Wildlife of S. E. Asia and S. America. A Photo Journal by Francis Burlingham.: Cat Tien National Park . A fond farewell.

Introduction

Over the last few years I have been lucky enough to live in Thailand, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Colombia and now Brunei. In my spare time I have had the opportunity to travel fairly widely, camera in hand, in search of wildlife. In these posts I aim to share some of these experiences and show you some of the extraordinary wildlife that can be found in these regions. All of the photographs you see within the posts and pages here are my own unless otherwise stated. Copyright © Francis Burlingham 2015

Monday, 5 October 2020

Cat Tien National Park . A fond farewell.

At the end of May Vietnam was doing well in its response to the Covid 19 pandemic and so Cat Tien National Park was opening up to allow visitors. Grateful to be finally out of lock-down I took the opportunity for a visit for a few days This was to be my last visit before leaving Asia.

Puddling butterflies Cat Tien NP Vietnam

I was a little late for the peak of the butterfly seasonal emergence. I experienced that last year when the forest was alive with spectacular clouds of butterflies, however there were still plenty to see.

Graphium antiphates itamputi (Fivebar Swordtail) Cat Tien NP Vietnam

Clouded monitor lizards can be spotted both on the forest floor and in the trees at Cat Tien. This lovely juvenile example was quick to head up a tree as it detected my approach.

Varanus nebulosus (Clouded Monitor Lizard)

Cat Tien NP Vietnam

As usual, I stayed at the Forest Floor Lodge by the Ben Cuu rapids within the park boundaries. I will take away many happy memories from this place because of its idyllic location and friendly, knowledgeable staff. It is a fantastic place for anyone serious about seeing wildlife in Vietnam.

Ben Cuu Rapids

The banks of the river by the lodge were a spectacular site as they were still alive with swarms of puddling butterflies. I was able to get these shots of large groups, mainly made up of Graphium species.

Graphium species Cat Tien NP Vietnam

Staying in the park overnight has the advantage of being able to do night walks. This time I took a UV light with me as well as a torch in order to hunt for scorpions. I was not disappointed and found the two main species that I had encountered before. One with big claws and a small sting the other with small claws and a big sting. Both gave a beautiful turquoise blue colour in the UV.

Possibly Isometrus Sps. Cat Tien NP Vietnam

Heterometrus laoticus (Vietnam forest scorpion).Cat Tien NP Vietnam

There were also whip scorpions and a number of spiders including this huge red-eyed monster of a spider sitting in a small tree.

Tree Spider Cat Tien NP Vietnam

As well as the arachnids, there were plenty of insects, the most fascinating of which was this female glow-worm/fire fly. It was shaped very much like the trilobite beetles I had seen in Malaysia but belongs to a completely unrelated beetle group. I saw several of these hunting on the side of the trail casting a green glowing light.

Fire Fly Female Cat Tien NP Vietnam

The wet season rains also brought out a number of amphibians onto the road outside the lodge at night.

It is always nice to get up early in the forest and first light is often a misty magical time. With the dawn comes a different cast of animals. Walking through the forest at this time I disturbed some barking deer and a Siamese fire back pheasant on the edge of the botanic garden planting, all too quick for me to get a decent photo of. With the wet season the leaf cover makes it harder to spot and photograph the larger mammals and primates, however I still managed to see some black shanked doucs and golden cheeked gibbons in the canopy.

Dawn mists in Cat Tien NP

Wherever there are fallen fruit on the forest floor there are butterflies taking advantage. There are two species of Arch-Duke that can often be seen here.

Lexias cyanipardus albopunctata (Blue spot Archduke) Cat Tien NP Vietnam

Lexias dirtea bontouxi (Black-tip Archduke) Cat Tien NP Vietnam

Lexias cyanipardus albopunctata (Blue spot Archduke) Cat Tien NP Vietnam

Many insects either have very bright or cryptic colours. I am especially fond of finding iridescent jewellery beetles and bugs.

Chrysocoris sp Cat Tien NP Vietnam

I particularly enjoy seeing insects with iridescent structural colours and I never grow bored of the flashes of blue produced by the Euploea species of butterfly that congregate on damp shaded walls around the lodge. These are easily disturbed and rise in a cloud of flashing metallic blue wings before jostling for space as they settle again.

Euploea species Cat Tien NP Vietnam

At the other end of the scale some insects are incredibly well camouflaged. This mantis was beautifully disguised as a prickly twig in the gardens of the lodge.

Praying Mantis Cat Tien NP Vietnam

I always enjoy the challenge of trying to spot stick insects and there were many of this brown type near the main trail through the park. The fly on the leaf in the photo was one of many that kept landing on me attracted by my sweat. It was the first time I had encountered these unusual flies, which had wing markings that made them look like jumping spiders when at rest.

Stick insect and fly Cat Tien NP Vietnam

Every time I visit Cat Tien I see something new, and this butterfly was a first for me.

Tanaecia cocytus ambrysus (Lavendar Count) Cat Tien NP Vietnam

The great advantage of Forest Floor Lodge is that so much wildlife can be easily seen nearby and within the grounds. Over the last three years, I have visited several times. With the beautiful view of the rapids, it provides a peaceful spot to unwind and is a wonderful antidote to the buzz of life in Saigon. I will miss it.