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Duncan Murrell - A Whale of a Time

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Duncan Murrell - A Whale of a Time

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  • Masoala National Park, in northeast Madagascar, is the largest of the island’s protected areas. Created in 1997, the park protects 2,300 square kilometres of rainforest and 100 square kilometres of marine parks. The Masoala peninsula is exceptionally diverse due to its huge size, and variety of habitats, including rainforest, coastal forest, flooded forest, marsh, and mangrove. There are over 600 plant species on the peninsula including a staggering 99 species of palms, one of the most diverse groups in the world. Three marine parks protect coral reefs and a dazzling array of marine life; currently over 3,000 species of fish and 41 types of coral have been recorded. There are ten lemur species, of which 4 are listed on the IUCN red list of endangered species, including the flamboyant Red Ruffed Lemur, which is endemic to the peninsula. Other endemic species include the Madagascar red owl and the extremely rare serpent eagle. 102 species of birds have been recorded, of which 60% are endemic.<br />
Unfortunately during the political during a period of political unrest in 2009 and 2010, the national park was invaded by thousands of illegal loggers searching for valuable rosewood.<br />
During 2009 and 2010, the national park was invaded by thousands of illegal loggers searching for rosewood, who would have also been involved in widespread poaching of many rare species, including the Red Ruffed Lemurs that are found nowhere else in the world.
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  • It was such a relief to set foot on my first beach along the Masoala Peninsula and what a beautiful beach it was. There was a small river flowing out from the dense forest and I couldn’t wait to explore it. But I was physically drained and the next day was a day of recovery and quiet, relaxed contemplation of my verdant surroundings. When I finally paddled up the river and walked as far as I could I was mesmerised by the vegetation. There was such a wonderful variety of different trees, tree ferns and palms, many of them undoubtedly endemic to Madagascar or even to the Masoala Peninsula. This is what I had been dreaming of when I first made plans for this trip; to be alone in a remote part of Madagascar with the means to explore rivers and penetrate one of the most scientifically valuable rainforests on <br />
the planet. I continued along the peninsula looking for more rivers to explore.
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  • Up the next river I found a variety of stick insects and was able to watch a frog chirping at very close range. The frog chorus started in unison at about the same time very day, each species with its own distinctive call. I saw an incredible bird called a helmet vanga with the most ostentatious bright blue beak and paradise flycatchers trailing long ribbons of feathers behind them; this was the tropical paradise that I had been dreaming about. I was glad that my foot had healed sufficiently well enough to give me almost full mobility again. The next river that I paddled up was much larger than the others and there was a fishing village at the entrance and several dwellings along the lower reaches. I paddled as far as I could to find the greatest sense of solitude. I was well provisioned and I planned on camping there for a few days so that I could explore the surrounding forest. Just past my camp I found a beautiful tributary with a series of small waterfalls. When I hiked up the stream in the evening I entered frog heaven. I found six species, many of them very small and cryptic. The largest one was perched on a small branch and was not disturbed by my presence. I was able to photograph it from every conceivable angle.
    Kayaking-Madagascar-journey39.tif
  • Rocks in Tompolo Marine Park, Masoala National Park, the Masoala Peninsula, eastern Madagascar.<br />
<br />
My next camp was at Tompolo, which is within one of two Marine Parks in Antongil Bay. From there on the shoreline was dotted with the most unusual looking outcrops of large rocks; each one looked like it had a set of broken teeth embedded in the top of it. The point at Tompolo was protected by a cluster of these strange looking rocks and in between them was the first significant aggregation of living coral that I had seen on the entire trip to date. The crystalline water was alive with brightly coloured fish, crabs and shrimp. I could clearly see the benefits of the area’s protected status, and at last I was getting a glimpse of Madagascar’s disappearing marine biodiversity.
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  • As well as the enthralling discoveries I made one very grim one. As I hiked farther up the tributary I could smell the obvious stench of decay. Eventually I came across the rotting carcase of a lemur. Not far away, I could see that there was a snare that had been set on a large fallen tree spanning the river. It was evidently a regular crossing point for animals and the obvious place to set a snare. I dismantled the snare with a mixture of anger at the death of the lemur, sympathy for the poacher who was probably just trying to feed his family, and admiration for the ingenuity of its construction from material gleaned from the forest. I had already seen how people have a significant foothold around the perimeter of the forest and up some of the larger rivers. Poaching is going to be inevitable with such a large protected area lacking in sufficient personnel to actually patrol and protect it.
