I did a search to see if anyone had posted on the Sundarbans before, and it looks like no one has even posted on Bangladesh before! That's ridiculous. I'm going to work on changing that a lot this next year. So here goes the first entry:
In June, Scott Trageser organized a group of eight of us to go on a 2-week trip to Bangladesh in support of the Bangladesh Python Project (https://www.facebook.com/bangladeshpythonproject). The Bangladesh Python Project is a novel research project started by Shahriah Caesar Rahman. I'm going to write about the main part of that trip - radio-tracking pythons and tortoises and surveying other kinds of herps in Lawachara National Park - in another post. For now I'll focus on the Bangladesh Sundarbans, where we spent the final 3+ days of our trip.
The Sundarbans are an epic group of salty-fresh marsh-islands at the mouth of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and other rivers in India and Bangladesh. Basically you have 10,000 square kilometers of tidal mangrove forest/saline swamp that's split piecemeal into hundreds of islands, unconnected by any roads, often flooded, and quite difficult to develop. Among other wildlife, the Sundarbans supports approximately 300 tigers, the largest tiger population left in the world, as well as a couple hundred or so saltwater crocodiles. Tigers still take 50 or so humans in the Sundarbans every year, and crocodiles may account for another 20 (the day we left, a fisherman and a fisherwoman were eaten by a tiger and a crocodile, respectively). That adds an element of excitement/danger to any trip there.
http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/crocodile-kills-woman-in-sunderbans-1593919.html
The trip down the river to enter into the main body of the Sundarbans was full of dolphin activity. Since it was monsoon season, the water was relatively fresh, and so the more salt-loving species weren't really around. But the endangered Ganges River Dolphins (Platanista gangetica) were visible often, and we saw a couple of Irrawaddy Dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) as well. I accidently deleted the one good photo I got, but here's a decent look at the characteristic lack of dorsal fin in the Ganges River Dolphin.
When we got into the main body of the Sundarbans, we moved into the “herping boat” and set off into the forests. We were helped by the fact that our boat driver, Mojibor, was incredible at spotting snakes. Despite a boat full of 9 herpers (the 8 of us plus Caeser Rahman, the founder of the Python Project), several times Mojibor called our attention to a snake deep in the branches that none of us had seen. The most common species we saw was Spot-tailed Pit Vipers (Trimeresurus erythrurus)
There were also a number of vine snakes. Here was an unfriendly Long-nosed Vine Snake (Ahaetulla nasuta):
A recent paper described Brown Vine Snakes (Ahaetulla pulverulenta) in the Sundarbans, an enormous range extension from their previously known distribution in the Western Ghats of southwest India. We were able to confirm that find:
The main mammals seen during our time were Spotted Deer Axis axis, which were extremely common. Here they can be seen with a Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta):
Closer to dark, if the mud-flats were at low tide, you could see Dog-faced Water Snakes (Cerberus rynchops) in large numbers.
The water snakes were primarily feeding off of mudskippers, which were quite common on the mudflats.
Crab-eating Frogs (Fejervarya carnivora), a remarkable species that can survive in partially salty water, were also seen.
In the blur of Dog-faced Water Snakes, I yelled for the boat to turn around when I spotted a snake that looked different than the others. Sure enough, it was a Glossy Marsh Snake (Gerarda prevastiana).
On our next-to-last day we made our one foray onto real land. This area had a look-out tower with a nice view:
Besides large herds of spotted deer, there were a number of frogs, skinks, and geckos:
possibly Indian Bullfrog? (Hoptobatrachus tigerinus?)
Our guide Emile, a wonderfully intelligent and friendly man with a heart for conservation, was walking back towards the boat when he spotted a cobra. This was my first ever wild cobra, the Monocled Cobra ([i]Naja kaouthia[/i]), a species that is rather fond of the water:
Here it is leaving into its natural habitat as the rain began to come in:
A rainstorm ended our time on land. Rainstorms during our trip were quite spectacular, with the angry, rolling clouds looking like they were being stirred up by a god before our eyes:
During/after the rains our boat cut a narrow path through the jungle. The beauty of the waterway was spectacular. Water Monitors (and at least once a Bengal Monitor) regularly traversed across the stream in front of us.
