Lizards
Chris Herlevic
When we got to the Gunung Leuser Park on April 14-16 we first set up traps. The reason we set up traps was to catch a lizard for me to examine and take care of. We looked at the traps every day. We caught nothing. So we chose another method. We went to the pond and went on an active search to catch lizards or frogs. Later we came back. We had no luck. So after lunch we decided to go up to the next pond and go in the water to search. We also had no luck there either. So we went back to the camp.
On the trip we set up four traps in four different places. Those places were in the swamp, in an open burnt area, grassy area, and in a closed up area. We also did a 'active hunt" to catch lizards or frogs. You can do an active hunt in a swampy area or in a closed area. You would have to pick up rocks, look under leaves, and in a pond you would have to look on the logs. We didn't catch any reptiles but we caught a red frog on the path and saw different types of lizards and frogs. We saw many skinks.
There are many different types of lizards and frogs in the Leuser Ecosystem. There are skinks, monitor lizards, cicaks, and the gecko lizard. The skink is like a gecko lizard but it is dark green and swiggles when it runs. This lizard also eats mosquitoes. Skinks are about 7-8 cm long. The monitor lizard is a meat eating lizard. It eats smaller animals than itself. It is a light green lizard with dark green stripes. This lizard is about 1 meter long. Cicaks are also night lizards and are green. They stand by the lights at night and wait for mosquitoes to come because that is what they eat. They are just a few cm long. The gecko is a 10 to 11 cm long lizard that has a colour of green and red or orange spots. It eats insects or smaller cicaks. It also makes a weird sound at night.
The komodo dragon is green and blends into the grass. They are meat eaters. Komodo dragons eat humans, chickens, goats, cows, cats, or dogs. But they are only on the Island of Komodo and eat humans, chickens, goats, cows, cats and dogs. They are also in the Singapore Zoo. This lizard can be as long as 10 feet.
We used pit trapping to try and catch a lizard or a frog. I will tell you the process on how to prepare a pit trap. You dig a hole and put a bucket in it and then camouflage it. To camouflage the trap you must cover the holes on the outside of the bucket and then put leaves around it so it looks untouched. We were going to put plastic over the pit trap but we didn't. That is probably why we didn't catch anything. If pit trap is successful lizards or some animal will come and fall into it. Small lizards live under logs and rocks. Big lizards live in trees or caves. Some lizards come out at day and some at night and some all day.
The lizard is very important to members of the rain forest. They are important because people and other types of predators eat them. The Chinese like to eat the monitor lizard because they think that if they eat certain parts of the lizard something special will happen to them. For example, if they eat the eyeballs of the monitor lizard, the Chinese believe that they will live forever. Poachers like to catch the monitor lizard because they can sell the lizard skin and meat and get a lot of money. Zoos like to catch the lizards also for big attractions and for people to see them.
On the trip we tried to catch frogs and lizards. We saw some. The only type of lizards that I saw were skinks. We saw lots of frogs too. We only saw the skink at a swamp. Skinks are dark. Other lizards are bright and eat insects. Some other lizards eat smaller lizards than themselves. Large lizards like the Monitor lizards eat rats and mice. When I came back from the trip I caught a skink and a Gecko Lizard and I will keep them for a few days.
On the trip I didn't catch what I wanted. But I did catch some lizards back at home. I have a skink and gecko lizard. I hope to see how they feed, how they act, and where they go in the cage. I'm thinking of catching another gecko lizard and put it in with the other gecko lizard and see what they do together. That will be good now. I think that I can learn about lizards a lot easier in the rain forest than in a book because you can see what they do and see where they go. You can get good information on the lizard. I could find more about what it eats in the rain forest when they start to eat and their motions when they eat.