How do plants grow towards the light?

You've learnt about this in your science subject during secondary/high school.

It's interesting and I bet it still is. Why would the upshot of a tree grow towards the light and not elsewhere? Sciencefocus has a simple way of explaining it.

                          A weed in our unkempt flower vase

Plant cells contain a protein called phototropin that is mostly concentrated in the growing tip of the plant shoot. This protein unfolds into an activated state when it absorbs blue wavelengths of light.

This sets off a cascade of interactions between different proteins in the cells, which ultimately changes the alignment of cellular scaffolding proteins, called microtubules.

The upshot of this is that the cells on the darker side of the shoot elongate, while those on the light side remain squat and boxy. As the dark side of the plant grows longer, the shoot as a whole bends away from that side and towards the light.

Recent research at the Carnegie Institution at Stanford University, and Wageningen University in the Netherlands, found that the rearrangement of the microtubules can happen surprisingly quickly. Within minutes of exposure to blue light, plant cells will start making new microtubules.


Source: Sciencefocus

Fishing Competition at Pulau Gandang, Tuaran

You have some time to spare this weekend? Or, you are looking for some family outing and fishing is in the menu? This might be just what you are looking for. If it's to be your day, you will go home RM1,000 richer, who knows.



This Fishing Competition is organised by one of the water operators in the state and this is the second similar competition in 2 years.

Event            : Pertandingan Memancing Terbuka Corporate Dynamics 2013
Organiser     : Corporate Dynamics Sports and Recreation Club
Date             : 26 October 2013 (Saturday)
Time            : 7.00am - 3.00pm
Venue          : Pulau Gandang, Tuaran
Eligibility     : Open to the public 

Entrance Fee : RM40 per rod. Second rod is charged at RM15


For inquiries and to sign up for the competition, call:

088-782123 : Tuaran & Tamparuli - Fandie Untung / Thien Sen Fong
088-233511 : Kota Kinabalu - Elizabeth Luan / Betsy Martin
088-719006 : Penampang - Pantalion L Gihol
Click on my previous posting for the Location Map.



Some of the fishes that would not be included in this competition. Please spare them!


SYARAT - SYARAT PERTANDINGAN (RULES AND REGULATIONS)
The followings are the rules and regulation of the competition in Bahasa Malaysia. Have fun reading!

1. Yuran penyertaan sebanyak RM40.00 untuk joran pertama. Manakala untuk joran berikutnya sebanyak RM15.00 sebatang dan terhad kepada dua batang joran sahaja.
2. Peserta mestilah berumur 12 tahun ke atas.
3. Peserta hanya dibenarkan mendaftar atas satu nama sahaja.
4. Pertandingan akan berlangsung selama 5 ½ jam (bermula dari jam 09.00 pagi hingga jam 2.30 petang). Peserta diwajibkan menghabiskan tempoh masa yang telah ditetapkan dan mana-mana peserta yang balik awal akan dibatalkan kesemua hasil tangkapannya.
5. Yuran penyertaan tidak akan dikembalikan terhadap mana-mana peserta ingin menarik diri pada hari pertandingan.
6. Kejuaraan akan ditentukan berdasarkan kepada berat tangkapan ikan dan juga masa tangkapan. Sekiranya terdapat persamaan dari segi berat tangkapan ikan, maka masa tangkapan yang tercepat akan diambilkira sebagai pemenang.
7. HANYA pancing yang mempunyai penanda sah daripada pihak penganjur sahaja yang akan diambilkira tangkapannya.
8. Adalah ditegaskan bahawa penggunaan mata kail bermata tiga dan juga ambor (Hand Line) adalah tidak dibenarkan sama sekali.
9. Peserta boleh memenangi lebih daripada satu kategori hadiah yang dipertandingkan sekiranya tangkapan berat ikan yang seterusnya adalah layak.
10. Pilihan umpan adalah bebas dan perlu disediakan sendiri oleh semua peserta.
11. Pilihan tempat memancing adalah bebas tetapi mestilah di dalam kawasan yang telah ditetapkan oleh pihak penganjur pertandingan.
12. Peserta dikehendaki terus mengemukakan tangkapan ikan ke meja pengadil untuk ditimbang sebaik sahaja tangkapan dibuat. Semua tangkapan mestilah masih hidup dan tidak dibuka daripada mata kail semasa mengemukakannya.
13. Hanya ikan yang ditangkap menggunakan pancing sahaja yang akan diambilkira. Kaedah mencandat (mata kail menyangkut pada badan ikan) adalah tidak dibenarkan.
14. IKAN BUNTAL, IKAN LANGUT LANGUT, SESIRAT, BELANGKAS dan BELACAK adalah tidak diambil kira di dalam pertandingan ini.
15. Peserta tidak dibenarkan untuk memberi atau menerima sebarang hasil tangkapan ikan daripada mana-mana peserta lain termasuk bertukar joran pancing. Jika diketahui, penyertaan kedua-dua peserta yang terlibat akan dibatalkan.
16. Penggunaan perahu / pelampung untuk tujuan memancing di kawasan air dalam adalah tidak dibenarkan.
17. Sebarang bantahan boleh dibuat dengan menyertakan bayaran sebanyak RM100.00 di meja urusetia pertandingan. Keputusan pihak penganjur adalah muktamad dan wang tidak akan dikembalikan. Sebarang bantahan yang tidak disertakan dengan bayaran tidak akan dilayan.
18. Pihak penganjur berhak untuk membatalkan dan seterusnya menarik balik hadiah kemenangan sekiranya mendapati wujudnya sebarang bentuk penipuan oleh mana-mana peserta pertandingan.
19. Semua peserta perlu memberi kerjasama dalam menjaga kebersihan pantai dengan tidak membuang sampah secara merata-rata. Pihak penganjur akan menyediakan plastic sampah.
20. Peserta yang ingin menuntut hasil tangkapan ikan bolehlah berbuat demikian selepas acara pertandingan ini selesai.
21. Pihak penganjur berhak menunda tarikh pertandingan sekiranya terdapat sebarang kesulitan yang tidak dapat dielakkan.

