White Shark! Closing In

Sun Bird Nest Completed

Sun Bird, originally uploaded by poojitha.

I decided to keep the nest as it is, because I was feeling bit uneasy of removing it. They were very busy for the last 4 days, now the nest is almost complete, saw them bringing feathers to decorate the interior, actually its more of a comforting tactic i guess. They were placing the feathers inside and wiggle their bodies to make them flat, pretty cute. My door is a tinted glass sliding door, so its easy for me to observe the nest without being noticed by the birds.I hope they would lay some eggs soon, love to here them sing, they have a beautiful voice despite their appearance .

Peters' elephant nose fish

This fish is not a result of a genetic research gone wrong or something, its called Peters' elephant nose fish (Gnathonemus petersii). The long nose can generate weak electric current ( covered in electroreceptors ), uses it for detecting food,navigation, communication and defense. Same principal used in metal detectors, to search for bombs and stuff, seems to be a good pet too, can live up to 6-10 years. One more thing, they have the largest brain of any other fish their size. Their brain size to body weight ratio is higher than a humans, so show some respect if you happen to have them in your aquarium (they are very sensitive to poor water quality ).

TOP OF SEYCHELLES

I climbed one of the highest mountains in Seychelles today and this is how it all got started. The day I landed in Seychelles (2005), I saw a giant, standing magnificently over the small town of Victoria, Trois Freres a second highest mountain in Mahe, which reaches a height of 2293 ft. /699 m, the highest point is Morne Seychellois, 2993 ft. It took my breath away. Since then, when ever I go to town, I would look at her and hoped that if I could ever climb up to the top, because climbing mountain is one of my favorite hobbies. I did climb many mountains in Seychelles, even in other islands, but this one always stood there, avoiding many close encounters of me invading her territory. But I was always determined to conquer her and enjoy the breathtaking scenery and of course sharing it with you.

I woke up early today, remembering the hike that we have planed. I was bit uneasy about it, the government had informed the public not to climb the path leading to the Trois Frères Cross (The cross at the top of morne Seychelles), saying it’s precarious, since many deaths were reported. I like taking risks, many times I did and I’m still alive, but I was worried about others, if they refused to climb and I would loose my last chance of going there. Danilo and I reached the town before others, there were 11 of us, Zahid, Nishan, Abeyakumara, Mangala, Kamil, Sanjaya & his sister, & another guy (his name slipped my mind).

Inside the jungle, originally uploaded by poojitha.

We took the bus and got down at the starting point of the path, actually the path has two parts, there is a kiosk (small hut) after climbing up to about 300m, you can rest there and come back or you can climb to the top. We entered in to the jungles, the light was low, and the trees were dark green with thick under growth, huge boulders were scattered all over the place, some trees grow on them with falling creepers giving a feeling of a hanging garden. Suddenly, we heard a huge roar coming towards us, it was the sound of rain, soon it caught us, and we started getting soaked up really fast. Some tried to take cover under big trees, failed miserably; eventually they all started to accept the truth, its time to get wet. So we started to climb up again, cloths heavy, shoes full of water. It was not that bad, after some time I started liking the rain, actually its fun getting wet, its nature after all, all the animals in this earth get caught in rain and get wet, and they don’t mind that, except human, how foolish.

Raining cats and Dogs, originally uploaded by poojitha.

There were numerous streams crossing the path, we walked wiping eye from the pouring rain, squinting our eyes to see ahead, we were approaching the first stage when thick mist encapsulated us reducing the visibility to about 20 meters. My heart sank, thick mist and rain is not very good for steep climbs, we moved on .I observed some pitcher plants on the way, its a carnivorous plant which traps insects in its pitcher like apparatus, good way of surviving in rocky environments. I took my camera and captured my self in this soaked up situation, others were afraid to take theirs fearing water may ruin their cameras. I value these situations than the camera; I can buy a camera but not this type of experience.

very steep, originally uploaded by poojitha.

We reached the flat plain and reached the stage one, the kiosk, it was raining more heavily now, cold wind and mist swept past us. We started eating the stuff we brought, I was too windy and cold, I was shivering, one disadvantage of being skinny, I need some fat. Dr Zahid, Mangala and others kept our spirit high by making us laugh; it kept us away from thinking about rain and stuff. Eventually others started getting cold, some were not sure if they could climb to the top. Zahid, Danilo & I decided to check if the path ahead is still good to climb, I secretly prayed it to be. The path was not that over grown, one by one everybody agreed to continue. This time it was tougher, the path was dangerously steep and muddy, slight loose of concentration could make your head bang on a tree branch or make you slip. The tree canopy was thicker making the sky barely visible, it was dark and damp, lichens were hanging on tree trunks, and I felt like going through a tunnel that never ends. The steepness of the mountain was always 60-70 degrees; I could always see people climbing directly above or below me. I took out my camera to take a picture, sad, the lens was covered with vapor, not from out side but from inside, hoped it would be ok after some time.

i didn't lift it up, originally uploaded by poojitha.

