Tama, Fungie and Shrek

Singapore has the imaginary Merlion, a lion and fish hybrid proudly promoted by the nation state. Various Australian towns, both inland and on the coast, build large stone versions of their produce and products, ranging from sheep to mangoes and pineapples.

Symbols and icons, whether for geographical places, sporting clubs or military regiments, can unearth much of history, native culture, local fauna and sense of humour. They also serve as mascots when in the form of animals. Forexample, the state of Western Australia features a termite eating marsupial, the Numbat, which can remind one of a alternative rock Meerkat with a striped coat.

Stateside, Floridians in Palm Bay are proud of their Manatee, an ocean swimming cow like creature that is so unique. Bat viewing tourism is significant for Austin in Texas - these nocturnal creatures fly from nearby Mexico.

Seoul has the Haechi, an imaginary fire eating dog offering protection from disaster and representing upholding law and justice.

Ljubljana in Slovenia recalls the dragon killed by Jason of the Greek Argonauts fame. Venice has celebrated the winged lion, a side kick of Saint Marco.

Some mascots are alive and cherished as local celebrities. Hamish McHamish is the cool feline for Saint Andrews in Scotland. Wild parrots are adored at Telegraph Hill in San Francisco. Tama is the cat that saved the continuity of a Japanese railway station in Kinokawa village in the Wakayama region of Japan. 

Shrek the unshearable sheep in Tarras in Central Otago had avoided grooming by hiding for six years in a cave in New Zealand. He lived for sixteen years. Cute Knut was the beloved late polar bear at the Berlin Zoo.

Fungie is a 13 foot bottlenose dolphin who lives in Dingle Harbour in Ireland and is the star of boating tours. 

Patrick the Wombat is 30 years old and lives in Ballarat, Victoria Australia and acts as a well known ambassador for the Ballarat Wildlife Park. 

Which one is your favourite Olympic or Paralympic mascot? Misha from Moscow, the tiger cub from Seoul, the Yoggi from Innsbruck, the bald eagle from Los Angeles, the platypus from Sydney, the snowshoe hare from Salt Lake City, the sasquatch from Vancouver or Lyo and Merlo from Singapore?

Personally I like Hakon and Kristin, two kids from Norway who appeared at the Lillehammer Winter Olympics in 1994.

Chobe National Park - Four Wheel Safari

This teenage female came straight up to breath's distance from me.  I was seated on the upper duck of the vehicle, held my own calmness and quiet.  I trusted Mr. Rann our guide and driver ion his choice of stopping beside a small herd.  Missy looked close up at me and I noted her gem like brown eyes.  She did not look threatening, mauve more curious than ever. I survived my own fears and Missy's greeting - and this turned out to be a most magical moment that all the Disney movies in my childhood and David Attenborough documentaries had long prepared me for.

Head butting, playing and training.  These agile and lovely Impalas have a feisty personality, are quick to respond to danger and have a high level of sense of community.  The are herbivorous but are a fond target of the lions and leopards.

The hippopotamus rarely comes out  from soaking in the water.  Always his faithful symbiotic feathered friends are nearby, often picking out from the surface of the hippo's hide.  The four legged creature is also approached with caution by the local human inhabitants.

Baboons gather in congresses for mutual protection, group power and to enjoy a sense of family.  They have long tails, are cheeky and venture near human habitats in the search for food.

Elephants value watering holes and are said to have an innate sense of recognition and memory.  They feed on grass, for which they have to learn from parents as to choice of good sources and train in.  Elephant ear flaps are beautiful and fascinating and their hide can be in various shades of brown, grey or black.

These two zebras were doing sentry duty whilst their herd members fed on the grassy plains. I noticed there are brown streaks beside the obvious back and white stripes.   They are noble in stature, have energy of horses when running and sprout a captivating head gear.

It was the dry season and so the terrain does not look encouraging for this gathering of baboons.

This lioness walks a few paces behind her brood in the late afternoon, in what may be an educational exercise for her cubs on the way back from some day time activities.

