Skip to main content

Latest Post

Palawan Sun Skink

    Leaves, twigs, and barks that have fallen to the ground make up leaf litter, and it's home to a wide variety of plants and animals. Most of the tiny animals found in the leaf litter are invertebrates. They are important food source for toads, skinks, and other small amphibians and reptiles that rely on the shelter and moisture provided by the leaf litter. One of the many creatures living in the leaf litter habitats of Palawan is the Palawan Sun Skink ( Eutropis sahulinghangganan ), a newly described species of skink endemic to Palawan. The name Eutropis sahulinghangganan derives from the Tagalog "sa huling" or "sa huli ng" (meaning in the last), and "hangganan" (meaning frontier). Palawan Sun Skink     The Palawan Sun Skink inhabits thick coastal forests, mangroves, as well as secondary forests and primary forests up in the mountains. I have seen this skink near the peak of Mount Beaufort at elevations of around 1000 masl, but the population of thi

Palawan Stink Badger - A mephitid endemic to Palawan

Mydaus marchei photo by Jojo De Peralta

      Let me introduce you to our endemic Mydaus marchei (Huet, 1887), the Palawan Stink Badger. The Palawan Stink Badger was once thought to be more related to badgers than with skunks because of its appearance that closely resemble badgers. It was recently re-classified as one of the Mephitidae, a family of mammals comprising the skunks and stink badgers. Like all mephitids, this guy possess a specialized anal glands that can spray a powerful noxious chemical. The M. marchei rely almost entirely on this powerful odour for their defense.

Mydaus marchei photo by Jojo De Peralta
A foraging Palawan Stink Badger.

     I still can remember a night on the western coast when a dog attacked a foraging stink badger not fifteen meters from where we were sleeping. It was a very annoying experience. I had a hard time finding my tent zippers, but I was out in time to see the last of my hiking companions running off, leaving trails of vomits on the ground. Relocating the camp in the middle of the night was never fun and even though we moved the camp on another site up-wind, the smell stayed with the tents and sleeping bags for two days.

Mydaus marchei photo by Jojo De Peralta
Palawan Stink Badger in excavated den.
      The Palawan Stink Badgers actually look nice and it is kinda funny watching them walk with their very short legs and fat body. They have a pointed snout with a mobile nose. The tail is very short in comparison to the body, the ears and the eyes are small. They are not particularly aggressive and they either flee or freeze when threatened. This animal is found in primary and secondary forests around Palawan, but it has a high tolerance to deforestation and human presence and so it also thrives in shrubland and grassland around low-intensity agriculture and urban areas.

     The Mydaus marchei are nocturnal and feed mainly on worms and soil arthropods. They are good diggers and usually spend the day in excavated dens or large hollowed logs. An excavated old termite hill is a favored den in grasslands and flat agricultural areas.  It is sometimes seen resting under heavy thickets of grass and bushes during the day.

Mydaus marchei photo by Jojo De Peralta
Palawan Stink Badger in urban area.
      Road kill has the highest mortality rate than predators in the wild. Except from occasional stray dogs, the only predators in the wild large enough to prey on this species are Crocodiles, Alligators and Pythons, but I never heard that these animals preyed on Palawan Stink Badger. The largest nocturnal bird of prey that we have here in Palawan that can probably kill a young Mydaus marchei are Asian Grass Owls, but there are no documented sightings of grass owls preying on Palawan Stink Badger. Very few tribesmen of the Pala’wan and Tagbanua tribe trap this animal for domestic consumption, but locals, farmers and hunters usually avoid this animal.
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Palawan Spitting Cobra

      The Palawan Spitting Cobra (Naja sumatrana miolepis) is a spitting cobra that can be found in Palawan. This species is a medium sized, ground dwelling venomous snake. The scales are smooth and unlike some of the most beautiful cobras in Asia, this species has no impressive hood marks. The head is elliptical and depressed, the eyes are medium in size with round pupils, the snout is rounded and the nostrils are large. Juveniles tend to be of different colour than the adult. They can grow up to around 1.5 meters, but spitting cobras over a meter in length are seldom seen and photographed in Palawan . Palawan Spitting Cobra hood mark       It can be seen resting during the day under heavy thickets of grass, stacks of woods and cavities under rocks or soil. Abandoned mice dens are favorite hideouts in grasslands, farms and rice fields. Although it usually hunts for food at night, this species can be seen moving around on the forest floor at sporadic times during the day. Locals a
Read more

