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SNIFFING THE AIR


Until I took this photograph, I didn't know that lizards sniffed the air with a forked tongue in search of the scent of their prey.  I have seen lots of lizards in my life, and I now suspect that all of them were operating tongue in cheek. 
 

Mr. Lizard is a permanent Resident of the Hole in the Wall on the north side of Langkawi in Malaysia.  The reason he is swimming around with his tongue flicking in and out is because he's on the prowl for chicken.  He knows there's poultry out there somewhere, and he's going to find it.
 

Every day dozens of tourists visit the Hole in the Wall to observe the feeding of wild eagles.  As soon as tour operators throw scraps of chicken in the water, dozens of eagles swoop down from the sky and effortlessly pluck the chicken entrails from the water.  You hear the fluttering of their wings as they streak down from the trees and snatch their prizes from the surface.



But eagles aren't the only ones who participate in this feast.  The small scraps of flesh left floating on the surface invites other scavengers to develop a passion for poultry.  Hence, we see the lizards with their forked tongue gliding through the water in search of an afternoon snack.

In humans, the nose knows where the chicken is.  In lizards, the nose is mainly an air passage, and it's the tongue that knows where the chicken is.  This lizard's tongue scans the air and water for the succulent smell of lunch.

Mr. Lizard isn't tame, but he's used to being around humans, and he goes about his chicken lickin' business paying little attention to us as we motor by in our dinghy.  He knows that we aren't there to harm him, and besides, if we approach too closely, he instantly submerges beneath the surface where he will be safe.



Eagles and lizards are like the Air Force and the Navy patrolling the Hole in the Wall for tidbits of chicken flesh.  If this dynamic duo ever decides to go global, we'll have to notify every Kentucky Fried Chicken store in the world that they are at risk.  We're putting these guys under constant surveillance, and we already have contingencies in place if the eagles ever fly out of line, or if the lizards become aggressive and attempt to extend their domain.

Everyone at Kentucky Fried Chicken needs to know that at the present time they are safe.  This is a level one situation, and they can enjoy their chicken and biscuits in peace.

 

For now, life is good.  If the situation should change, the authorities will let you know.
 


Log 1 Peter Pan Around the World
Log 2 Weapons of Mackerel Destruction
Log 3 Pirates of the Malacca Straits
Log 4 Kissing Cobras
Log 5 Debriosaurus Rex
Log 6 Go Ahead - Live Your Dreams

Log 7 The Man Who Built His House on a Rock
Log 8 Ambivalent Eagles
Log 9 One-Shovel Full at a Time
Log 10 Hitchhiker's Guide to Planet Earth

Log 11 Keeshond

Log 12 The Red Sea Blues

Log 13 Feel the Freedom

Log 14 The Danger Zone

Log 15 Lucky Man
Log 16 Dream Machines - Land Rover Defenders

Log 17 Trade Wind Dreams
Log 18 Logs With Fins
Log 19 Everywhere, Everything
Log 20 Shark Slayer Is History

Log 21 Viking Funeral - Burial at Sea
Log 22 Improbable and Impossible

Log 23 Keep on Trucking
Log 24 Dream Machines II
Log 25 Bodysurfing Whales
Log 26 Hitting the Wall
Log 27 Surviving the Savage Seas

Log 28 The Next Step
Log 29 Welcome to Barbados
Log 30 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers
Log 31 The Man with the Unplan
Log 32 Dali Dolphins
Log 33 Flying Like a Turtle
Log 34 The Foolish Man Built His House on a Pitch Lake
Log 35 Go West Young Man
Log 36 Crossing the Atlantic in a Row Boat
Log 37 The Unsinkable HMS Diamond Rock
Log 38 Catamaran Capsize in 170 mph Winds
Log 39 When Are You Coming Home?

Log 40 Master and Commander of Anegada - Frigate Birds
Log 41 Baths of Virgin Gorda - Batholiths of Central Arabia

Log 42 Free at Last
Log 43 Stalking the Wild Manatee

Log 44 Spreaderman
Log 45 Attack of the Flesh Eating Bees
Log 46 Sharks and Coconuts
Log 47 Stingray Picnic
Log 48 Boo Boo Hill
Log 49 Whale Slayers
Log 50 Noddies (Not Naughty)

 

Log 51 Exumas Land and Sea Park
Log 52 David and Goliath
Log 53 Turquoise Clouds of Paradise

Log 54 Momma Nightjar
Log 55 Maximillian The Great
Log 56 Chiton Kingdom
Log 57 Flying and Holding On
Log 58 Far Horizons
Log 59 Clouds Are a Sailor's Friend
Log 60 Getting Connected
Log 61 Fear
Log 62 Grand Schemes and Other Important Things
Log 63 If Jellyfish Had a Brain
Log 64 Cousins That Don't Kiss
Log 65 Swimming With Sharks
Log 66 Perfect the Way You Are
Log 67 Space Travelers
Log 68 Aliens
Log 69 Monsters of the Mind
Log 70 My Butterfly Collection
Log 71 Somewhere Other Than Here Societies
Log 72 Five-Hundred Pound Spiders
Log 73 Red Sea Sunsets
Log 74 Gibraltar Sunrise
Log 75 Big Sea - Small Ship
Log 76 Just Cruising
Log 77 Castle Mania
Log 78 You Must Know the Sea
Log 79 Flying Like a Goat
Log 80 The Joy of Photography
Log 81 Universal Camouflage
Log 82 My Rainbow Collection
Log 83 Indian Ocean Reward
Log 84 Fiber W
Log 85 Turkish Reflections
Log 86 Mirrors and Mirages
Log 87 Lycean Tombs Rock
Log 88 Rigging Emergency
Log 89 Pamukkale
Log 90 Volcano Land
Log 91 Sniffing the Air
Log 92 Why I Don't Kite Surf
Log 93 Resurrecting Exit Only in Turkey
Log 94 Greased Pole Competition
Log 95 Tsunami Damage
Log 96 Afraid of Living
Log 97 Living on the Edge
Log 98 Borneo Adventure
Log 99 Uligamu Tree Tender with Full Benefits
Log 100 God's Fireworks Display

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