BEST OF LUCK TO ALL KAKI PANCING!

Why do bees buzz?

As if we can't leave without asking question like that. But for the sake question and answer, and for the young ones who are full of curiosity, here's what the guys at Sciencefocus have to offer:


Male sonoran carpenter bee. Photo by de engineur

Bees and other Neoptera insects don’t flap their wings directly. Instead, the flight muscles pull on the springy thorax wall to make it ‘ping’ in and out.

Bees also have muscles that can contract multiple times from a single nerve impulse. Together these adaptations allow bees to beat their wings at 200-230Hz (cycles per second). To freeze the movement of a bee in flight, you need to set your camera shutter speed at least 1/300sec.

We hear this as a buzzing tone. Bees also buzz when not flying, to shake pollen from a flower onto their body.


Note: Scientific facts are provided by Sciencefocus, the picture is my own.

Top 10 longest living animals

All this while I thought tortoise is the longest living animal in the world. Apparently I'm ignorant to the scientific facts, but maybe that's the beauty of being human. Learning never stop until the very last breath that we take.

Okay, the first two doesn't make sense, their lifespans span from 2,300 years to immortal. Are you kidding me?

1. Turritopsis nutricula jellyfish


Image: mother nature network
Lifespan: immortal
Location: temperate to tropical regions of oceans

2. Giant barrel sponge

Lifespan: up to 2,300 years
Location: Garibbean waters

3. Ocean quahog

Lifespan: up to 507 years
Location: North Atlantic

4. Tortiose


Image: de engineur
Lifespan: up to 255 years
Location: worldwide

5. Tube worm

Lifespan: 250 years
Location: near hydrocarbon vents on the ocean floor

6. Koi (fish)

Lifespan: up to 226 years
Location: captivity

7. Bowhead whale

Lifespan: up to 211 years
Location: Arctic waters

8. Red sea urchin

Lifespan: over 200 years
Location: Pecific Ocean

9. Tuatara
Not to be confused with iguana.


Image: wikipedia/tuatara
Lifespan: up to 200 years
Location: New Zealand

10. Geoduck

Lifespan: up to 168 years
Location: off the west coast of North America


Source: Daily Express' Sunlife, October 6, 2013 - pp 14.

Electric flowers have the power to bring in bees

It is common knowledge that flowers use bright colours and enticing fragrances to attract pollinators, but what’s not so widely known is that they also use electrical signals.