Two-lined Coral Snake

     The Two-lined Coral Snake ( Calliophis bilineatus ) is a small, brightly colored venomous snake of the family Elapidae. It is endemic to Palawan and several of its smaller islands adjacent to mainland. This snake occurs on a wide range of elevation from second growth forest in sea level to mossy forests high up in the mountains where it is largely active during the day. I have been doing night spotting and photography for many years, but I have not seen one during nighttime. This snake spend most of its time burrowed underground, under stacks of woods and leaf piles or cavities under rocks. It has a unique defense behavior compared to other venomous snakes in Palawan. It usually flees when threatened, but when cornered, it will flip on its back and play dead. Other technique to fool attackers is by hiding its head while raising and flicking its red tails. The predator usually finds the colorful moving tail an irresistible target and would go for it, leaving the true
Read more

Nepenthes philippinensis

     A Pitcher plant is a carnivorous plant which have a modified prey-trapping leaves that features a deep cavity filled with digestive liquid. There are several endemic tropical pitcher plants growing in Palawan, the most common is the Nepenthes philippinensis .        This species has long, scrambling vines and are often climbers, accessing the canopy of their habitats using tendrils that stretches out and twines around any suitable support. It produces more pitchers and flowers on a single plant compared to all known species of nepenthes in Palawan. There are several color variants, but the lower pitchers are usually reddish and the upper pitchers or traps are green or yellowish.        This lowland species is widespread in Palawan and can be found thriving in soils with low nutrient availability and high concentrations of heavy metals like nickel and chromium. Like all carnivorous plants, this pitcher plant can grow in locations where the soil is too poor in mine
Read more

Schultz’s Pit Viper - A spectacular venomous snake endemic to Palawan

     I have heard it said that Palawan has more snakes in the wild than anywhere else in the country. Maybe true, but there are species of snakes commonly seen in other places that are scarce in Palawan rainforest. We have enough vipers in the wild though.  Trimeresurus schultzei Griffin 1909 commonly known as the Schultz’s Pit Viper is one of the most spectacular snakes that can be found here. This snake is endemic to Palawan and its surrounding small islands. Schultz’s Pit Viper       The Schultz’s Pit Viper is primarily arboreal species. They’re capable, but rarely navigate and hunt on the ground. They’re slow and less camouflaged on the ground and therefore more vulnerable on the forest floor. Using its prehensile tail to hold onto branches , it prefers to perch on trees where its green color acts as camouflage while waiting for prey. It is an ambush hunting snake relying on its camouflage to catch food. The heat-sensing loreal pits are used to locate warm-bl
Read more

Palawan Water Monitor

      The Palawan Water Monitor, Varanus palawanensis Koch, Gaulke & Böhme 2010, is a species of monitor lizard commonly found in Palawan. This species is semi-aquatic and inhabits a variety of natural habitats from coastal forest, mangroves, rural areas as well as secondary and primary forests. It is commonly found in the lowland, but also present at elevations above 1000 masl although rarely seen. The Palawan Water Monitor population is more copious in the mangroves, wetlands and riparian forest compared to old-growth forest habitats in the mountains. Palawan Water Monitor     This water monitor is carnivorous and not known to feed on fruits in the wild. It is one of the most efficient predators in Palawan and is intelligent and skillful hunter in both land and water. The dark color blends well on the forest floor and it helps when stalking for preys. It is known to use its tail to stun preys, but the water monitor’s primary weapon when hunting for food is
Read more

Palawan Mangrove Snake

    The Boiga dendrophila multicincta (Boulenger, 1896) is a large colubrid snake endemic to Palawan. It prefers humid habitats and always seen in woody areas close to bodies of water. This snake primarily occurs in lowland forests, mostly mangrove and riverine habitats, but is also found near mountain streams in the foothills up to old growth forest above 1000 masl. It is commonly seen resting on tree branches overhanging on bodies of water during the day and on the ground hunting for food at night. With its long body, this snake can move swiftly on trees and is also an adept swimmer. It is known to prey on birds and other small arboreal animals, but it seems to spend more time hunting on the ground where food is abundant. Palawan Mangrove Snake     The Palawan Mangrove Snake, also called Palawan Yellow-ringed Cat Snake is mildly venomous. But despite being considered not life-threatening to humans, locals fear this snake for its unpredictable and irritable behavior. They look
Read more