Kayaking trip report - June 2003
Khao Sok: The
Rare Animal Show
Just
when I thought I'd seen it all at Khao Sok, I get another
major surprise.
At sunrise of the morning of June 19th,
we were watching a group of wild pigs foraging along the shoreline
of Khao Sok. We were still close to the floating bungalows. Joining
me was Jon Bennett, a repeat guest/friend. Jon teaches computer
science at a high school in Tokyo. He had a powerful Canon digital
camera with a 300 mm zoom lens. These photos on this page were
taken by Jon.
He took some photos of the wild pigs,
then we journeyed further. A Crested Goshawk stood proud in a
barren tree. We marveled at its beauty, then carried on. Sitting
in the back of a cove, something caught my eye. It was black,
big and very hairy. I looked through my binoculars and was shocked
by what I saw. There was a huge Asiatic Black bear high up in
a tree! Scanning, I saw a cub. They were eating big blue-ish berries.
Scanning up, I saw another cub. The adult, most likely a female,
was massive. Conservatively, I'd say she was at least a hundred
pounds.
Unfortunately,
this is the bear of choice for the exceedingly merciless
Asian medicine trade. Heartless poachers have decimated the population
of these magnificent beings. I was torn as to whether or not I
should let anyone know that we saw these animals in Khao Sok.
I didn't tell anyone in the park. But I decided that anyone who
subscribes to this newsletter is not going to be the type of person
who would harm such an animal.
Tourism is an agent of protection for bears and
other endangered animals. The tourism dollars keep the national
park going and pay the wages of the staff that protect the area.
Yes, these park rangers are serious about protecting their future
by protecting the inhabitants of the jungle. We talk at length
with them about this, but they are already clued into the necessity
for a safe haven for what’s left in the Kingdom. Still,
we never say exactly where we see the rare things we see. 
Earlier in this trip, we saw plenty of other
attention-grabbing animals. Late on the first afternoon, we saw
a pair of Banded Woodpeckers on one side of a cove. On the other
side, a very rare Grey-headed Fish-Eagle patrolled his turf. Khao
Sok is one of the last strongholds for this endangered bird of
prey. It would truly be a loss to never see one of these beautiful
birds perched in wait for a fish. Its call is easy to recognize.
it gives me a warm feeling every time I hear it.
Monkeys
Monkeys are common in Khao Sok National Park.
None are more plentiful than the comical Dusky Langur. They are
mostly black, but they have white eye rings and a white ring around
their mouths as well. Their long white tails often expose their
position.
Another common name for Dusky
Langurs is Leaf Monkey. That’s because they eat leaves constantly.
Munching on leaves, they repeatedly miss the fact that they are
being watched. We can slip up on eating Langurs without them knowing.
Once they spot us however, they usually flee.
Their favored mode of escape
is leaping. You wouldn’t believe how far these guys can
leap. They regularly take death-defying jumps from one tree to
the next. Most of the courses are downward, but believe me, they
can do some pretty lengthy horizontal jumps as well.
Monkeys do die falling from
trees. And as such, they appear to use arboreal trails much the
way we use ground trails. The time-tested branches are favored
as the troop moves across the jungle canopy. If you see one monkey
leap from a certain branch to a certain branch, stay focused,
as the next monkey will, in all likelihood, use the same trail.
Another
monkey we saw in abundance was the Long-tailed Macaque.
They live in big groups called “troops.” There will
be one alpha male in charge of the troop. We frequently hear scuffles
as smaller males take their crack at the top job.
These are very adaptable monkeys.
They figure out how to get food from a variety of different situations.
These are the most common type of monkey in the temples of Thailand.
They’ve figured out the free meal ticket here. They have
also adapted to island living. You can see them combing beaches
at low tide in search of whatever might provide a bit of nourishment.
They are commonly called Crab-eating Macaques when in this setting.
If
you want to take photos of monkeys, macaques are quite
obliging. They don’t scare easily and they come all the
way down to the water. Dusky Langurs only come down close to the
water’s edge when their favorite veggies are there in abundance.