'Pollinating' - captured with Nikon D90 at | 200mm | f/4 | ISO-400 | 1/320 sec |

Nobody knew about this electrical attraction until biologists recently discovered that bumblebees can detect a charge and use it to determine which plant they visit. Charge detection may help bees decide which flowers hold plenty of nectar.

To investigate, biologists at the University of Bristol created artificial flowers, filling some with sucrose and others with quinine, which bees don’t feed on. Initially, the bees (buff-tailed bumblebees of the species Bombus terrestris) visited the flowers at random. But when a 30 volt field, typical of a 30cm-tall flower, was applied to the artificial plants containing sucrose, the bees detected the charge from a few centimetres away, and visited the charged flowers 81 per cent of the time.


Flowers use electrical signals

A bee lands on one of the electrically charged artificial
 flowers. Image:University of Bristol.

When a bee visits a flower some of its positive charge transfers to the plant, and further bees transfer more charge. This could show an incoming bee that there’s unlikely to be much nectar on offer.

“The last thing a flower wants is to attract a bee and then fail to provide nectar,” says Professor Daniel Robert, who led the research.

“It’s a lesson in honest advertising, since bees are good learners and would soon lose interest in such an unrewarding flower.”

It’s thought the electric charge supplements the other signals flowers use. Exactly how bees detect electrical fields is unknown, but the researchers speculate that the hairy bees bristle up under an electrostatic force.


Fact source: Daily Express Sunlife, 2/6/2013, pp.12

Trivia Friday: Do plants die of old age?

Common knowledge tells us that every living thing will inevitably die, eventually.


                                  See more pics at my Flickr photostream.


ScienceFocus says that, given optimum conditions, some plants can live forever. It takes a change in external conditions to finish them off.

Annual plants, however, usually die soon after seeding.

Top 10 longest pregnancies (Land mammal)

While it is the biggest known land animal in the modern days, elephant is also the land mammal with longest pregnancy period. The following is the list of the top ten longest pregnancies (land mammal):-

1. Elephant
21-22 months
Maximum birth weight: 120kg
Life span: Up to 80 years

2. Rhinoceros
15-18 months
Maximum birth weight: 65kg
Life span: Up to 50 years

3. Giraffe
15 months
Maximum birth weight: 75kg
Life span: Up to 25 years

4. Camel
13-14 months
Maximum birth weight: 50kg
Life span: Up to 50 years

5. Tapir
13 months
Maximum birth weight: 10kg
Life span: Up to 30 years

6. Donkey
12 months
Maximum birth weight: 25kg
Life span: Up to 50 years

7. Llama
11-12 months
Maximum birth weight: 14kg
Life span: Up to 25 years

8. Horse
11 months
Maximum birth weight: 55kg
Life span: Up to 60 years

9. Cow
9-10 months
Maximum birth weight: 40kg
Life span: Up to 20 years

10. Human
9 months
Maximum birth weight: 7kg
Life span: Up to 130 years


Source: Sunday Edition, Daily Express 5/5/13

Crows can recognise human faces!

Yes they can.

In fact, scientists say many birds recognise individual humans but they probably do this by using a variety of cues, including height, build, colour, clothes or ways of walking. Crows, however, can actually recognise faces. Amazing, isn't it.

Red-eyed crows of Nexus Resort Karambunai, Sabah. Photo by de engineur

This has been confirmed by experiments in which scientists put on various masks and then trapped a group of wild crows and fixed rings to their legs. After letting the birds go, they walked around recording whom the crows mobbed or scolded with their harsh, warning cries.

The trapped crows, which had previously ignored these individuals, now reacted aggressively to anyone wearing the trappers’ masks, regardless of their size, clothes, or gait.

So, don't underestimate the statement by movie makers who portrayed crow's presence as bad omen and its aggression towards human. LOL, that's from me - don't be bothered.


ref - Sciencefocus

How can crocodiles survive for so long without eating?

Crocodiles are supremely successful predators. They are able to hunt anything from frogs to buffaloes, and they have an amazingly efficient digestive system.


