Adventures of a Tribe

Nature Walk

Posted on November 17, 2015

It rained through the night and into the morning, and when it finally stopped we all went for a walk to see what we could find. Since Shelter Bay was once called Fort Sherman, and was a military base, there are some interesting structures to see. Some of them have once again been occupied.

The jungle here is filled with extremely tall palms, pampas grass, mango trees and so many other varieties. More than two thirds of the worlds plant species are found in tropical rain forests.

High up in the tress we saw beautiful toucans. There are about forty different species, and we saw two of those species.

There is no difference in color between male and female toucans, but the females generally have a shorter bill. The bill appears to be rather heavy, but it is filled with a spongy tissue, making it extremely light in weight. I have always been fascinated by toucans, and was so excited to see them.

We also saw various mammals crossing our path and up in the trees. This little guy is driving me crazy because I still haven’t figured out what he is. I researched for an hour after returning home but came up empty handed.

My guess was that he was some variety of coati, but I’m not certain.

Due to the constant humidity and rain, tree trunks are covered in beautiful lichen and moss, and vines hang like tangled hair. Tiny baby mangoes sit proudly on the end of stems as they absorb ample moisture and nutrients.

At one point we passed a large, what appeared be, hive of some sort. I wondered if it could be wasp or bee, then Danny suggested perhaps ants, and he was right! Notice how hundreds of then climb the branches to reach home.

In case you couldn’t tell, I LOVE the rain forest, and all that is in it! I love learning about animals and plants just as much as I love learning marine biology.

Just as we reached Tanda Malaika, it began drizzling once more, and the dog across the dock from us wagged it’s tail at our return. What a wonderful way to start the day.