Where are the reptiles?
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by Batfan
It's just dawned on me that, out of the several thousand clips that I've so far classified, I haven't come across a single reptile. Is there a particular reason for this - i.e. are there just not many in the areas, are the cameras positioned in places that they are unlikely to be, or am I just plain unobservant? Just wondered!
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by AnLand moderator in response to Batfan's comment.
Hi @Batfan,
no, you're right. We did not see many reptiles at all. Some lizards, snakes, a turtle ... It might be that the camera height (1 m) is an unfavorable perspective to get reptiles on camera. I also guess that reptiles are either too fast to get caught on film or on the hand too static to trigger the camera's motion sensor. I actually don't know what the distribution and density of reptiles is in these rainforests, but I also would expect more than we got to see at Chimp&See.
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by Boleyn moderator
Hi @Batfan here's a nice large black cobra for you. ACP000eg9h 😄 Happy new year!
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by Batfan
Thanks both. That's a cool clip of the cobra. Happy New year to you too - let's hope it brings lots of exciting finds on C&S.
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by Snorticus
Hi @Batfan I thought we'd see more reptiles too, it's always exciting when we do.
This green snake was pretty spectacular ACP00040gt ACP00040gu ACP00040gv ACP00040gw
This snake behind a duiker was pretty cool ACP0002nqg
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by Batfan in response to Snorticus's comment.
Many thanks @Snorticus. Those are great.
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by MimiA scientist, moderator
Hi @batfan - Its a consequence of camera placement mostly. The forests are filled with reptiles but since we have the cams a meter off the ground, reptiles are unlikely to trigger the cameras. If we had cameras right on the forest floor, I'd imagine we'd get a lot more 😃
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by jwidness moderator
My favorite are the monitor lizards.
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by Batfan
Thanks both for your responses. I did wonder if it could be something like that @MimiA. Love the monitor lizards @jwidness. The clips that everyone's posted have made me realise how hard they can sometimes be to spot - it's certainly made me examine every clip several times before passing on to the next.
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by ksigler moderator in response to Batfan's comment.
I'm the same way, @Batfan ! I love reptiles and amphibians, and watch every clip I classify 3+ times in case I miss something off in a corner somewhere or moving super slow (turtles) or super quick (lizards). If you want to see some, I have a personal collection where I save some that I like (my Herps collection), but the keyword collections will be more comprehensive, of course.
Some tips for spotting them, just based on my experience: You'll see small frogs easier at night, because of their eye shine. They're also very common when it's raining. Snakes are low to the ground, but some also hang out in trees. If other large animals or people are walking around, you probably won't see a snake out in the open (except for that clip @Snorticus posted with the duiker which was pretty crazy). There was at least one great sequence of a snake watching a rodent, though. Large lizards like monitors can be anywhere, but most of the smaller lizards I've spotted were on trees or termite mounds.
Good luck herping! (I have an imaginary $25 bounty on a clip of a honey badger fighting a snake; let me know if you find one.) 😉
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by Batfan
Thanks so much for your tips @ksigler. I love some of those clips and they've been really useful in helping me get my eye in - some of them I've had to look at two or three times before spotting the reptile or frog. I look forward to finding one for myself - and yes, I'll certainly be in touch if I find a honey badger fighting a snake!
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