Calauit Game Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary

Pictures of deers and giraffes at the Calauit Wildlife Sanctuary in Coron, Palawan.

The sanctuary experience was better than I expected it to be, which was a lovely surprise! I actually enjoyed the experience. The place has a lot of potential. Hopefully it will be developed further to maximize the SAFARI experience. Beautiful! Lovely! (Watching too much British programs lately hehehe ^^)

How to go to Coron, Palawan

Kiss My Zebra A**!!

Calauit Game Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary

January 4, 2008
Calauit, Coron, Palawan

Kiss my Zebra A@!

These zebras won't let you anywhere near them. They turn their backs once you get around 20 meters from them. (^o^)/ Click this link for more pictures.

Waiting for the Perfect Love

June 2008
Safari World, Thailand

Everyone's waiting for that perfect love. Those who are smart enough look for it. I waited and waited but it never came ... the perfect heart shape that is. Stayed on the site for about an hour while waiting for our ride back to bangkok. I waited for these 2 Macaw birds to dock their heads and form a heart shape with their wings. That would have made a lovely picture. Nevertheless, the one I got on top is quite lovely as it is. Like love, it doesn't have to be perfect to be the right one. (^O-)v

And if you're not careful enough, a third party will be just right below you, ready to snatch your position in the branch. (^O^)/

Kittens!

May 2-5, 2008
Bangkok, Thailand

Here are pictures of lovely kittens! ... Nah, they're more like adult cats already. hehehe ^^ But ain't this picture lovely?! I found them lying around the ground, along the streets in the temples in Bangkok, where a lot of tourists actually pass by. I wonder how they can afford to be so calm and stress-free when anytime, an unsuspecting tourist with 10-inch shoes, or worst a girl in heels, could step on them anytime.

We used to have cats at our previous home, stray cats that is, but we never shoo them away. They keep the mice from coming and they don't hurt us anyway. They can be awesome playmates at times as well. I remember the first time I got hold of paint and brushes, I experimented it with them! I wanted them to look like Zebras so I tried painting stripes on their bodies. However, I regretted what I did the following day, as where the paint stripes were supposed to be were now replaced with bare skin. Apparently, the oil-based paint burnt the cats' furs away. I know it was cruel of me to do so, I've learned my lesson. After that, playing with them was reduced to chasing them across the balcony or trying to surprise them and scare them away. ^^ I also remember the day when our neighbor brought a dog home. And just like that, all the cats (more than 10 of them) were gone in an instant. hehehe (^O^)v

These pictures remind me of life in Davao, my hometown. Everything is just so calm, relax, and stress-free. That is the life I want for myself. I do want to be successful and to be financially free (having no debts, and having enough money where you don't have to worry about not having it for the future) and yet still live a peaceful, satisfying, grateful, stress-free , laid-back, simple, and happy life.

Chicks

June 2008
garden@home, Davao City

First picture of the chicks that hatched only days after I posted Bird's Nest. The second picture is a better shot of the parent. It became more hesitant to leave the nest once the eggs hatched. If you look closely at the first picture, not all eggs have hatched yet.

I'm sad to write though that only days after taking this picture as well, the parent abandoned the nest. I think the chicks died one night when it was raining hard and very cold. When i first took a peak that day, I thought that the parents have just transfered their babies to another nest as I couldn't see any sign of movement inside the nest. Minutes after checking the nest, I saw the parents come back, both of them this time. One was inside the nest and the other standing guard outside of it. It didn't mind at all that I was just a few feet away from them. I think they went back to check one last time if the chicks are still alive. After which, they flew off and never came back. When I saw this, I knew that there must be something wrong with the chicks. And my suspicions were correct, the chicks were already dead.

The day before this happened, on another nest up high on our mango tree, a more grown up chick almost ready to fly off fell from its nest. Our helpers in the house found the helpless chick in our garden and may have unwittingly, although with good intentions, took it and brought it back to the house. The parents of this chick were so aggressive early in the morning, chirping away and flying all over the place around our house. This prompted our helpers to return the chick to the garden. But since it still couldn't fly off, we were worried that stray cats would spot it and have it for a meal. Eventually though, after a couple of days, we think it was able to finally fly away.

I'm writing about this new chick's story here as well because I'm wondering if its angry parents had something to do with the death of the new born chicks. Maybe, for some reason, they thought it was their chicks and when they found out they weren't, they killed them. I need a CSI! (SOCO, Scene of the crime operative, for us here in the Philippines)

I just came back from another trip. I'll check the nest tomorrow. I can't help but feel a bit sad.

Bird's Nest

May 2008
At our garden, Davao City

On the start of the month, we noticed a bird building a nest by the tree closest to our terrace. We left it undisturbed so that it would push through with its plans of laying the eggs there and rearing its young.

First picture is how the nest looked a week ago. It got bigger and bigger as the days progressed and as strong winds challenged to rattle it off its branch. Our constant peeks and glances must have contributed to that as well. Although we didn't touch it or anything, it must have despised the extra attention. At one point, I tried feeding it earthworms! hihihi

Second picture, is the nest with the bird. If you look closely, you'll see a white triangular speck inside the hole. This is actually the mother bird's beak! It's the closest I could get, any closer, and she instantly flies off. This shot is again thanks to my new lens! ^^

Third picture, is the best I could take of the eggs inside the nest! Needed to use a flash to see the insides and it has to be angled in a certain way so the light is directed towards the hole.

And just earlier TODAY! When I checked the nest, there are baby birds already! whew! I can't wait to take their photos but I'm afraid that using a flash might affect their sight so I'm keeping away for now! whew! Using a flashlight as a light source might be a better idea. I'm still thinking of ways to do this better. I just hope I don't affect the growth of these baby birds in any way. I wonder how long it'll take for them to develop their wings and fly off ... :(