Suddenly we stepped on a flat land; we were closer to the top, the path turned right and suddenly we were climbing huge granite rocks. This time it got bit trickier, it was hard to maneuver around rocks specially when there is a huge drop; fear makes you dangerously clumsy when it comes to rock climbing. After some time we manage to bring ourselves to the top of those huge boulders, scenery around us was amazing. Picture your self standing on top of a mountain which rise up to 2000fts and on both sides you can see the sea. That was what we saw, the scenery was breathtaking. All of us felt proud of being there, looking at ships skimming the blue sea like tiny insects, houses resembling miniature toys. Suddenly the whole scenery vanished as thick mist surrounded us, I felt like soaring in the sky sitting on a tiny island.

Balancing Rocks, originally uploaded by poojitha.

Without warning the mist cleared to give us an opportunity capture the breath taking view on our cameras, one guy(don’t ask the name) approached me and started pinpointing his house giving various references, I pretended that I exactly follow his instructions by vigorously shaking my head while saying “yes, yes”, then he said “Ok now take a picture of me with my house at the back ground”, I was like “WHAT?”, thought of explaining that the viewfinder of the camera is too small to identify his house but gave up, no point of disappointing the kid, I took the picture anyway, hope I got it right .

They were holding me, originally uploaded by poojitha.

Some of the rocks at the top were unbelievably balanced on top of each other; Seychelles is famous for not having any earthquakes for thousands of years, now I believe that, even a small earthquake could have topple a huge amount of rocks the size of a building. I was bit afraid to lean against some rocks (I know its stupid) fearing it could fall. We drifted in to our own worlds, some passing jokes, some dozing off, some trying to identify the islands far away. After some time the things started to get bit cold and windy, we decided to head back home . All of us who reached the top learned about their courage, endurance, fears & team work, and above all how much you can enjoy if you could take some time to explore nature. Next, Morne Seychellois, here we come!

top of Trois Freres, originally uploaded by poojitha.

Extinct

I was astonished to read that researchers found Yangtze river dolphins were extinct, I mean EXTINCT!, no more to be seen, those fresh water dolphins were unique and beautiful, how could humans ignored them like this, last year they were there, now they are not there. This is a big failure for us as the protectors of this planet, we could have at least kept few of this intelligent mammals in captivity, some frozen flesh to clone them or something. Last year Zoologists have developed a plan to save the Yangtze River dolphin,seems to be that they were bit late.If we could spend 0.0000001% of the money spent on killing each other to save this beautiful creature, it could have been alive today. I think the only way of saving this planet is to make our selves extinct!

Biggest Carp ever to be caught

This carp weighing staggering 290Lb was caught by a Tai fisherman who was testing his newly build fishing rod. Must have been a big surprise for him ,and for the fish too.I found this strange mythological belief in china, that if a carp can jump over a water fall from belove ,where they believe that a place called dragon gate exists,the carp can turn in to a beautiful dragon.Thank god that this one didn't jump,could have been a huge dragon.

Coco de Mer - Amazing Tree

The sailors who first saw the nut floating in the sea imagined that it resembled a woman's disembodied buttocks.Until the true source of the nut was found,people thought that this nut grows on a mythical tree at the bottom of the sea, which gave its name ,coconut of the sea (coco de mer).I took this picture when i visited its natural habitat in an Island called Praslin.Male flower resembles male sex organ,some people believes this island to be the garden of eden.

Coco de Me Nut, originally uploaded by poojitha.

This plant only found in Seychelles bears the largest seeds of all plants,weighs 15-30 kg.The Coco de mer is a palm endemic to the islands of Praslin and Curieuse in the Seychelles. It grows to 25-34 m tall. The leaves are fan-shaped, 7-10 m long and 4.5 m wide with a 4 m petiole .It has separate male and female plants. The male flowers are catkin-like, up to 1 m long.

Its illegal to export live nuts out of the country but If you are a sri lankan who wants to see this plant up-close ,don't run to a travel agency too book a ticket to Seychelles,just go to Peradeniya Botanical garden in kandy,there is a huge plant there,don't know how it got end up in Sri Lanka but we can be proud that we have a live specimen of this unique tree.

Lonely Island

edit, originally uploaded by poojitha.

My school resides high up in the mountains,since this is a small island you can always see the sea, where ever you go.Sometimes i walk over to this place, where i can gaze at this lonely island.

Intelligent bird

bird, originally uploaded by poojitha.

