The Gharial: A Critically Endangered Fish Eating Crocodilian

Before setting off to a new location, we always do some basic research into what types of creatures call that place home. We also try to gauge the likelihood of us actually seeing them. There were a few big hitters on the list to see in Chitwan National Park, Nepal, including the one-horned rhino, royal…

One Night at Mahakirau Forest Estate

Three Archey’s frogs, five Hochstetter’s frogs, three Coromandel striped geckos, and one forest gecko… all seen in less than a 24 hour period! Whenever we visit Sara and Ro out at Mahakirau Forest Estate, we are always spoilt with wildlife encounters.

Plague Skinks (Lampropholis delicata) at Gordon Park Scenic Reserve, Whanganui, NZ

This Tuesday, Tom and I joined a team of volunteers to tackle some of the invasive plant species at Gordon Park Scenic Reserve, Whanganui. Whilst we were there, we came across a clutch of skink eggs and a number of skinks basking in the sun in a newly-planted area. Gordon Park Scenic Reserve Gordon Park…

Common Wall Lizards Basking in Basque Country

Across a gently flowing stream high in the forested mountains of the Basque Country, Spain, I spotted two basking common European wall lizards (Podarcis muralis). Without hesitation (like any good ecologist) I waded across the water to inspect. These two lizards (photographed at some distance with a 600mm telephoto lens) looked a lot like the…

A Rare and Elusive Species: The Coromandel Striped Gecko [Toropuku “Coromandel”]

…only 28 individuals have been identified and recorded up until 12th November 2014. I am not aware of any updates to the database, but know that additional animals have been found since. I can be sure of this as Emma and I with our wildlife-spotting friends, Sara and Ro, came across two presumably new individuals that night!