Water buffaloes stomp away and create much dust in their wake.  They have powerful strengthened are feared by humans.  They appear as one of the one for he Big Five on the currency notes for the South African Rand - the others being the leopard, the lion, the giraffe and the zebra.

Graceful, tall and colourful, the giraffe competes in my heart with the zebra as my favourite wild  fauna.
Unique to the African continent, they are leaf grazers and have a strategic view of the world of mainly grasslands.
How do they stoop down and drink water?  Their eyes look feminine, the two short horns interesting and how they run on such long legs is a wonder for me to have witnessed.  Scientists have also recently discovered that giraffes human t low frequency audio to each other at night.

We were fortunate to come across this wild dog pack resting under some shady trees in the midday sun.   I noticed they have pronounced ears and sharp jaw shapes.  One of their brood was disabled that day and we all were touched by the positive vibes and care given by all in the group to this critter. They are lean bodied, have a strong sense of smell and have alert signals amongst themselves when faced with possible danger.

This is perhaps the most consumed wild game - the hog.  

The helmeted Guinea Fowl can be likened to turkeys but the are smaller in size.  Although they have colourful heads, their bodies are very plain and dark.  They can scoot about quickly, are not fussy on feeding and are sensitive to other animals near them.

Chobe National Park Botswana - Boat Safari

Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve - Singapore

The Bridge over a river intense wetlands area.

We were already most conscious of the potential presence of salt water crocodiles as the well posted signs did emphasise this.   Mona had driven us across Singapore Island to reach this rather hitherto unknown site, past near the Tuas Causeway on the north-eastern side of the Republic but arriving closer to Woodlands.  We had gone past scenery that is reminiscent of most peninsular towns to the north in the sixties - the dust from trucks, the shop houses in a style that had been frozen in time and the smells of a light industrial area.

These wetlands have been preserved to attract a variety of bird life - like the Chinese Egrets, Greater Spotted Terns, Greater Spotted Eagles,  Marsh Sandpipers, Cinnamon Bitterns, Pacific Golden Plovers, Whimbrels, Common Redshanks and Common Greenshanks.   Harder to spot are the otters, Whistling Ducks and Milky Storks.  There is a user friendly track between the banks of the water but our eyes and ears were alert to any possible sudden movement from the marshes.  It was a cloudy afternoon and yes there were already some visitors even on a week day!  Easier to come across are mud lobsters, crabs, Plantain Squirrels, the Malayan Water Monitor and mud skippers prancing around the calm waters of the mangrove swamps.

The swamps on each side attract migratory birds from northern Asia.

An identified resource for education, conservation and research,  the Ministry of Education in Singapore has teamed up with other parties like iCell Network, the British Council and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore to make plans for further improving this site.  The migratory season runs from September to March.   Visitors will find at least two hours is required for a leisurely stroll to cover the size of the wetlands.   Photography is encouraged.  One of the best blog write ups on flora and fauna in this Wetlands Reserve is joyloh.com.

http://joyloh.com/blog/?p=3222

Signs of built up areas are not that far away though.

The Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve is located at 301 Neo Tiew Crescent and is around 15 minutes by bus from the nearest MRT station at Kranji.  The Visitor centre is at 60 Kranji Way.   It is a declared ASEAN water heritage site and is included in the network of Australasian Shorebird Sites.

Chobe National Park - Crossing the Waters

Chobe National Park Botswana - Of Lions, Instinct and Feeding

With my camera shots taken from a distance (obviously), this was my first time encountering feeding by the big cats on an elephant carcass, tightly hidden behind a bush, as dawn broke out and morning drew near.  I am told that the lions are fond of hunting nocturnally and feeding at night, resting during the day light hours.  This lioness stood guard, stay, pranced and watched for danger and other predators whilst her brood ate, tore flesh and immersed in feasting.

I was not sure how fresh or deposed the elephant meat was, but it looked red-blooded with no sign of obvious decay on one side and bony on the other side.  The need for composure was high as Mr. Rann, our four wheel driver, parked us at various strategic angles for watching and camera shots.  We remained naturally quiet as we had to make sure there was no disturbance with the wild animals.  There was only a minimal level of smell there was no breeze.