Madagascar anyone?

[NCHERPS]

Linus,

I was going to do the Costa rica trip, but then my wife fell pregnant, and that put pay to that, well at least for a few years anyway :wink: .

Costa rica is surposed to be one or the safest of the Central/South American countries, but has all the wildlife and diving etc you should ever want to see.

Let us know when you make your final decision.

A envious Neil.

 

[instar]

Nice Pics Hix, amazing graceful creatures!

 

[farmdog]

I live with 3 females, I get plenty of 'Yap' right here 24/7 !

3 is bad enough but imagine 5 for 24/7 for 6 weeks mate non stop headaches

 

[Menagerie]

whinger farmdog!

My parents went to Madagascar (I am hoping to go to Africa early next year). They showed me the pics and it looks absolutely divine. They definitely recommended it from a holiday point of view. They aren't herpers though, so not sure about that angle!

If you want to see cool geckoes and water snakes go to Fiji!

 

[basketcase]

i was in the galapagos 8 weeks ago now. its a magical place, but alot more baron than most think. the marine life is amazing and the iguanas are like dinosaurs.

while in south america i did 3 months research on herps in the peruvian amazon, bloody awesome. the jungle is the place to go if u have a fair bit of time on your hands... the herps are there theyre just buggers to find in some places! check out iquitos, its in northern peru, although i was in southern peru i heard alot of good things about iquitos from other tourists

if u wanna go all out, and this is what i plan to do when i go back, id go to iquitos in peru, the llanos in venezuela, the pantanal in brazil and then goto costa rica if you have time/money to spare

 

[peterescue]

they are enormous aren't they like wing span of 15 feet??

Yup. And there were at least a dozen of them, only a few metres from us. must find the photos and scan them.

i was wondering if the flying fox here could be a lemur sub sp

No, it's not a lemur. Not by any definition or taxonomic description.



Hix

There is a theory current that the Flying Fox species descended from primates, ie common ancestor with that of the lemur.

 

[BeardyBen]

Hi everyone I spent 3 months in Ivory coast west africa and it is an awesome place i stayed in a village between ivory coast and ghana i saw quite a few herps there in the wild heaps of different lizards, chameleons ( which they dry and use in medicine ) a few snakes: beautiful green tree snake (not sure what kind) plenty of cobras in the banana plantations. small freshwater crocodiles ( that I saw while washing in the same river.) I'll try and get some pics scanned. it was seriously the best time of my life! I lived in a tiny cocoa farm village deep in the rain forest i hunted, fished and gathered food from the forest (snails, berries, nuts, leaves ect... ( my ex girlfriend was from there otherwise i probably would never have experienced going that deep into the forest so I was extremely lucky!!!!) I was one of the only europeans that had ever been through the area as it isnt the safest place to be wandering around, the only others were gold prospectors surveying the land. amazing people and culture amazing flora and fauna!!! it changed my life! DEFINATELY GO TO AFRICA!

 

[Hickson]

There is a theory current that the Flying Fox species descended from primates, ie common ancestor with that of the lemur.

Current? That theory was suggested in the 80's as a result of some research that showed that Flying foxes had something in their brains similar to lemurs, and microbats did not. It was a theory.

About 10 years ago that was debunked, as the brain similarities were for enhanced smell and vision, thought to enable them to find fruit. As that's what primates feed on (and microbats don't) the thinking was that the brain similarities evolved convergently. There was also new evidence with, I think, the musculature of the wing that suggests that all bats are definitely related. I can certainly see that as being the most parsimonious explanation.

However: I've been out of the loop for a bit and this theory may have cropped up again without me hearing about it, so I will make some calls and see what I can find out.

Also However: Even if fruitbats and lemurs did share a common ancestor, my statement still stands - "No, it's not a lemur. Not by any definition or taxonomic description. " They might be related, but they are definitely NOT lemurs.



Hix

 

[Ricko]

love the pics hix

 

[africancichlidau]

Go to Lake Tanganyika and dive for Tropheus, I'll have a few if you bring any back with you

 

[Linus]

Great. Thanks for the replies everyone. Some good food for thought there.Sounds like my next few years worth of holidays is now booked up.

Hix - thanks for the photos. That is definitely something I want to do in my lifetime.

Beardyben - sounds like you had a great time. The Ivory coast sounds like it was a great experience.

Basketcase - interesting that you say galapgos is more barron than you would think. I've only seen it on docos and I always got the sense there was an abundance of fauna there. Would be good to see some photos from your trip though.

Afro...I would if I had any idea what a Tropheus was!

 

[Hickson]

Linus,

I haven't been to the Galapagos but by barren I assume Basketcase is referring to the aridity of the islands - the Galapagos is a very dry place, there is not a lot of rainfall and certainly no tropical forests on the island! In fact, I think it's classed as desert.



Hix

 

[Linus]

Ah right...I was thinking barren of life...thanks for that - makes more sense.

 

[basketcase]

lol, mate there is plenty of life. i thought it'd be alot more heavily vegetated from the docos i'd seen.

i'll post some pics latewr today if i have the time, you guys will love the marine iggy's. on isla enspanola theyer green, red and black. bloody terrific they are!

 

[Fuscus]

Afro...I would if I had any idea what a Tropheus was!

A tropheus is an African Cichlid, we have enough of them here :wink:

 

[Magpie]

Hmmmm, Galapagos..... Giant Tortoises, Marine Iguanas, yellow land iguanas....... mmmmmm