We have quite a few reptiles taking up residence at our apartment. They’re everywhere. Turtles swimming in the pond, lizards creeping in the grass and geckos crawling on the walls. And, of course, they all take lots of sun bathing breaks.
It never gets old seeing them.
And, I’m sure there are a few snakes, but I haven’t seen them yet. Let’s keep it that way.
Enjoying the afternoon sun
Extra long tail
“I’ll eat you.”
I’m sure that’s what this little guy was thinking. All while muttering under his breath, “Just if I was a little bigger. A little bigger”.
I enjoyed the stand-off with him. It reminded me of those kitschy 60’s Japanese horror films where overgrown insects take over Tokyo. Just minature. And not so scary. Because, if he were overgrown I would’ve been running in terror.
Just like in those movies.
But, in fact, this preying mantis is a vegetarian. He lives in Penang. And he’s designed to be perfectly camouflaged when resting in a tree. Even his wings look like dried leaves.
Stand-Off
Miniature monster/alien villan
When the tide goes out in Penang strange creatures show up. And I mean strange.
Are these fish? Mutated half-breeds resulting from the heavily polluted waters? What are they!?!?
That’s what I kept asking myself as they flopped, crawled and scooted across the soft mud. And effortlessly darted in the water whenever I got too close.
Good thing for Google. After about ten minutes of searching I learned they are called mudskippers. An appropriate name.
Mudskippers breathe through their skin, as long as it remains moist. During high tide, they maintain an air pocket inside their burrow, which allows them to breathe in low-oxygen conditions.
Freaky mudskippers
Tide out, thousands of mud burrow holes
