Another Look at Khao Sok

Although I have done a blog post or two about Khao Sok NP in Thailand, I have many more decent photos that either I have not posted, or I have more to write about them.
 There is a large, magnificent lake in the park. The water in the lake is very warm, more like a hot tub, than a heated swimming pool.

Last post showed photos of Long-tailed Macaques taken from across the river. These monkeys are not at all shy and boldly cross the river hoping for a handout from the gawking tourists.

This little guy came up and grabbed a green grasshopper off of my pants leg, and casually ate it. Better than a banana.

Macaques are not the only primates in Khao Sok. One of the cutest species of monkey that I have seen anywhere is the Dusky Langur.

I hiked up the main trail in the park from the headquarters up to a small ranger station/snack bar. There were picnic tables set up, and I sat down to rest from the heat and exertion of climbing up the hill. This cute guy came out of the forest and started acting like a typical monkey.
It scampered up and down the tree trunks, then flung itself spread eagle onto the ground. Then it sat at the picnic table in imitation of a human. I was laughing too hard to take any photos of all this. Then it melted back into the forest.

From the small tourist town of Khao Sok, and throughout the forest, one can hear the mournful wails of White-handed Gibbons. They stay high in the tree canopy, and I have not been able to get passable photos of them. This photo was taken by Sean Crane and used by permission. His great website can be found here.

One of the most spectacular species of birds in the park are the, Great Hornbills. You have to see them in life to truly appreciate them.

Spiderhunters are a unique family of birds that I believe are related to sunbirds. I have only seen them in Khao Sok. I saw both, Spectacled Spiderhunters and this Little Spiderhunter, visiting a flowering banana plant.

There are several species of squirrel, some are huge, some are red, some are black, and some of them are probably Treeshrews which superficially look like small squirrels, (I saw them in Northern Thailand). I also saw things that looked like chipmunks to me.

This toad somehow made it up into my bungalow, ten feet off the ground. My guess is that it climbed up the steep, shower drain pipe. I could easily imagine a cobra doing the same thing, pleasant dreams at night for me. I heard things scurrying around both inside and outside my bungalow all night long.

For the most part, turtles are critically endangered throughout asia because they are relished as both food and traditional folk remedies by the local people. I was very happy to see this turtle in the river. I do not know what species it is.

If you know anything about me, you know that I love the reptiles, and Khao Sok is full of them. One of the most common is this lizard that goes by several names, Horned Mountain Dragon, Forest Crested Lizard etc. I want to show more photos of reptiles and things but this post is long enough.