Quite a few bird species were spotted in the trees drying off after the storm. A partial list of notable species seen here includes Buffy Fish Owl, Osprey, Brahminy Kite, Black-shouldered Kite, Shikra, Crested Serpent Eagle, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Lesser Adjutant, White-throated Kingfisher, Collared Kingfisher, Brown-winged Kingfisher, Ruddy Kingfisher, Black-hooded Oriole, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, and Jungle Fowl.
On occasion we saw tiger tracks making their way up the bank, though this is as close as we got to the elusive predators (at least, as far as we know).
On the last evening, we were in the main boat in a major channel when the driver ran downstairs and yelled “crocodile!” We got to the side just in time to see the shape of a Saltwater Crocodile's head as it swam in the opposite direction of the boat, with none of us able to get a camera on it in the dusk's fading light. (I think this probably makes me the only American FHF member who has seen five crocodile species in the wild without ever having seen a wild alligator!) That would be our only look at this heavily endangered species. SMA Rasheed, a Bangladeshi scientist and conservationist whose CARiNAM foundation supports the Bangladesh Python Project, has been tabbed by IUCN to attempt the first full-scale count of the Sundarbans crocodile population this winter.
On our way out of the Sundarbans, we checked with a couple local fishermen to see if they had come across any sea snakes in their nets recently. Here's Caesar showing them sea snake pictures from Whittiker and Captain's "Snakes of India".
They told us that the sea snakes are much more common during the winter months – perhaps because they, like the ocean dolphins, prefer the water a bit more salty.
At the end of our trip, we stopped in town to wait for our train. Those of you who know me know that I can't waste time in a city without getting the urge to herp whatever I can find. So I got off the boat and engaged in a bit of city herping.
The first find was a Common Indian Toad (Duttaphynus melanostictus)
And then a number of skinks and geckos. This skink species is one I'm still having trouble identifying:
But the best was yet to come. A conversation with some local guys led me to a hospital with some extra space. In that extra space I started flipping concrete, and soon came across a blind snake. I immediately recognized that this wasn't just any old Brahminy Blind Snake, but a White-headed Blind Snake (Ramphotyphlops albiceps). I thought right away that it could be a possible range extension, perhaps even a country record.
No, really, you can tell it's different. Here's a better picture (courtesy of Scott Trageser):
Sure enough, it appears that this species has never been recorded from Bangladesh – in fact, we are 700km or so from the closest known range. In an area as poorly documented as Bangladesh, though, it's not really surprising that a cryptic species of blind snake would go unrecognized for so long. There are likely plenty more species waiting to be found in the country – in this trip alone we saw several snake and frog species that had only been recognized in Bangladesh in the last year, and Caesar himself has found four new Bangladesh records in Lawachara National Park in the last three years. There's a lot of herping waiting to be done here.
Here is our species list for the Sundarbans portion of the trip:
Common Indian ToadDuttaphynus melanostictus
Crab-eating FrogFejervarya carnivora
Indian BullfrogHoptobatrachus tigerinus
Common Garden LizardCalotes versicolor
Brook's House GeckoHemidactylus brooki
Yellow-bellied House GeckoHemidatylus flaviviridus
Common House GeckoHemidactylus frenatus
Skink species????
Bengal MonitorVaranus bengalensis
Water MonitorVaranus salvator
White-headed Blind SnakeRamphotyphlops albiceps
Long-nosed Vine SnakeAhaetulla nasuta
Brown Vine SnakeAhaetulla pulverulenta
Checkered KeelbackXenocrophis piscator
Dog-faced Water Snake Cerberus rynchops
Glossy Marsh SnakeGerarda prevastiana
Monocled CobraNaja kaouthia
Spot-tailed Pit ViperTrimeresurus erythrurus
Salt-water CrocodileCrocodylus porosus
And here is our rather ridiculous species list for the entire two-week stay in Bangladesh:
Common Indian ToadDuttaphynus melanostictus
Skipper FrogEuphlyctis cyanophlyctis
Cricket FrogFejerverya teraiensis
Crab-eating FrogFejervarya carnivora
Bhamo FrogHumerana humeralis
Indian BullfrogHoptobatrachus tigerinus
Smith's Litter FrogLeptobrachium smithi
Asian Painted FrogKaloula pulchera
Ornate Microhylid FrogMicrohyla ornata
Berdmore's Microhylid FrogMicrohyla berdmorei
Inornate Froglet?Micryletta inornata (possibly new Micryletta sp.)
