Derrens ‘mates’ couldn’t be bothered to get out of bed for his birthday request for snorkelling with turtles. Luckily Anke and me were happy to take our new friend out for an early morning swim. Happy birthday Derren! If you don’t know who Derren is then just listen for the loud bloke in the restaurant. No, not Brian; the other loud bloke.
Well done Google for banning adverts for shark products (and other endangered species) from Google Ads.
Endangered Species
Don’t promote products obtained from endangered or threatened species.
Advertising is not permitted for products obtained from endangered or threatened species. This includes, but is not limited to, the sale of products derived from elephants, sharks, tigers, whales, rhinoceroses, or dolphins.
Anyone who has not been here yet is missing a great dive!
Anke got a surprise the other day when snorkelling up at the rocks. She was getting some nice footage of the batfish… but then…
Last year Anke and I had the privilege of accompanying Dr Lee Grismer, Jesse Grismer, J.R. and Chan Kin Onn on their jungle exploration for new species of reptiles and amphibians.
Lee, Jesse and J.R. returned this year and together we explored the Susu Dara Islands. I have actually lost track of the number of new species we have discovered on these trips but i think we are up to 4 geckos, 1 skink and a caecilian. They are all in the processes of being described but I can now reveal our first find:
Only found on the Perhentian Islands of Malaysia, the Perhentian Rock Gecko (Cnemaspis perhentianensis).
The discovery of so many new species on the Perhentian Islands, many of which are most likely not found anywhere else, is just another indication of why careful planning before development on the islands is imperative!