Wild life in Samui

[MantisMan]

No no, I'm not referring to the Go-Go bars, Green Mango nor Lamai.

I was wondering what kind of wild life inhibits the islands here.

I've seen green snakes. I think they are the poisonous ones.

I remember my first visit to Goh Pangang and a scorpion sneaked into my backpack. I traveled with it all they way back to Bangkok without knowing it.

Poor little guy.

Seen giant Wolf-spiders in the house.

Seen elephants but something tells me they are not native here.

Seen one Sea Turtle by a great chance of luck one day fishing.

How about monkeys? I don't see a lot of them. Very surprised.

Even the mountains in Japan and Hong Kong have wild monkeys.

Water buffalo is native here or they were brought over centuries ago?

How about Parrots? Any tropical parrots?

Wasps? I have not seen any of those, especially the giant Sutsumebachi.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ejN0B5YZeA

[Tropicalevo]

It's a long list MM

Sea eagles, brahminy kites, Indian rollers, bee-eaters, sunbirds, greater coucals, owls, bats, monitor lizards, tockays, cobras, pythons, golden tree snakes, rat snakes, wolf snakes, scorpions etc are some of the more exotic ones (to most of us westerners) that I have seen in or next to my house and garden.

Sorry, no wild monkeys. (Unless they have escaped from the monkey trainers.)

Edited December 18, 2013 by Tropicalevo

[AngThong]

There are wild monkeys on Phangan, not just the hairless domesticated variety on C₂H₅OH and motorbikes. Seen them in the jungle & near some of the more remote beaches.

Edited December 18, 2013 by AngThong

[samuijimmy]

There are wild monkeys on Phangan, not just the hairless domesticated variety on C₂H₅OH and motorbikes. Seen them in the jungle & near some of the more remote beaches.

My first visit to KP, in 2005 , there was a wild monkey that kept getting into the bungalows a nicking food/ fruit ! That was on the west coast.... Se Thanu (spelling!?) area. ... perhaps he had escaped from somewhere?

Other than Tropos list, not much else, except, squirrels occasionally. One of the best places I have seen sea eagles is the west end of Maenam beach, near the flag on the rocks! On Koh Tan of the SW coast of Samui, there are wild bore running wild still, so I have heard! ...

[Gonsalviz]

Monkeys abound. Go to a beach resort near Tabkiab Hill but don't let any snack get out of your hand. The thieves are everywhere.

[Birdman]

where on Samui is Tabkiab??

[MantisMan]

where on Samui is Tabkiab??

Good question.

Cobras and monitors??!! Holly Molly.

So I am correct? Elephants are not native here?

No tropical Parrots?

How about dolphins and sharks?

Someone once told me Sea Turtles were plentiful here so I guess I was lucky the day I saw one come up for air.

Seems to be a conflict about monkeys. Some report yes, some report no.

Seems sad no monkeys...........

Edited December 19, 2013 by MantisMan

[Birdman]

there was never a native elephant on the islands. There are no parrots, no monkeys, actually no mammals at all. There are many kinds of tropical birds and butterflies, eagles, herons, bats, lizards and other reptiles and a lot of insects. If you walk through the lush forests, you probably will see butterflies, ants, and maybe some birds, That's it.

[Rooo]

I have 7 vampire bats under one of the buildings, a type that is supposed to be extinct on the island. I'll let you look for free.

[PoorSucker]

How about dolphins and sharks?

Pink dolphins between Samui and Khanom.

You can find sharks at the local fish market, never spotted myself but friend has.

[PoorSucker]

actually no mammals at all.

Squirrels and bats are mammals.

[limbos]

Occasionally if you're lucky you get to see a sperm whale at the surface or a pod of dolphins, whale sharks are regular visitors at Sail Rock and Chumpon Pinnacle near Koh Tao.

[happylarry]

I used to have a house on a mountain in Bophut and was occasionally visited by one or two monkeys looking for food.

It beats me how people can categorically state that there are no monkeys on the island unless they have searched every nook and cranny, and when you see how thick the trees and bushes are on the top of the mountains then I don't believe they have.

HL

[Tropicalevo]

I have seen dolphins swimming off Tongson and Samrong Bays, but not for a few years now. Used to be February/March time. Traveling anti-clockwise around the island.

I forgot to mention the cormorants and egrets that are plentiful in the area.

[Tropicalevo]

where on Samui is Tabkiab??

Good question.

Cobras and monitors??!! Holly Molly.

So I am correct? Elephants are not native here?

No tropical Parrots?

How about dolphins and sharks?

Someone once told me Sea Turtles were plentiful here so I guess I was lucky the day I saw one come up for air.

Seems to be a conflict about monkeys. Some report yes, some report no.

Seems sad no monkeys...........

My understanding is that the only 'wild' monkeys are escapees from the coconut harvesters/trainers.

