Reported here:-
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/2010/05/201051883348225658.html
Scientists found several new species in Foja Mountains in Papua New Guinea. A wallaby (like a kangaroo but smaller), a long-nosed frog and a yellow-eyed gecko. Yellow-eyed? Have you seen anything that has yellow eyes before? I haven't.
Actually, new species are not actually new per se. It is more that they were newly discovered. A few years ago, we discovered that the smaller sized elephants found in Sabah are a distinct species rather than a cousin or relative of the Asian elephant found in the region. So the Asian pygmy elephant was declared a new species.
Besides the bigger celebrities, we also have many lesser new stars like insects, snails, plants, bugs, well bugs are insects, being discovered every now and then.
So, what's the relevance to this blog, you ask.
We have a backyard of a forest. It is not a park but a forest. It is not just a grouping of trees and some undergrowth but it's a living eco-system. It is hence very important for us, the residents of Tanarimba, to retain as much as possible the original state of the land and allow it to evolve.
The so-called creepy crawlies, the bats, the swiflets that crash into your windows or shit onto them if they don't, the babi hutan that digs up your vegetable patch, will inevitably cause some of us some discomfort and even grief. But hey, they were here first. And unless they are about to threaten our lives, we should find a way to live with them. Be part of the ecosystem.
Another friendly reminder... :)
