Libong: Wildlife
It was a moonless night and there is no electricity on Libong after midnight. But the bathroom attached to my bungalow was impeccably clean, so I thought that the dark shadows scuttling around on the floor must be my imagination.
I felt my way carefully back to the safety of the mosquito net. I abhor aircon, and on an island with intermittent electricity it makes no sense at all, so I had settled for a fan room. Through the insect screens I could hear the chirping and rustling of the jungle. A cool breeze stirred the net which kept me safe from bites. Nature at a distance: just the way I like it.
The sight that greeted me the next morning was less gratifying. Lying flat on its back on the bathroom sill, legs weaving frantically, was the second fattest cockroach I’d ever seen.
I couldn’t get past the thing, let alone turn my back to it. So much for putting in my contact lenses. I grabbed my toothbrush and headed for the staff bathroom to do my business, then—with a shudder—packed up my stuff, my eyes never wavering from that roach.
Images of snakes and scorpions invaded my mind so I gave my booties a good shake. One of them flapped a lot more than the other, but I couldn’t see anything inside and nothing came out.
Shrugging, I headed to the bar where Simon would help me set up the kayak. By the time I was ready to slip on on the booties I had forgotten about the floppy left.
My toes touched cool, yielding softness.
With a shriek I hurled the thing away. But it had definitely not been a cockroach or a scorpion. Nor a snake. It’d been…
Gingerly I fished the thing from the floor and peered inside.
…a black marked toad (Bufo melanisticus)1
1 Thanks to the Lizardking for the identification!
Tags: Dugongs, SE Asia, Travel, Tag Index
Denni