Point-nosed FrogClinotarsus alticola
Cope's Assam FrogSylviarana leptoglossa
Annadale's Tree Frog?Chiromantis simus? (possibly other Chiromantis sp.) - DOR only
Asian Brown Tree FrogPolypedates leucomystax
Bird-poop Tree FrogTheloderma asperun
Twin-spotted Tree Frog?Rhacophorus bipunctatus? (possibly other Rhacophorus sp.) - DOR only
Emma's Forest LizardCalotes emma
Common Garden LizardCalotes versicolor
Green Fan-throated LizardPyctocolaemus gularis
Khasi Hill Bent-toed GeckoCrytodactylus khasiensis
Bent-toed Gecko?possibly other/new Crytodactylus sp.?
Tokay GeckoGekko gecko
Brook's House GeckoHemidactylus brooki
Flat-tailed House GeckoHemidactylus platyurus
Yellow-bellied House GeckoHemidatylus flaviviridus
Common House GeckoHemidactylus frenatus
Garnot's GeckoHemidactylus garnotii – new record for park
Reeve's Ground SkinkScincella reevesi
Keeled Grass SkinkMabuya multifasciata
Bronze Grass SkinkMabuya macularia
Bengal MonitorVaranus bengalensis
Water MonitorVaranus salvator – range extension and new record for park
White-headed Blind SnakeRamphotyphlops albiceps – range extension/country record
Burmese PythonPython bivittatus
Long-nosed Vine SnakeAhaetulla nasuta
Brown Vine SnakeAhaetulla pulverulenta
Striped KeelbackAmphiesma stolatum
Green Cat SnakeBoiga cyanea
Tawny Cat SnakeBoiga ochracea – DOR only
Copperhead Trinket SnakeCoelognalthus radiatus
Painted BronzebackDendrelaphis pictus
Common Wolf SnakeLycodon aulicus
Zaw's Wolf SnakeLycodon zawi
Cantor's Kukri Snake?Oligodon cyclurus? (possibly other Oligodon sp.)
Assam Snail-eaterPareas monticola
Himalayan KeelbackRhabdophis himalayanus
Collared Black-headed Snake Sibynophis collaris – DOR only
Painted KeelbackXenocrophis ceracegastor – range extension
Checkered KeelbackXenocrophis piscator
Dog-faced Water SnakeCerberus rynchops
Glossy Marsh SnakeGerarda prevastiana
Banded KraitBungarus fasciatus
Common KraitBungarus caeruleus
Monocled CobraNaja kaouthia
Spot-tailed Pit ViperTrimeresurus erythrurus
Salt-water CrocodileCrocodylus postorus
Elongated TortoiseIndotestudo elongata
Mammal species seen included Irrawaddy Squirrel, Indian Crested Porcupine, Asiatic Long-tailed Climbing Mouse, several shrew species, Small Indian Mongoose, Golden Jackal, Indian Flying Fox, Greater False Vampire Bat, Pig-tailed Macaque, Rhesus Macaque, Phayre's Leaf Monkey, Capped Langur, Hoolock Gibbon, Eurasian Wild Boar, Barking Deer, Spotted Deer, Ganges River Dolphin, and Irrawaddy Dolphin.
Bird species seen included Red-breasted Parakeet, Indian Cuckoo, Black Drongo, Forest Spotted Owl, Collared Scopes Owl, Buffy Fish Owl, Brown Fish Owl, Shikra, Brahminy Kite, Black-shouldered Kite, Black Kite, Osprey, Crested Serpent Eagle, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Indian Pond Heron, Lesser Adjutant, White-throated Kingfisher, Collared Kingfisher, Brown-winged Kingfisher, Ruddy Kingfisher, Black-hooded Oriole, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Orange-breasted Green Pigeon, Jungle Fowl, and, of course, dozens of others that our birder-less group couldn't identify.
I'll try to throw up a link when I post about the rest of the trip. Thanks for taking a look!
Statistics: Posted by jonathan — July 16th, 2014, 10:38 pm