Camping: Bats, Amphibians, Caves, and 6 meals a day

This past weekend, we traveled to the northernmost part of peninsular Malaysia to Perlis State Park to spend 3 days camping and doing biology field work. We also experienced for the first time what is apparently traditional Malaysian culture, 6 meals a day. Apparently it goes like this: breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea time, dinner, and supper. Whoa. I've never been so full for so long and eaten so consistently. I felt like a hobbit!

The biology of the weekend in the tropical rainforest can be broken down into a few main parts. We set up nets to catch bats, explored at night time to find amphibians near the creek (called "herping"), and went spelunking (cave exploring). My favorite part was catching bats. We didn't catch and fruit bats, which they think is because it's been so dry here, so that was unfortunate. We did catch 5 insectivorous bats, and a grey cheeked bulbul bird. I got to hold both! I've always been strangely fascinated by bats, and this was an odd dream come true! We learned how to measure them, and about their facial structures (optimized for echolocation) before letting them go. A very neat experience overall.

Going spelunking was also cool. I've been in multiple caves before, but none like this. Bats were hanging from the ceiling, and bat poop was everywhere. Our local guide took us off the pathways and we had to squeeze through a small opening and pull ourselves up to enter a large cavern area with some fabulous rock formations. Later one, we had to crawl through a long tunnel before grappling down a rope attached to the wall. Once down, we waded through water for about 30 minutes before we found a different exit to the cave. I felt like a real explorer with my hard hat and head light!

Overall, a fun weekend at Perlis State Park. It was nice to get out of the city, because the temperature actually cools down at night in the forest!