Huge Monitor lizard of Pulau Tiga, Sabah. This not-so-distant cousin of the croc can go without food for more than 2 years. Photo by de engineur



Crocs of Tuaran Crocodile Farm, Sabah. Big crocodiles can go for a year or more without feeding. Photo by de engineur


Crocodiles have extremely acidic stomachs that enable them to digest bones, shells and even horns to extract as much energy as possible from their prey. Due to this exceptionally high conversion rate, they can store as much as 60% of the energy they consume as fat on the tail and other parts of the body.

Although most crocodiles eat about 50 meals a year, they can survive a whole year, and sometimes even two or three years, without eating anything.


Two years? You've got to be kidding me!

They have a very slow metabolism and are cold-blooded, with tiny brains that don't need to be kept warm. So unlike mammals such as ourselves, they don't need to use a lot of energy maintaining a constant body temperature.

They are ectotherms, which means that they get heat from their environment, basking in the sun when they need to warm up and get moving, or cooling off in water. They can also slow down their heartbeat to one or two beats per minute.

And you, how long can you go without food?

What's for dinner: Zimbabwe's mopane worms!

I read an interesting stomach-turning diet coverage by Associated Press' Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi. The writer wrote about people consuming worms, or to be exact, caterpillars. But like what people say - one's cure is other's poison. so, let's not pass the verdict indiscriminately.

That's for today's dinner. Wikipedia photo

Pretty big guy!

Mopane worms are large edible caterpillar found in much of Africa.

A mopane worm hatches and as it grows, it sheds skin 4 times in its five larval stages, after which the mopane worm is considered most suitable for harvesting.

Otherwise it goes into pupal stage and transforms into giant moth, commonly called emperor moth due to it size.

The worms can be eaten dry, as crunchy as potato chips, or cooked and drenched in sauce to enhance the taste.


You may want to try your hands on these:

During harvest season, the compounds are covered with thousands of worms, laid out to dry in the hot sun. AP photo through mail.com


Nutritional value

Mopane worms are high in healthy nutrients and contain 3 times the amount of protein as beef. Eating worms is less taxing on the environment than consuming beef because it takes far fewer leaves to produce worms than it does feed to produce the same amount of beef.

Dried mopane worms have even been exported to other countries and can be found in African restaurants in Paris.


A useful recipe

This is a recipe that AP says "is one of the tastiest":

Ingredients (Mopane Worms for 4 persons):
500 grams dried mopane worms; three tomatoes, diced or 1 can of tomatoes; two onions, diced; 1/2 teaspoon turmeric; three fresh green chilies, finely chopped; three cloves of garlic, finely chopped; tablespoon of fresh ginger, finely chopped.

Cooking it:
Soak dried worms in water for 3-4 hours to reconstitute. Fry onions in groundnut oil on medium heat until translucent. Add turmeric, chilies, garlic and ginger. Fry for about five minutes. Add tomatoes and cook on low for about 20 minutes until spices are well blended. Add drained worms and cook until they have softened a bit but still are a little crunchy. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with pap, called sadza in Zimbabwe.



This article was derived from AP

"Moby Dick" lizard found in Madagascar

Remember Moby Dick, the whale in a novel brought to life in film adaptations and science fiction animations many many years ago? Maybe many of us are too young to remember.

The newly found albino lizard must've reminded researchers of the great white whale when they incidentally named the unpigmented skin lizard sirenoscincus mobydick. My point is that, we know just tiny bit of our earth. That makes life interesting.

Great find!  Photo from  pskhun on Novataxa

New lizard species

Montpellier: A new lizard species has been discovered in Madagascar and named “Moby Dick” mermaid skink – after the albino sperm whale imagined by Herman Melville – for its flipper-like forelimbs and unpigmented skin, France’s National Centre for Scientific Research said Tuesday.

The CNRS said the “Sirenoscincus mobydick” presents a unique combination of anatomical features that can be found in amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds.The discovery, made by French, Malagasy, American and German researchers, was published in the Zoosystema journal at the end of December.

The centre said the “Moby Dick” lizard was discovered in the dry north-western forests of Madagascar.

Because of its life underground, the animal’s skin has lost pigmentation and its eyes have almost disappeared. And although the lizard has retained forelimbs, its hindlimbs have completely disappeared.

