I have no heavy training... Barely Elementary School. Preferred the wilderness, it became my university, but I got muddy boots and experience instead of School knowledge so my English was therefore quite inadequate. This blog is a project to improve my skills in English language.
We all have our own universe, welcome to visit mine.
I took an evening stroll, listened to the first robin singing, first warning Wren, met the spring’s first viper. The darker variety that is most common in the mountains here. Photographed with my iPhone, worked okay, the low temperature did the snake slow. Otherwise I would never have dared to get that close.
Gambian Sun Squirrel, Heliosciurus gambianus.
The Gambia = Superb bird life and a nice little squirrel. Long walk at dawn, the first day. The wife and I, and a bag with the digital camera and a leaky water bottle… We have no pictures from The Gambia!
From our balcony we got acquainted with a large tree and all those who ate of the fruits there. The sun squirrel was one of them. A nice buddy that we captured with the camcorder.
The Gambia 2009.
Malabar Giant Squirrel (Indian Giant Squirrel), Ratufa indica.
The squirrels monster! A meter-long (including tail) and with a weight of two kilograms. An unforgettable meeting in a magical place. Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Thekkadi, Western Ghats. With a male of Asian paradise flycatcher playing beside us, rustling leaves after elusive reptiles, exciting jungle and the native guide´s stories about encounters with tigers, on the same path as where we stand!
Three-striped Palm Squirrel (Indian Palm Squirrel), Funambulus palmarum.
A common and loud little squirrel. It calls with a repeated, scolding trill that can easily be mistaken for a bird.
And old Hindu legend explains how the squirrel received the 3 stripes across its back. The Adi sethu bridge was being constructed at Rameswaram by Lord Rama and the Vanara Sena, and the squirrel played its part by rolling in beach sand, then running to the bridge to shake the sand from its back, all the time chanting Lord Rama´s name. Lord Rama was pleased by the creature´s dedication and, in stroking the squirrels back, the marks of Rama´s fingers were left on the squirrel ever since. The legend of Lord Rama and the squirrel started in Tamil Nadu and they are mentioned in one of the hymns of the Alvars. This is probably the reason that squirrels are considered sacred in India.
Kovalam, Kerala, India 2008.
