Monsoon season in Langkawi

It was the rainy season so the much touted beaches in the Malaysian island of Langkawi were not at their best. No matter, I had come to shoot some wildlife and had more than what I had bargained for ....

I had made a few sightings of colugos in Singapore but this is the first time I saw so many on a day - sometimes on the same tree ! This is my favourite family of colugos which greeted me over a three days spell.

 

Due to a very heavy storm the previous night, many colugos congregate on a few big trees. Judging from its bulging patagium, the one at the top could be a female with a young nestled inside .... 

I scrutinsed the tree trunks during the night hoping to catch a glimpse of them gliding, but alas, due to the rain, this is what they did instead..... Its a very interesting posture and one which I have not seen  from this angle before.

 

and in the early morning, just when we were about to have breakfast, we saw this adorable juvenile napping ....

Another iconic wildlife - the hornbill. There are at least two species on the island, the larger Rhinocerous hornbill and this - the more common Southern Pied Hornbill which I sighted on different days.

In the early morning, a colony of them was having a noisy quarrel in the dense shrubs before flying high onto a tall tree to preen.

I was also at liberty to get really close to some dusky leaf monkeys. In Singapore, leaf monkeys are very shy. Granted, that was a different species but being closely related, I was expecting the same behaviour. However, it seems they were pretty nonchalent about humans watching them here.

 

Unlike the macaques that we often see, this species is a strict vegetarian - as you may tell from its common name.  They also have very distinctive white patches around the eye and mouth. 

 

Near the beach, a solitary male allowed me to get within touching distance and was happily munching the leaves of sea hibiscus Talipariti tiliaceum . Actually, this species is not picky about food they eat and have been known to consume 90 plus species of plants.

Other than the cheaper hotel rates and lesser crowds, the added advantage of the rainy season is catching the Tempuron Falls at its full roaring glory.

Signing off....cheers !