The centre called it a “morphological organisation” reminiscent of cetaceans, the carnivorous marine mammals such as whales and dolphins. - AFP

Top 10 longest insects

(excluding stick insects. See note below)

1. Hercules beetle (170 mm)
The strongest creature on earth by size, able to carry 850 times it's weight.


Hercules beetle is also known as rhinoceros beetle. Photo: de engineur


2. Titan beetle (167 mm)
It's curved, sharp mandibles can snap pencils in half.

3. Giant water bug (150 mm)
It has a venomous bite and can feast on prey 50 times it's size.

4. Giant helicopter damsel fly (135 mm)
It can use its 190mm-wide wings to hover.

5. African termite (125 mm)

The African termite queen can get to this length, while other adults are a third of the size.

Photo: superstock.com

6. Elephant beetle (120 mm)
The male uses a curved horn on its head in combat with other males.

7. Goliath beetle (110 mm)
The heaviest insect on earth in its larval stage, weighing up to 110g.

8. Giant weta (100 mm)
It resembles a large cricket and weighs the same as three mice (35g).

9. Giant African mantis (100 mm)
Females can get this long, but males are smaller.

10. Saint Helena giant earwig (84 mm)
It's found on an island in the south Atlantic.

Note: If stick insects were included they would take the top 10 places. The longest stick insect is Phobaeticus chani at 567 mm long, discovered by Datuk Chan Chew Lun in Borneo in 2008.


The Phobaeticus chani. Photo: London Natural History Museum

Ten fascinating facts about Spiders

If you ask me which critters are better looking: the South American tarantulas or the Falling Sky's critters, I would definitely choose tarantula.

You may disagree with me and I can't really blame you because most people would not welcome spiders in their homes. But put aside their scary reputation, spiders are actually one of the most useful and friendly critters on earth. Here, take a look at this and let's appreciate the fascinating fact about them:

Kasih Sayang Resort spider, Kota Kinabalu. Taken with Nikkor DX lens 18-200mm

Focal length 200mm | f/5.6 | ISO-200 | 1/125s |

1. The word “spider” comes from the Old English word “spinnan” which means “to spin.” Not sure if they spend their spare time spinning though.


2. Spiders are not insects. They are arachnids. Insects have three body sections and six legs; spiders have two body sections and eight legs.


3. Despite the fact that most spiders have 6 to 8 pairs of eyes, their eyesight is very poor. They use the fine hairs on their bodies to sense movement and signal when they should run or attack.


4. Most spiders live for less than six months, but the female tarantula can live up to 25 years!


5. Spiders digest their food before they eat it! They inject digestive enzymes into their prey which turns the captured critter into liquid and allows the spider to suck up the mush through a special “straw.”


6. Each year, spiders eat so many insects that the combined weight of their pray exceeds the weight of the entire global population of humans.


7. Despite its scary appearance, the tarantula is no more poisonous than a bee sting.


8. The spider’s web is made out of protein. When it’s time to spin a new web, the spider will eat the old web.


9. The golden spider spins silk that is as strong as a steel wire of the same size.


10. The black widow’s venom is 15 times more powerful than the venom of the diamondback rattlesnake.  However, because only a tiny amount is injected when she bites, very few people die from the black widow spider’s bite.

Oh, and if you live in the UK, you are lucky. The UK tops the list of countries whose populations most fears spiders! Half of all women and one in five men have an aversion to spiders.

Malaysia established Green Court to handle environmental cases

Read the title and one thing comes to mind:  Our very own polluted rivers in the Palm Oil heavily planted east of Sabah.

If you've been following the coverage on Daily Express the last couple of month or so, you will remember that palm oil factories are the biggest culprits in polluting the river. Is it a crime to, say, pollute the river? Or is it an offence to cut down the Trig Hill in Tawau to dig out stones to develop the area? I don't know. But we have the environmental enforcement agencies and we have the relevant acts.

I feel that we have enough enactment and we have enough officers to do the job. If that is the case, the more critical innovation in Environmental Law enforcement is not more money and personnel but a committed court!

Thailand and Indonesia have such courts so why can't we. The establishment of Green Court will show our commitment towards protecting the environment and wildlife. According to the Chief Justice, the courts would address cases, such as:

• wildlife crime
• pollution
• illegal logging and fishing, and 
• land clearing

So, there. We are well covered. It is up to us to implement the necessary.