One day i got this idea of feeding the birds which comes to our back yard.Me and my wife started feeding some of them which comes near to the kitchen window.Within one or two weeks they got used to it and started hanging around the window making funny noises,this includes hovering in mid air near the window to show that they are there, or to see whether we were there.The number of birds grew dramatically,here are the latest statistics according to my wife,about 10 doves,4 large pigeons,2-4 Mynah birds and 2-4 Madagascar fodys.Some times if we are not at home they try to peek through the front glass door to confirm that we are not hiding ,and they have found an innovative way of leaving the message via bird droppings, honestly ,I think they do this purposely.They no longer fear us,some doves even come near to my wife and watch her cook.Barred ground dove is a lovely bird.Its easy to spot a male birds dancing around a female bird during the mating season,quite impressive dances i would like to say,includes heads bows,tail flappings and many cool moves.One day my wife found a birds nest lying on the ground.She brought it home,put it on the cupboard.Few weeks later When she returned home from town she found a young dove sitting on it enthusiastically.Intelligent bird,safe home with all the facilities including free food.

Home sweet home

nest, originally uploaded by poojitha.

I found this beautifully crafted birds nest hanging on a small tree in my back yard few weeks ago,wondering what type of birds live in a cozy home like this,i inserted my finger gently in to the nest,I could find few eggs in side(i only felt).Then i heard angry voice of a small bird,probably saying all sorts of nasty things about me in what ever language they spoke ("They speak Bird i guess?"),anyway, i got the message and walked away from the nest.It was a Seychelles Sunbird.They can live fairly easily with invasive species like rats & cats because of their hanging nest.

I really wanted to take a picture after the eggs hatched but i was too late,they have already left,not too far though,they still come to suck nectar from flowers in the garden.Today i managed to take a picture of the adult bird,not a very beautiful bird but has a beautiful voice.Its amazing how nature provides everybody some special thing, as for me its big EARS.

Where slaves Lived

Where slaves Lived, originally uploaded by poojitha.

Holy S....Tongue !

I never miss to share extraordinary facts about nature with you.The tongue of the Ecuadorian nectar bat is twice as long as their relatives(8.5 cm).It uses this to lap nectar of a specific flower.

Blood Is Not Red !

This fish was discovered recently by scientist in Antarctica.The amazing thing about this fiish is that it doesn't have any red blood cells or hemoglobin Which helps to make the blood flow freely.It has changed itself to fight the freezing temperatures around him.How amazing,I'm sure there is life on Mars ,at least as bacteria .

I've met lots of people who opposes Evolution saying there is not enough evidence to support it but when you count the number of evidence to support the evolution & evidence against it ,latter is quite low.I think the oceans has the highest biodiversity in this planet and its vibrant with life that nobody has ever seen before , 90 % of the oceans are yet to be explored.I wont be surprised if someone finds a mermaid or a dinosaur in those depths.

Green Lizard

Green Lizard, originally uploaded by poojitha.

This gecko is not a normal house type gecko,It live in forests or bushes,Well, its color tells the story.Some times they sneak in to our house looking for easy prey.I captured this guy on my camera while hiking in a small island called La Digue.The distinctive Seychelles green gecko is a bright lime-green with a scaly skin that appears to be almost iridescent. Their eyes are also vividly colored, and they have no eyelids.The green gecko is, unusually, active during the day, most gecko species are nocturnal. Geckos are the only type of lizard that can produce sounds other than hisses. They are able to click, bark and squeak and croak.This one rests on a banana tree

The giant squid which lights up before attack

I saw this article about this giant squid species which uses sudden flash of light to stun its prey before capture.scientific name of the squid is Taningia danae(measure over 2m (7ft)).The actual size of the giant squid varies according to different speculations.Until recent years it was difficult to believed stories of giant squids destroying ships ,in the old days, but it seems that there is a truth in it.It says that giant squids sometimes eats blue whales,there were reports of dead blue whales having sucker marks of giant squids.

Photograph by Nick Caloyianis A diver films a Greenland shark beneath the Arctic ice."'It rose up and hovered near me in an almost vertical position...When I saw its mouth starting to open, I got concerned.' But there is no record of Greenland sharks ever attacking humans, and a nudge with a strobe light sent this one into retreat."(Text from and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Greenland Sharks," September 1998, National Geographic magazine)

Big

This fish has a keen sense of smell that
it can find its way home from kilometers
away through coral reefs,scientists say,
Cute, i would say.

Pitcher Plant

I saw this plant when i was hiking on a Seychelles mountain.This plant is a carnivorous plant.Unsuspecting insects which rests on the brim of this pitcher like part slips inside,drowns and digested by the juice inside. an efficient way of absorbing nitrates in a rocky environment like this.This plant could be found in many parts of the world.This plant is very sensitive to the changes in the environment.

Cactus

Its a rare incident to sea a cactus flower because they bloom in the night.I saw this flower in front of my apartment.The exact scientific reason i don't know, but it could be to attract specific type of insects.

Black Parrot

In Seychelles(Thats where i live now) there is this island called Praslin (pronounced pra le),which is home to a unique creatures called black parrot.Only difference from a normal parrot is that they are black in color.They are found only in that island in the whole world.I manage to capture one of them in my camera,i was lucky ,its not easy to see them.Government takes lots of measures to protect this unique species but i think they should be introduced to other islands as a precautionary measure.