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  • Madagascar is home to about half the world’s chameleons, including both subfamilies, typical chameleons and dwarf chameleons (Brookesiinae). Chameleons are small to mid-size reptiles that are famous for their ability to dramatically change colours. Contrary to popular belief, they do not change colours to match their surroundings. Instead colour is usually used to convey emotions, defend territories, and communicate with mates. They have two layers of specialized cells that lie just beneath the lizard’s transparent outer skin. The cells in the upper layer, called chromatophores, contain yellow and red pigments. Below them is another layer of cells called guanophores, containing the colourless crystalline substance guanin, which reflect the blue part of incidental light. If the upper layer of chromatophores is yellow, the reflected light becomes green (blue plus yellow). A layer of dark melanin containing melanophores is situated under the blue and white light-reflecting guanophores. These melanophores influence the lightness of the reflected light. All these different pigment cells can relocate their pigment, thereby influencing the colour of the light that is reflected.<br />
Other notable features are bulging eyes that move independently, enabling them to be able to look ahead and behind at the same time, feet with paired toes fixed in a grasping position, and the existence of horns or crests on the heads of many species. Additionally, arboreal species have prehensile tails used for grasping objects when climbing, and some species have long extensile tongues for catching insects or small vertebrates at a distance often greater than their length.<br />
They are diurnal, solitary, and often aggressive towards members of their own species (marked by rapid colour change and aggressive posturing). They are opportunistic hunters that wait for their prey, and move in a curiously, tentative swaying manner. Their bodies are very narrow enabling them easier passage through foliage.
    Kayaking-Madagascar-reptiles36.jpg
  • Madagascar is home to about half the world’s chameleons, including both subfamilies, typical chameleons and dwarf chameleons (Brookesiinae). Chameleons are small to mid-size reptiles that are famous for their ability to dramatically change colours. Contrary to popular belief, they do not change colours to match their surroundings. Instead colour is usually used to convey emotions, defend territories, and communicate with mates. They have two layers of specialized cells that lie just beneath the lizard’s transparent outer skin. The cells in the upper layer, called chromatophores, contain yellow and red pigments. Below them is another layer of cells called guanophores, containing the colourless crystalline substance guanin, which reflect the blue part of incidental light. If the upper layer of chromatophores is yellow, the reflected light becomes green (blue plus yellow). A layer of dark melanin containing melanophores is situated under the blue and white light-reflecting guanophores. These melanophores influence the lightness of the reflected light. All these different pigment cells can relocate their pigment, thereby influencing the colour of the light that is reflected.<br />
Other notable features are bulging eyes that move independently, enabling them to be able to look ahead and behind at the same time, feet with paired toes fixed in a grasping position, and the existence of horns or crests on the heads of many species. Additionally, arboreal species have prehensile tails used for grasping objects when climbing, and some species have long extensile tongues for catching insects or small vertebrates at a distance often greater than their length.<br />
They are diurnal, solitary, and often aggressive towards members of their own species (marked by rapid colour change and aggressive posturing). They are opportunistic hunters that wait for their prey, and move in a curiously, tentative swaying manner. Their bodies are very narrow enabling them easier passage through foliage.
