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What's a pangolin?

WHEN? Probably never except by armchair

WHERE? Borneo rainforest

The first thing I saw today when I turned on the computer was a Yahoo News article about pangolins. I had never heard of such an animal. My curiosity led me to several websites, but the one I just had to share with you was a excellent video of a Malayan or Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) in a Borneo rainforest. With a little imagination, you can pretend you are right there in the rainforest.



There is another video on YouTube from National Geographic you may want to view entitled What in the World is a Pangolin?.

You also might need some help, as I did, on where Borneo is. Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located at the centre of Maritime Southeast Asia. Borneo is surrounded by the South China Sea to the north and northwest, the Sulu Sea to the northeast, the Celebes Sea and the Makassar Strait to the east and the Java Sea and Karimata Strait to the south. The island of Borneo is divided administratively into 3 parts, the only island in the world that is a recognized part of 3 countries:

1. The Indonesian provinces of East, South, West and Central Kalimantan
2. The Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak (the Federal Territory of Labuan is located on nearshore islands of Borneo, but not on the island of Borneo itself)
3. The independent country of Brunei (main part and eastern exclave of Temburong)

I found the above information at Borneo in Wikipedia.

Dolphins at Weeks Bay

WHEN? Tuesday · December 15

WHERE? Fairhope, Alabama · find us on the map

Photo credit: ManyFreeWallpapers

estuary: A semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries are often associated with high rates of biological productivity.

While Wendell was volunteering today at Weeks Bay Reserve, an employee remarked that he had seen dolphins jumping out of the water in Weeks Bay for the first time ever. Naturally, my first question was, "Did he get any photos?" Apparently not.

Wendell and I had wondered if the heavy rains we had had recently could be the cause of this different behavior at Weeks Bay, so I sent an email to the manager at Weeks Bay asking him if he had any idea why this unusual Dolphin behavior happened? He replied that he did not know any reasons that would directly cause the dolphins' behavior. He went on to add: "Jumping for a dolphin is common — we just haven’t seen this behavior in Weeks Bay."

I have seen dolphins in the Gulf and even in Weeks Bay traveling one behind the other the way they normally do, but I would be very excited to see them jumping like they are doing in the video below.