Flora & Fauna - OK, just Fauna

I live near High Park in Toronto so I have seen my share of wildlife; countless squirrels, Canada Geese, and of course, the inevitable raccoons, which I firmly believe outnumber people in Toronto. I have even seen foxes, which brings the number of animals to approximately four. Pretty exciting.

Let me just run through the gamut of what I have seen in two short weeks in Bali:

1. Snakes – the sea snake I encountered on my second night in Bali was approximately 3 feet long. One of the other volunteers has informed me that these snakes do indeed come deep onto land, and encountered not one, but two of them in a restaurant on the beach. The staff led her to believe that this was completely normal, as they batted the snakes away with a stick. At least they don’t fly like the…
2. Bats – we’re not talking fuzzy little mosquito-eating bats; these things are gigantic. When one is around you can hear it flapping its wings like a condor. These bats are not shy; they do not attempt to hide the fact that a) they are bats and b) they are within 6 inches of your head as they hunt their prey, which I can only assume are the…
3. Giant bees – we have large “bumblebees” at home, but let me assure you, their larger and more powerful cousins are alive and well and living in Bali. They are a deep, indigo blue colour, and are approximately 2-3 inches long. I’m sure their honey would be something the mafia would like to get its hands on to commoditize, if they weren’t so afraid of these things. On the upside these giant bees do help pollinate some of the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen, many of which end up in the offerings that are eaten by the….
4. Stray Dogs – yes stray dogs; there are thousands of them. They are able to survive in Bali by eating the offerings left by people at their doorsteps and gates. Every female I have seen seems to have just given birth as well, so somewhere there is a legion of stray puppies, just waiting to bark incessantly at the thousands of motorbikes that honk incessantly at the stray dogs who bark incessantly…. Wait I’ve lost my train of thought; oh yes, the animals. Well the only thing more common than the stray dogs are the….
5. Lizards – they are everywhere. I don’t know what kind they are to be honest; I have been referring to them as geckos, but I don’t think that’s what they really are. The Balinese call them, and I’m writing this phonetically as I’ve never actually seen it spelled, “chi-chet.” This mimics the sound the lizards make if they are upset or threatened. It’s a tiny chirp-like sound that is accompanied by the slapping of their tails, and is repeated 10 or 12 times. The Balinese consider these lizards to be holy creatures and believe that if you are speaking and you can hear the sound of a chirping lizard, whatever you are saying is being verified as true by the gods. They do say this with a hint of mischief as I’m sure the chi-chets are occasionally used to deliver a great punchline. They are a humorous bunch, the Balinese, but not as humorous as the…
6. Monkeys – to be honest, I have only seen monkeys in one place – the beautiful, cliffside Hindu temple of Uluwatu. There are hundreds of them, and they are a mischievous bunch. They managed to take off with not one, but two items belonging to my party. One item was a pair of sunglasses, resting atop my friend Jessica’s head – it was almost too easy for them. The other, however, was a shoe. Yes, a shoe. Somehow these cunning creatures managed to seize, directly from his foot, Nyoman’s shoe. Anyone who has ever been to African Lion Safari outside Hamilton knows that you don’t mess with the monkeys. I have had to learn all over again.

One might note that I have not mentioned giant tropical spiders. I’m hoping to keep it that way.