The Herping expedition in Sabah, Borneo, is nearing its end. Despite spending hours walking through the forest from early morning, I still hadn’t encountered one of my main targets, the Sabah pit viper (Trimeresurus sabahi), and was starting to feel anxious.
As I was reluctantly heading back to the parking lot, I decided to take a look at a small stream. There, I finally spotted one perched on an overhanging tree branch. The bulge in its belly suggested that it had probably eaten a frog. This highly rare species is found only at elevations of 1000-1150 meters in Borneo.
I observed it for a while as it changed its position and climbed further up the tree.
It skillfully moved along the thin branches and seemed to settle on one about three meters above the ground. I assumed it would now take a nap and digest the frog it had just eaten. I am grateful for this rare encounter, especially at the very end of my herping expedition.
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