    Kayaking-Madagascar-reptiles39.jpg
  • Madagascar is home to about half the world’s chameleons, including both subfamilies, typical chameleons and dwarf chameleons (Brookesiinae). Chameleons are small to mid-size reptiles that are famous for their ability to dramatically change colours. Contrary to popular belief, they do not change colours to match their surroundings. Instead colour is usually used to convey emotions, defend territories, and communicate with mates. They have two layers of specialized cells that lie just beneath the lizard’s transparent outer skin. The cells in the upper layer, called chromatophores, contain yellow and red pigments. Below them is another layer of cells called guanophores, containing the colourless crystalline substance guanin, which reflect the blue part of incidental light. If the upper layer of chromatophores is yellow, the reflected light becomes green (blue plus yellow). A layer of dark melanin containing melanophores is situated under the blue and white light-reflecting guanophores. These melanophores influence the lightness of the reflected light. All these different pigment cells can relocate their pigment, thereby influencing the colour of the light that is reflected.<br />
Other notable features are bulging eyes that move independently, enabling them to be able to look ahead and behind at the same time, feet with paired toes fixed in a grasping position, and the existence of horns or crests on the heads of many species. Additionally, arboreal species have prehensile tails used for grasping objects when climbing, and some species have long extensile tongues for catching insects or small vertebrates at a distance often greater than their length.<br />
They are diurnal, solitary, and often aggressive towards members of their own species (marked by rapid colour change and aggressive posturing). They are opportunistic hunters that wait for their prey, and move in a curiously, tentative swaying manner. Their bodies are very narrow enabling them easier passage through foliage.
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  • I paddled onto the town of Mananara, whilst nursing my painful foot injury and infected sores. I had to make a long detour around the next point to avoid the minefield of fringing coral reefs and faced the prospect of trying to find a way through the maze of threatening coral in the fading light of the day, and was relieved when I eventually found a clear passage through to the shore. I received treatment for my injuries, in Mananara, and then shared a ride to Maroantsetra, the gateway town to the Masoala Peninsula, in the back of a pickup truck with other foreigners. I was glad that I was able to experience that road journey through the beautiful, biodiverse vegetation of Mananara National Park. I then explored the amazing island of Nosey Mangabe in Antongil Bay, where I had my first encounter with an incredible leaf-tailed gecko, which was love at first sight.<br />
I then paddled from Maroantsetra to the Masoala Peninsula. The sea was flat calm when I passed Nosy Mangabe but just after midday the wind started to pick up as it often did at that time of day. It was coming in from the entrance to the bay, which opens out onto the Indian Ocean, and in a very short time I found myself battling into winds gusting over 30 mph. Once again I had to keep stopping to pump out water whilst trying to hold my position facing into the oncoming waves. Progress was painfully slow and with every laboured stroke I felt as if my shoulders were dislocating. I was getting drenched with spray every time I ploughed into a wave and the salt was building up on my skin. As my body gyrated with each paddle stroke my back was getting rubbed raw by my backrest and the salt aggravated the sores. My throat was parched and I didn’t have enough water to quench my thirst; I was beginning to feel like a galley slave! My arms and shoulders screamed with the exertion, the salt was burning my flesh, and I had to overcome exhaustion; by the time I eventually reached my destination I was completely drained.
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  • Madagascar is home to about half the world’s chameleons, including both subfamilies, typical chameleons and dwarf chameleons (Brookesiinae). Chameleons are small to mid-size reptiles that are famous for their ability to dramatically change colours. Contrary to popular belief, they do not change colours to match their surroundings. Instead colour is usually used to convey emotions, defend territories, and communicate with mates. They have two layers of specialized cells that lie just beneath the lizard’s transparent outer skin. The cells in the upper layer, called chromatophores, contain yellow and red pigments. Below them is another layer of cells called guanophores, containing the colourless crystalline substance guanin, which reflect the blue part of incidental light. If the upper layer of chromatophores is yellow, the reflected light becomes green (blue plus yellow). A layer of dark melanin containing melanophores is situated under the blue and white light-reflecting guanophores. These melanophores influence the lightness of the reflected light. All these different pigment cells can relocate their pigment, thereby influencing the colour of the light that is reflected.<br />
Other notable features are bulging eyes that move independently, enabling them to be able to look ahead and behind at the same time, feet with paired toes fixed in a grasping position, and the existence of horns or crests on the heads of many species. Additionally, arboreal species have prehensile tails used for grasping objects when climbing, and some species have long extensile tongues for catching insects or small vertebrates at a distance often greater than their length.<br />
They are diurnal, solitary, and often aggressive towards members of their own species (marked by rapid colour change and aggressive posturing). They are opportunistic hunters that wait for their prey, and move in a curiously, tentative swaying manner. Their bodies are very narrow enabling them easier passage through foliage.
    Kayaking-Madagascar-reptiles38.jpg
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