ZECO TRAVEL TALK

I am flush with three scintillating Interesting Finds this week, all in my favorite category: newly-identified species—courtesy of National Geographic’s Online News. Let’s jump right in, shall we?

For those of us who have been to Northern Australia, on Zegrahm’s Kimberley expeditions, not being able to get in the water is par for the course. This is due to the presence of saltwater crocodiles, murky opaque water, and shockingly powerful twice-daily tides. Add to this 113 newly identified (and bizarre looking) sharks and rays—among them not one but two fresh water river sharks. As the photos in the article attest, these are not small home aquarium Amazonian fresh water sharks but rather big, toothy sharks. Read the full story and view images at these links: 113 New Sharks and Rays Announced in Australia & Photos

The second newly-identified animal is a fish that glows red using fluorescence. It belongs to a larger group of glow-in-the-dark fish that live below a depth of 33 feet. Previously scientists believed that red was an “irrelevant” color to fish. The nerve! Read the full story which includes photos of some additional red-glowing sea creatures at this link: Glowing Red Fish Discovered.

This installment of Interesting Finds concludes with a terrestrial animal newly-identified and named in Fiji. Ladies and gentlemen, I alert you to Brachylophus bulabula, a gorgeous new iguana named after a Fijian greeting. Enjoy: Iguana Found in Fiji.

Andrew

I love bugs, and I love trying to photograph them. A lot of Zegrahm and Eco Expedition’s destinations are swarming, crawling [insert bug locomotion verb that best suits you here] with beautiful insects. If you are in the United States this summer, and find yourself in New Orleans, Louisiana for any length of time, the largest insectarium in the United States opened its doors recently and is getting rave reviews. It is attached to the Audubon Nature Institute and there is an online video.

If you happen to visit Victoria, British Columbia you can stop by my favorite small-scale insectarium - The Victoria Bug Zoo, and if you are in Philadelphia for any length of time, a visit to The Insectarium is in order.

Enjoy!

Andrew

Andrew works in the Seattle office of Zegrahm Expeditions and is passionate about our natural world. He regularly shares interesting tidbits and news articles with his office mates and we thought it would be a great idea to share this fascinating information with our like-minded travelers. We hope you enjoy his findings as much as we do!

This is pretty spectacular news: over 100,000 Western lowland gorillas were “discovered” in equatorial Africa, and reports indicate that this could literally double previous world gorilla population numbers. CNN and National Geographic ran the story online. A bit of good news for gorilla lovers worldwide! Read the full story at these links: CNN Article & National Geographic Article.

As if that weren’t enough amazing news, researchers identified not only the world’s smallest snake, but theoretically the smallest possible snake, meaning that snakes cannot possibly be smaller than this and still be considered a snake. I would love to see an x-ray of one! It comfortably fits on top of a quarter. Here’s the National Geographic News online article: World’s Smallest Snake.

This morning during a spectacular sunrise—made even more dramatic by the rare presence of clouds—we headed toward what appeared to be a mesa rising from the middle of the ocean. This apparition was, in fact, Montgomery Reef which is only visible during low tide. The roughly 80-mile long reef is submerged twice a day—by extreme tides. We cruised to a suitable drop-off point, passing rafting-worthy waterfalls and turbulent rivers of sea water still pouring off the reef.

Once ashore, and mindful of the myriad potentially toxic animals around us, we diligently followed our staff biologists and naturalists from one amazing living creature to the next. Almost immediately we were investigating small octopus, rays, living corals, giant bailer snails, and even a spectacularly bold mantis shrimp. Feeling more confident, we walked over crunching dead corals and through nearly seven inches of remaining water. Engrossed in our own explorations, or joining smaller groups, we all had one ear tuned to the occasional yelp of discovery and, as quickly as our water shoes could squelch, we made our way over to be sure we didn’t miss anything. We spent several hours in total tidal pool bliss before heading back to the ship for cookies and stories of who saw how many of what.

We were all excited by the sunshine and dazzling surroundings here in the remote Kimberley as we headed to Bathhurst Island in the “Xplorer,” the excursion vessel that can take everyone from our ship to shore together… Local Aboriginal Tiwi guides met us and we began a great day exploring and learning about this fascinating culture. We visited a workshop, Ngaruwanajirri, where traditional artwork is created by disabled Tiwis. In a Quonset-style building massive panels painted with Tiwi designs tiled the entire ceiling, while the artisans’ tools and works in progress were spread out neatly along the floor. Most of us purchased a variety of the beautiful artwork, including hand-painted textiles and hand-carved masks. Our next stop was a typical Tiwi church, elaborately decorated with a blend of hand-carved western Christian icons and traditionally painted Tiwi animal designs.

At the Museum for History of the Island and People, our guide detailed the various components of Tiwi history through artifacts, sacred burial totems, vintage photography, and traditional jewelry. We were also treated to homemade tea and bread, Tiwi basket weaving, and Tiwi face-painting. At a Tiwi dance and ironwood cleansing ceremony, painted Tiwi men and women brought smoked branches to each member of our group for blessings of good luck and health, followed by dances evocative of indigenous animals. For birders, a pair of sulphur-crested cockatoos patrolled the surrounding trees long enough to take photos of them. Waving goodbye from the Xplorer to our new Tiwi friends and guides, we headed back to the ship for Peter Zika’s first lecture: “Sex and the Single Flower.” It was a magical day.