Let the green stays green. Let the tree grows!

Virgin jungle in Pulau Tiga, Sabah. Shot with Nikkor 10-24mm at | 10mm | f/5 | 1/200sec | ISO-320 |


Read the Article: Malaysia Established Green Court Since September 3
Bernama, Nov 9, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR: The Green Court dedicated to hear cases related to the environment has been established since September 3, said Chief Justice Tun Ariffin Zakaria.

"The judiciary is actively training judges and magistrates in handling cases related to the environment in order to prepare them in terms of proceedings and meting out penalties. Judges and magistrates who handle environmental cases will also handle other cases but their specialty is cases involving the environment," he told reporters after launching "2012 National Seminar on Green Court" here today.

Ariffin said Thailand and Indonesia established such court earlier but it was still not too late for Malaysia to protect the environment. Enforcement of the Environmental Quality Act (Amendment) 2012 next year means that no one, including multinational companies, would escape the law. Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas had said the Act gazetted on Aug 16 and effective on Jan 2 would address environmental issues.

Opening the seminar, Ariffin said that the Act has given the director-general of the Department of Environment additional power.

"This amendment paves the way for more effective enforcement. For example, a new section, 34AA is inserted, giving power to the director-general of the Department of Environment to arrest or issue stop work order to persons carrying out activities which may cause environmental damage."

He said under the Act, any non-compliance to the stop work order would be punished with a fine up to RM500,000 or with imprisonment up to five years or both.

"The power to arrest which was within the purview of police, will be extended to officer of the Department of Environment, who will have the power to arrest without warrant any person believed to commit or attempt to commit any offence under the Act.

"Most interestingly, investigation and enforcement which was usually hindered due to lack of information have been improved by the new section 49B where the informer, whose information or service or assistance lead to detection of any offence under the Act, will be rewarded and his identity will be protected and privileged under the new section 50A."

Ariffin also said that 76 Sessions Courts and Magistrates Courts have been established throughout the country. - Bernama

How many trees are needed to provide enough oxygen for one person?

Short answer: 8 trees

Long answer (but why take the trouble to read further if you already know the answer?):

Simple. It's to satisfy your (and my) curiosity; to answer your how, why, what, etc. Or just for a the fun of it. Whichever the case maybe, it's good to know.

Rainforest tree at Forest Reserve of Poring Hot Spring, in Ranau Sabah.

The mechanism behind the production of Oxygen

Trees release oxygen when they use energy from sunlight to make glucose from carbon dioxide and water. Like all plants, trees also use oxygen when they split glucose back down to release energy to power their metabolisms. Averaged over a 24-hour period, they produce more oxygen than they use up; otherwise there would be no net gain in growth.

It takes 6 molecules of CO2 to produce 1 molecule of glucose by photosynthesis, and 6 molecules of oxygen are released as a by-product. A glucose molecule contains 6 carbon atoms, so that’s a net gain of 1 molecule of oxygen for every atom of carbon added to the tree. A mature sycamore tree might be around 12m tall and weigh 2,000kg, including the roots and leaves. If it grows by 5% each year, it will produce around 100kg of wood, of which 38kg will be carbon. Allowing for the relative molecular weights of oxygen and carbon, this equates to 100kg of oxygen per tree per year.


So, how many trees?

A human breathes about 9.5 tonnes of air in a year, but oxygen only makes up about 21% of that air, by mass, and we only extract a little over a third of the oxygen from each breath. That works out to a total of about 740kg of oxygen per year. Which is, very roughly, seven or eight trees’ worth.

Fact source is from Sciencefocus, but the picture is mine.

Fishing competition - Pulau Gandang, Tuaran

Do you like fishing? Then read on.

I saw this banner on Fishing Competition organised by one of the water operators in the state and I thought I should share it here for the benefit of all kaki pancing, hobbyists, and everyone who want to spend their weekend throwing rods for fun. Perhaps go home with some consolation.

Let's go!