They are on the island, but they are not native. Same with elephants and 'wild' dogs.

Monkeys cannot swim that far (from the mainland) and they cannot afford Bandit Airways prices.

[notmyself]

Lots of odd snakes were released into the wild when the bottom fell out of the snake farm (zoo) 10 years or so ago. This may have had a negative impact on the squirrel population because around that time they were all over the place. Burmese workers may have eaten most of what remained.

Edited December 20, 2013 by notmyself

[angiud]

Otters in a stream here in Koh Phangan. Try to get a pic but without success.Maybe I'll get an automatic trail camera.

Wild deer, boars, I saw couple of times some unID small mammal. Slow Loris, I guess Pangolin (both in Samui and Phangan). A colony of Dusky Langur at Angthong Marine Park (main island).

[ikbenhet]

Lots of odd snakes were released into the wild when the bottom fell out of the snake farm (zoo) 10 years or so ago. This may have had a negative impact on the squirrel population because around that time they were all over the place. Burmese workers may have eaten most of what remained.

I still see lots of squirrels around my house in Ban Makam (near Nathon Hill).

Not much development and Burmese workers this side of the hill which might be the reason there still around.

[limbos]

The squirrels have most certainly started a come back. The problem with squirrels started when the coconut trees started to die and not the Burmese but the wave of cheap labour before the Burmese from isaan was part of the problem as well. The squirrel problem started way before Burmese workers started to come to Samui.

[John 1]

Attached picture of Hornet's and these will sting. A killer snake Bird don't know name and a tame buffalo.

[MantisMan]

Attached picture of Hornet's and these will sting. A killer snake Bird don't know name and a tame buffalo.

Nice pics! Thanks. That hornets nest looks nasty.

Feel sorry for that little Gecko, but that would make for a good T-shirt print...................I could see that selling at the T-shirt shops in Chaweng/Lamai.

[Gatorade]

Attached picture of Hornet's and these will sting. A killer snake Bird don't know name and a tame buffalo.

Great Pictures John!

I think the bird is a Coucal. Very shy and make a sort of hooting noise. Also known as the "widow bird" cos of its mournful sound.

Snake looks like a Green Tree snake. What happened to the Toukay?

G.

[limbos]

Malayan Racer (Coloegnathus flavolineata)

[sbk]

Koh P has small monkeys living in the mountains, my husband gets up early and sees them from time to time, these are much much smaller and do not have the massive teeth and are definitely not escaped coconut monkeys.

But there used to be those too, not sure escaped or not but my husband told a story of his dog getting into a fight with a wild one years ago when he was a boy. Dog won but barely.

[John 1]

Koh P has small monkeys living in the mountains, my husband gets up early and sees them from time to time, these are much much smaller and do not have the massive teeth and are definitely not escaped coconut monkeys.

But there used to be those too, not sure escaped or not but my husband told a story of his dog getting into a fight with a wild one years ago when he was a boy. Dog won but barely.

With reference to the small monkeys ask your husband if they are called ling loom as in flying monkey I saw 1 on Samui years ago when they cut a coconut tree down he died when hitting the ground very small, shame I didn't have my camera then.

[AngThong]

Koh P has small monkeys living in the mountains, my husband gets up early and sees them from time to time, these are much much smaller and do not have the massive teeth and are definitely not escaped coconut monkeys.

But there used to be those too, not sure escaped or not but my husband told a story of his dog getting into a fight with a wild one years ago when he was a boy. Dog won but barely.

As for Phangan, I've seen both small (1-2 feet) and large (say, about the same size as a German Shepherd) monkeys out in the wild, both alone and in groups. There's a few large 'uns that seem to hang around Bottle Beach (I think some of the Thais might be feeding them), and you can sometimes see groups of them on coastal rocks in the more remote parts of the island. I don't know how they got there, but since they're regularly employed in the coconut business, maybe they escaped from coconut farmers.

[Mole]

This just moved into my neighborhood. I've seen it for a couple weeks now, but just managed to take pic of it today.

[Tropicalevo]

This just moved into my neighborhood. I've seen it for a couple weeks now, but just managed to take pic of it today.

20131223_104457.jpg

My eyes are dim, but is it a baby monitor lizard?

[Tropicalevo]

Attached picture of Hornet's and these will sting. A killer snake Bird don't know name and a tame buffalo.

Golden Tree snake (local name green tree snake or coconut tree snake). Not venomous but eats meat! Part of the flying snake family. These little devils can climb flat vertical walls! Love to live in roof spaces. (Eats the rats/,mice/geckos ectc)

[Mole]

Yes, it's a baby monitor lizard. It's been living in that hole for a couple of weeks now. I've seen the fellow peeking out of it's hole many times, but wasn't able to get any pics till now. It'd quickly return back into the hole when I approached, so that's the best pic I'm able to get so far.

Edited December 23, 2013 by Mole