They are very skittish when they do venture to this region.
Hornbills
and Kingfishers
Believe it or not, the Great Hornbill is the
most regularly seen bird in Khao Sok. These massive jumbo jets
of the tropical airways of the park are so large that they make
a whooshing sound when flying. When gliding, you can still hear
the air as it courses across its two-meter wingspan.
We saw Great Hornbills every day and at all
times of the day. The wacky Helmeted Hornbill was vocal throughout
the day as well. The excitable yelping call of the smaller Bushy-crested
Hornbills cropped up from time to time. Luckily for us bird watchers,
they often make their ruckus just before taking wing. That gives
you time to get your binoculars ready as you turn your kayak around
in anticipation.
Oriental Pied Hornbills don’t make quite
as much noise, but they can certainly hold their own when it comes
to volume. They too often make a bunch of noise just before taking
flight. Isn’t that considerate.
The Blue-eared Kingfisher is
becoming more and more common in Khao Sok. This lovely brilliant
blue bird gives a sort of police whistle when in flight. To the
trained ear (mine), this is a sign that it’s time to look
around. It usually perches close to the water, as its prey is
the smaller fish and glass shrimp that inhabit the shallows.
The Stork-billed Kingfisher is the most common
large kingfisher in Khao Sok. We came across two of them while
hiking to a cave. They were perched near a small stream. This
stream is normally well underwater, but southern Thailand is suffering
from a second year of low rainfall.
The reservoir is used for hydroelectric
power as well as water. Even though it’s lower than I’ve
seen it in over ten years, the Electrical Generating Authority
of Thailand releases water on a schedule. This exposes a lot more
land and provides more shoreline, making the likelihood of seeing
herbivorous animals more likely. The shore is lush with grasses,
including a lot of bamboo, and a good amount of banana trees.
Spiderhunters, small nectivores, flitter about, sticking their
long bills into the banana flowers. A variety of spiderhunters
exist with various lengths bills to suit the various lengths of
banana flowers.
The King
of the jungle
On a recent trip, the sighting of a colossal
King Cobra pleasured us. I rounded a corner and headed down the
left bank of a cove. Suddenly, I saw a tail sneak up the bare
part of the bank and disappear into the meter-high grass. The
grass very high up the bank was moving too… hmmm? I called
everyone over. There was a gap in the foliage where we witnessed
this organic freight train roll by. It kept going and going. When
will we see the caboose? Out of the blue, a head pop up above
it all. My God! This was a King Cobra. Its head must have been
at least a meter and a half off of the ground. It just stared
at us. At this point, I remember thinking, “I am soooo glad
that we’re in kayaks and not walking right now!” If
we’d have been on foot, I would have suggested trotting
rapidly in the other direction. After all, this is the true king
of the jungle. Nothing can win a fight against a full-grown King
Cobra. Only a man with a tool can overcome this truly noble work
of Nature. It packs enough venom to kill an elephant.
It just stared at us, lapping
up our chemical signals from time to time. The scales above its
eyes appeared to presented a downward slope, making it look evil.
What an incredible sight.
Even if you are deathly afraid of snakes, you’ve got to
appreciate the vocation and beauty of this ruler of all he could
bite.
If seeing a wide variety of animals, from huge
to small, Khao Sok is the place. From the comfort of a kayak,
you'll be able to sneak up on monkeys and birds. you never know
what you'll encounter. So come on over and give kayaking a try.
It's suitable for all ages. You're never too old to start kayaking.
It's easy.
Photos by Jonathan Bennett
If you missed our story about the Malayian
Tapirs, click here. If you'd like to read
about our encounter with the rare Thai mountain goat, called a
Serow,
click here. For more reading about the birds
of Khao Sok, click here.
The
water's always warm in Southeast Asia.
We hope to paddle with you soon!
All
the best,
Dave & the PaddleAsia Team