Event             : Pertandingan Memancing Terbuka Corporate Dynamics Sdn Bhd 2012
Organiser      : Corporate Dynamics Sports and Recreation Club
Date              : 29 September 2012 (Saturday)
Time             : 7.00am - 3.00pm
Venue           : Pulau Gandang, Tuaran (it's not actually an island, just the shore in the vicinity)
Eligibility      : Open to the public

Entrance fee : RM30.00 per rod

For inquiries and to sign up for the competition, call (since this is an open competition, enthusiasts from other parts of the state - or the nation for that matter - can obviously take part):-

Tuaran & Tamparuli   : 088-782123 Thien Sen Fong
Kota Kinabalu           : 088-233511 Elizabeth Luan
Penampang              : 088-719006 Pantalion L Gihol

The prizes are quite attractive:

1st place   : RM1,000
2nd place  :    RM700
3rd place   :    RM500
4th place   :    RM200
5th place   :    RM100

I understand there are rules and regulations for the competition (such as how many rods can a participant bring, its consequential fees, etc) and I will try to get a hand on one. I will update this page once the details are available.

Please click on this icon for larger view of the banner.



SYARAT-SYARAT PERTANDINGAN (RULES & REGULATIONS)
(In Malay language. Please ask around or Google translate if you have trouble understanding)

1. Yuran penyertaan sebanyak RM30.00 untuk joran pertama. Manakala untuk joran berikutnya sebanyak RM15.00 sebatang dan terhad kepada dua batang joran sahaja.
2. Peserta mestilah berumur 12 tahun ke atas.
3. Peserta hanya dibenarkan mendaftar atas satu nama sahaja.
4. Pertandingan akan berlangsung selama 5 ½ jam (bermula dari jam 09.00 pagi hingga jam 2.30 petang). Peserta diwajibkan menghabiskan tempoh masa yang telah ditetapkan dan mana-mana peserta yang balik awal akan dibatalkan kesemua hasil tangkapannya.
5. Yuran penyertaan tidak akan dikembalikan terhadap mana-mana peserta ingin menarik diri pada hari pertandingan.
6. Kejuaraan akan ditentukan berdasarkan kepada berat tangkapan ikan dan juga masa tangkapan. Sekiranya terdapat persamaan dari segi berat tangkapan ikan, maka masa tangkapan yang tercepat akan diambilkira sebagai pemenang.
7. HANYA pancing yang mempunyai penanda sah daripada pihak penganjur sahaja yang akan diambilkira tangkapannya.
8. Adalah ditegaskan bahawa penggunaan mata kail bermata tiga dan juga ambor (Hand Line) adalah tidak dibenarkan sama sekali.
9. Peserta boleh memenangi lebih daripada satu kategori hadiah yang dipertandingkan sekiranya tangkapan berat ikan yang seterusnya adalah layak.
10. Pilihan umpan adalah bebas dan perlu disediakan sendiri oleh semua peserta.
11. Pilihan tempat memancing adalah bebas tetapi mestilah di dalam kawasan yang telah ditetapkan oleh pihak penganjur pertandingan.
12. Peserta dikehendaki terus mengemukakan tangkapan ikan ke meja pengadil untuk ditimbang sebaik sahaja tangkapan dibuat. Semua tangkapan mestilah masih hidup dan tidak dibuka daripada mata kail semasa mengemukakannya.
13. Hanya ikan yang ditangkap menggunakan pancing sahaja yang akan diambilkira. Kaedah mencandat (mata kail menyangkut pada badan ikan) adalah tidak dibenarkan.
14. IKAN BUNTAL, SEMPARIDING, IKAN LANGUT, PENYU dan KETAM adalah tidak diambil kira di dalam pertandingan ini.
15. Peserta tidak dibenarkan untuk memberi atau menerima sebarang hasil tangkapan ikan daripada mana-mana peserta lain termasuk bertukar joran pancing. Jika diketahui, penyertaan kedua-dua peserta yang terlibat akan dibatalkan.
16. Penggunaan perahu / pelampung untuk tujuan memancing di kawasan air dalam adalah tidak dibenarkan.
17. Sebarang bantahan boleh dibuat dengan menyertakan bayaran sebanyak RM100.00 di meja urusetia pertandingan. Keputusan pihak penganjur adalah muktamad dan wang tidak akan dikembalikan. Sebarang bantahan yang tidak disertakan dengan bayaran tidak akan dilayan.
18. Pihak penganjur berhak untuk membatalkan dan seterusnya menarik balik hadiah kemenangan sekiranya mendapati wujudnya sebarang bentuk penipuan oleh mana-mana peserta pertandingan.
19. Semua peserta perlu memberi kerjasama dalam menjaga kebersihan pantai dengan tidak membuang sampah secara merata-rata. Pihak penganjur akan menyediakan plastic sampah.
20. Peserta yang ingin menuntut hasil tangkapan ikan bolehlah berbuat demikian selepas acara pertandingan ini selesai.
21. Pihak penganjur berhak menunda tarikh pertandingan sekiranya terdapat sebarang kesulitan yang tidak dapat dielakkan.

