Word for the day — synanthrope. Wikipedia defines a synanthrope as a member of a species of wild animal or plant that lives near, and benefits from, an association with human beings and the somewhat artificial habitats that people create around themselves. Thus is the case with long-tailed macaques, also known as crab-eating macaques. In many areas of southeast Asia, where there is human population, there are long-tailed macaques. Although, I question the part of the definition “benefits from.” True, these monkeys scavenge human garbage, which isn’t necessarily beneficial to the health of the species, but they are also a common monkey in human health experiments due to their genetic commonalities with us. I photographed this one outside a temple in Thailand. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1600th of a second.

I’m just going to put this one out there and well… nature works in mysterious ways. That sac, shall we call it, under the chin is actually known as a cheek pouch and is used for storing food. You never know when you might need a snack. Function over style when it comes to the stump-tailed macaque. Photographed near Kaeng Krachan National Park on the Malay Peninsula of Thailand. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/320th of a second.

I met this masked palm civet one night while he/she was sniffing around my campsite in Kaeng Krachan National Park in Thailand. I was busy trying to photograph a porcupine when I suddenly saw this white head staring at me from the edge of the forest. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/18 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-900 flash units.

Khlong Saeng in Thailand is a flooded mountain range paradise. Exploration is almost exclusively by boat and even all the lodges are floating on water. Steep, jungle-covered cliffs rise from the water’s surface and support all sorts of wildlife. One of the more conspicuous mammals is the white-handed gibbon. Gibbons are extremely acrobatic apes and it was a thrill to see them swinging from branch to branch. I was able to get quite a few frame-filling shots, but I always prefer when I can show a bit of the environment. Like their fellow apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, orangutans and humans) gibbons lack a tail, they tend to be larger than monkeys and usually have bigger brains. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/320th of a second.

This one goes by a few names — the emerald awlet, the green awl, small green awlet and a few others derivatives on the theme. Whichever you choose to go with, it’s a fine looking little butterfly, found in Thailand and a few other spots in that part of the world. I photographed this one down on the Malay Peninsula of Thailand at Kaeng Krachan National Park. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 105mm macro lens, ISO 1600, f/3.5 at 1/80th of a second.

I met this forest lizard on the Malay Peninsula of Thailand at Khlong Saeng. More specifically, it’s an Emma Gray’s forest lizard, named after an English conchologist. What’s a conchologist, you ask? Just as it sounds, of course. One who studies mollusks. It was Emma’s husband, however, who discovered the lizard. I’m still searching for a lizard to name after my wife. Some day Baby, some day. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 240mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/100th of a second.

With all this cold and snow we’re getting on the east coast, I thought I’d post this image I took of Khlong Saeng in Thailand, one of the more tropically beautiful spots on this earth. Those floating cabins in the lower left are where I stayed. That said, I do enjoy a good snow storm now and again. Enjoy everyone. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 70mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/800th of a second.

Also known as the Malayan giant squirrel, these guys are among the largest squirrels in the world. Unlike many other squirrel species around the world that readily enter areas of human population, they prefer to stay hidden deep in the forest. I saw a few of them while camping in Kaeng Krachan National Park on the Malay Peninsula of Thailand. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/400th of a second.

It was pretty early in the morning when I first saw this white-handed gibbon in Kaeng Krachan National Park in Thailand. She stuck around for awhile and eventually there was enough light to get some decent photos. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/200th of a second.

This masked palm civet (also known as a gem-faced civet) was lurking around my campsite one night in Kaeng Krachan National Park in Thailand. I had seen porcupines the night before and missed the shot. This time I was ready with a remote flash on a tripod to my left. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 380mm) ISO 400, f/18 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-900 flash units.