Since I was a young lad of about nine or ten I have always had a good appreciation for nature and wildlife and while I still retain some interest in this field and take conservation of the natural environment quite seriously, I did not really think too much about what wildlife I was likely to encounter while living in Udon Thani. Sure I knew there were plenty of snakes and elephants but exactly what else I was likely to see I didn't give much thought to.
Over the last 5 years I have seen lots of insects that are either quite strange looking and some that are simply bizarre but only being mere insects, I still didn't think a great deal about the Thailand wildlife, other than what I had seen thus far.
However on a recent trip to Phu Foi Lom I saw a snake that spends much of its time in water hunting fish for its food and it came as a bigger surprise a day later that during a visit to a local temple that I saw a monitor lizard casually waddling around the grounds of Wat Pha Don Phu (these links will take you to my other website - Udon Thani Attractions, and open a new window in your browser).
This prehistoric looking creature was hanging around the edge of the water, presumably also looking for fish to munch on and soon as it realised we had spotted it, it began to slowly retreat from the waters edge and heading for the surrounding woodland.
Over the last 5 years I have seen lots of insects that are either quite strange looking and some that are simply bizarre but only being mere insects, I still didn't think a great deal about the Thailand wildlife, other than what I had seen thus far.
However on a recent trip to Phu Foi Lom I saw a snake that spends much of its time in water hunting fish for its food and it came as a bigger surprise a day later that during a visit to a local temple that I saw a monitor lizard casually waddling around the grounds of Wat Pha Don Phu (these links will take you to my other website - Udon Thani Attractions, and open a new window in your browser).
This prehistoric looking creature was hanging around the edge of the water, presumably also looking for fish to munch on and soon as it realised we had spotted it, it began to slowly retreat from the waters edge and heading for the surrounding woodland.
It was early evening when we visited and the light was getting low, hence the quality of the picture I manged to get before it ran away is not as good as I would have liked. It was my normally "oblivious to anything around her" daughter that saw the lizard, as I was too busy watching the big fish in the lake near the temple. Without any hint of excitement in her voice she told me there was something like a crocodile near the building opposite us.
When I saw this lizard I was quite amazed. It was close to 3 foot long from head to tail and as soon as I tried to get closer to get more pictures, it could not make it's escape any quicker. I believe that it probably lives in the temple grounds, feeding on the healthy fish stock that is present, so if you visit Wat Pha Don Phu when it is quiet, you may get the opportunity to see one of these beautiful creatures for yourself, just going about it's business in it's natural environment.
I will be making a point of returning to the temple to try and see "Larry", as I have named him/it, to try and get some much better pictures, ideally some close up images of it's head, with tongue flicking out.
When I saw this lizard I was quite amazed. It was close to 3 foot long from head to tail and as soon as I tried to get closer to get more pictures, it could not make it's escape any quicker. I believe that it probably lives in the temple grounds, feeding on the healthy fish stock that is present, so if you visit Wat Pha Don Phu when it is quiet, you may get the opportunity to see one of these beautiful creatures for yourself, just going about it's business in it's natural environment.
I will be making a point of returning to the temple to try and see "Larry", as I have named him/it, to try and get some much better pictures, ideally some close up images of it's head, with tongue flicking out.