LOCATION MAP

Please click on the image to enlarge.

The story of a hungry crow

There are two of them. But one crow is hungrier than the other, so, let's just stick to the title.

I was in a 'animal-language' mode that afternoon and decided to speak their language, probably out of hunger. I thought I could help a bird or two if I go down to their level and try to understand their problem. It turned out to be less than pleasant experience:

He & She (singing): DO - a deer, a female deer...

So they started to sing - one on base voice and the other on second. I thought I heard 'him' singing the loudest while 'she' keep a low profile. I took out and brandished my gear and I was ready to shoot.

Please continue reading (or rather watching) here.

Environmentally friendly activities?

Somewhere in Sabah, Borneo.

Philippine crocodile 'Lolong' is declared largest

Guinness World Records recently declared a giant reptile known as Lolong, the largest saltwater crocodile in captivity in the world. Prior to its capture in September, the crocodile was believed to have attacked and killed people in the farming town of Bunawan. The small town has a population of about 37,000.

Lolong measured more than 20 feet long. Photo credit: celeinfo.blogspot.com

As reported by AP, the huge crocodile has brought mixed feelings of pride and fear, as well as bringing in tourism revenue and attention to the remote southern Philippines town where it was captured. While people take pride of the rich biodiversity in Bunawan, they also fear that Lolong may not be alone and bigger crocs might be lurking.


Tourists attraction

Lolong has become the star attraction of a new ecotourism park and research center in the outskirts of Bunawan and has drawn thousands of tourists since news of its capture spread. Mayor Edwin C Elorde said his town has earned 3 million pesos from the modest entrance fees at the park, with most of the money being used to feed and care for the crocodile and maintain the park.

The announcement by Guiness would help people realize the biodiversity of their surroundings and the need to protect it. For this reason the Environment and Natural Resources department would recommend that the government help Bunawan to become an ecotourism destination.


About the crocodile

Lolong: named after a govt environmental officer who died during the course of capturing the reptile.
Length: 20.24 feet (6.17 metres)
Weight: more than 1 tonne
Earning: ₱3 million so far (US$72,000)
Capture: captured after a 3-week hunt
Record breaker: re-write previous record by Australian crocodile, 17-feet weighing nearly a tonne.


Our Sarawak's Bujang Senang a contender?

If you recall, there was a documented capture of a white-backed killer crocodile in Malaysia called Bujang Senang (Happy Bachelor) that has attacked and killed villagers in Sarawak town of Sri Aman. Bujang Senang measured 19.25 feet and was killed by villagers at Sungai Pelaban in Lingga Batang Lupar, Sri Aman on 20 September 1992? Google "Bujang Senang" and you will find quite a lot of interesting information about it.

That's almost comparable to Lolong and is definitely larger than the one in Australia but it was not recorded by Guiness.

How do electric eels generate voltage?

The electric eels - a type of knifefish - are capable of generating powerful electric shocks of up to around 600 volts. They use it for both hunting and self-defense.

Image: Wikipedia

The source of their power is a battery-like array of cells known as electrocytes, which make up around 80% of the eel's metre-long body. These disc-shaped electricity producing cells each acquire a small potential difference of around 1/10th of a volt by controlling the flow of sodium and potassium ions across the cell membranes.

Image: enchantedlearning.com

When linked together in arrays of thousands of individual cells, the result is a kind of natural car battery, which releases its charge when the eel spots predators or prey. Up to 500 Watt (think about the portable gasoline generator you have at home) of electric power is released per shock. That sort of power is enough to inflict significant injury on a human.