Biting off more than it can chew

Plantain squirrels are seen almost everyday now.  They come in all sort of sizes and age,  They are here much attracted by the presence of oil palm fruits, ripe or otherwise, biting off more than they can chew.

The Prevost's Squirrel tries to catch the Hill Myna bird.

The Prevost's Squirrel is seen at the bottom of the picture starting to reach up to the Hill Myna perching at the very tip of the branch.

Alerted by the presence of the squirrel the Hill Myna flies off.

The squirrel returns back empty handed.
Location : Licuala Hill

It was by coincidence that I came across the Prevost's Squirrel attempting to prey on the Hill Myna bird or 'Tiong' as it is locally known, early this morning.  The failed attempt of the squirrel is shown as in the three pictures above.  The Prevost's Squirrel is a large and attractive squirrel.

The Plantain Squirrel

Plantain squirrel at the Durian tree branch

 It was very interesting to watch the Plantain Squirrel this afternoon. It was first seen among the leaves and branches of a Durian tree.  It then moved down among the oil palm fronds.  At this time of the year when food in the jungle is a little bit scarce many squirrels are seen coming out of the forest more often to enjoy the oil palm fruits.  Well, I guess it pretty ok.  Their presence makes the park lively and are good subjects for wildlife photography....enjoy the pictures. 

Photoshoot session with the Plantain Squirrel

 December is a time for less fruits.  The constant rains since November normally do not allow for enough heat to help out with the ripening or flowering process.  This is the cyclical phenomena faced by oil palm cultivators on the island of Borneo, despite having  the equator situated above the island. The plantain squirrel will grab whatever ripe fruits available before the night falls.  It was a surprise photoshoot session this late afternoon.  The squirrel did not notice by presence and gave me the golden opportunity to come close and personal with the cute little model.  Here's more shots of the unaware model in action.....

Plantain Squirrel
Zone C
All images taken on 14 December'14, Nikon D5100

The squirrels are coming..

Plantain squirrel at the oleina tree
Location : Provinsi Borneo, Zone D

 The squirrels are coming to town.  Early in the morning they jump from branch to branch, trees to trees and sometimes run fast on the ground below.  They are attracted to the oil palm fruits especially those ripe ones, biting more than they could chew.  Other fruits that are target to their sharp teeth are the Jackfruit, Cempedak fruit and Lumok fruits that are in abundance and starting to ripen at the park.  Everyday is a fruity fiesta.  At the moment they are not considered as serious pests but merely part of the occupational hazards of operating an eco-farm.  By the way, squirrels fetch a good price in Bintulu town.  They are sold for more than RM 15 per living specimen at current market price.  They are considered a delicacy among many native people of Bintulu.

Squirrels are expert tree or branch jumpers...

A healthy looking specimen.  This one can fetch RM 15 at the Bintulu 'Tamu' or jungle produce market.

Early mornng rush

Plantain squirrel joins the early morning rush for ripe fruits..

Kantan - Torch Ginger

 It was a pleasant morning walk.  Despite the puasa or fasting  I seldom miss an early morning walk in the park.  There is always something invigorating watching the early morning birds twitter and dash for the early morning seeds.  Soon many other birds join in the early morning rush for insects, nectar and ripening fruits.  Today many plantain squirrels showed their natural skills,  effortlessly climbing tall huge trees, jumping from branch to branch and often nibbling vigorously at some ripe oil palm fruits to their hearts content.  At the start of day, the flowers of the Kantan (Etlingera elatior) shows its pink bracts, looking fresh in the early morning dew.  These sharply spicy-fragrant inflorescences are very much sought after by chefs in Malaysia in the making of the 'laksa' dish. The morning never fails to brighten up one's spirits.  The shining red colour of the common hibiscus called Bunga Raya in Malay start to bloom early every morning throughout the year.  This variety which was picked as the national flower of Malaysia in 1957  has single red and semi-pendulous flowers.  It is nice to see how nature tries to captivate one's attention in its early morning rush ..... 

Bunga Raya - national flower of Malaysia
Family : Malvaceae - Hibiscus family

The squirrels come marching in

 With the end of year seasonal fruits dwindling in the nearby forests, the squirrels come marching in to the park.  Here they get to gorge the oil palm fruits for free.  This is a minor problem as the presence of more oil palm smallholdings around the park have provided more choices for them to devour these fruits. The type of squirrels that come by are the plantain squirrels.

Sunday morning walk

 Sunday morning and taking it easy.  Having a leisurely stroll around the park to watch nature early.  Sometimes it is best to take photograph between 6.30 am to 8.00 am making use of the soft effect of early morning light.  Here's what I managed to shoot this morning...a squirrel goes out early to hunt, the moon is still seen in the early morning sky, broad jungle leaves against thin long leaves, Inul - my lovely cat that was born in the park, the ' tekukur' bird in the distance and the spiderhunter happily singing and enjoying the nectar from the yellow ixora flowers...Such is the beauty of nature in the early morning light.