriental Whip Snake.
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| Oriental Whip Snake |
The buildings weren't in use so we were able to check out the view from the deck and Toon spotted this cute White-browed Picolet foraging in the bamboo below.
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| White-browed Picolet |
We returned to our empty camp since the school group had left for the upper campground and we moved our tent to the far end of the lawn in anticipation of the onslaught which would arrive tomorrow. It was a quiet night at the "compost pile" and also on our night walk so we turned in early around 9:30. That night I awoke to the sound of crashing trees. I thought it might have been an elephant but didn't hear it again so went back to sleep. In the morning Aon told us an elephant had walked right past her tent!
We drove down the road almost to the park entrance but didn't see much. On the way back we encountered a large troop of Stump-tailed Macaques crossing the road.
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| Stump-tailed Macaques |
When we returned to our campground it was starting to fill up. Although there was plenty of space, a number of campers chose to set up their tents around our tent. We went to the restaurant for lunch and were surprised to see the Malayan Sun Bear making a daytime appearance. A group of Chinese photographers had thrown out their food scraps to attract the bear so they could photograph him. We couldn't resist and joined them. Everyone kept a safe distance and the situation was well under control. I hope it remains this way.
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| Malayan Sun Bear |
We drove back down the road again and headed back at dusk. About 2 km from the campground we encountered a roadblock. Toon got out of the truck to see what what going on. A lone male elephant was feeding on a tree next to the road! It took some time for Toon to coax him off the road so that vehicles could safely pass.
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| Elephant on the Road! |
When we reached the campground it was a complete zoo! The lawn was jam-packed with campers preparing dinner, partying or just hanging out. We had to wait until space became available in the restaurant to have dinner. There were no visitors to the "compost pile" tonight. We gave up on the idea of a night walk. With all the commotion going on there wouldn't be an animal for miles. We went to our tent fell asleep immediately as I was so exhausted but woke up at 1:30 AM. Some of our neighbors were still partying so we couldn't sleep. We got up and walked around camp but didn't see any nocturnal mammals. We returned to our tent and were kept awake all night by partiers or snoring sleeping neighbors. At 3:00 AM people were up to cook breakfast before their early-morning run to see the Cloud Lake. Take it from us, if you want to see wildlife don't visit a national park in Thailand over a weekend particularly a holiday weekend!
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| Park Campground on a Saturday Night |
I wanted to leave first thing in the morning but Aon had arranged for us to visit a rangers' station deep in the park where other tourists couldn't go. Thank you, Aon! On the way we stopped to climb up to the Khao Pakarang Cave, a limestone cave, to see Horseshoe Bats.
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| Horseshoe Bat in Khao Pakarang Cave |
We didn't see any other wildlife on the way but when we arrived at the Ranger Station it was a beautiful, quiet spot.
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| View from the Ranger Station |
We returned to the campground for lunch before leaving the park. On the way out we encountered a very large troop of Stump-tailed Macaques feeding on seed pods that had fallen on the road.
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| Stump-tailed Macaques |
We spent the two nights at a resort resting up for the long journey home. After two and a half months in Asia it was time to return to the US and face reality. Thank you Aon, Toon and Oh for an amazing ending to our Asian odyssey!
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| Toon, Marc, Peggy, Aon and Oh |
We hope all is well with everyone.
Peggy and Marc
Kaeng Krachan National Park Mammal List
| No. | Species | Scientific Name | Other Names / Conservation Status |
| 1 | Dusky Leaf Monkey | Trachypithecus obscurus | Spectacled Langur / NT |
| 2 | Banded Surili | Presbytis femoralis | Banded Leaf Monkey or Langur / NT |
| 3 | Long-tailed Macaque | Macaca fascicularis | Crab-eating Macaque / LC |
| 4 | Stump-tailed Macaque | Macaca arctoides | Bear Macaque / VU |
| 5 | Lar Gibbon | Hylobates lar | White-handed Gibbon / EN |
| 6 | Malayan Sun Bear | Helarctos malayanus | Honey Bear / VU |
| 7 | Fea's Muntjac | Muntiacus feae | Rare species, conservation status unknown |
| 8 | Common or Red Muntjac | Muntiacus muntjak | Indian Muntjac or Barking Deer / LC |
| 9 | Sambar | Rusa unicolor | VU |
| 10 | Malayan Porcupine | Hystrix brachyura | Himalayan Porcupine / LC |
| 11 | Asiatic Brush-tailed Porcupine | Atherurus macrourus | LC |
| 12 | Yellow-throated Martin | Martes flavigula | LC |
| 13 | Black Giant Squirrel | Ratufa bicolor | Malayan Giant Squirrel / NT |
| 14 | Grey-bellied Squirrel | Callosciurus caniceps | LC |
| 15 | Pallas's Squirrel | Callosciurus erythraeus | Red-bellied Tree Squirrel / LC |
| 16 | Northern Treeshrew | Tupaia belangeri | LC |
| 17 | Brown Rat | Rattus norvegicus | Common, Street or Norway Rat / LC |
| 18 | Horseshoe Bat | Sp. ? | |
| 19 | Asian Elephant | Elephas maximus | Asiatic Elephant / EN |
1 comment:
Amazing collection of animals..thank heavens that whip snake is easily visible. Those young party animal campers were no fun! That bear did look friendly.
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