Author: Toni Kingston
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I Climbed up a Big Fat Baobab
To celebrate my encounter with the super rare Ploughshare tortoises in Madagascar, I decided to free climb the biggest baobab in the area barefoot. These chubby beauties are straight and surprisingly smooth. Baobabs are so much harder to climb than most trees. I still ain’t sure how I managed to climb up so high. I…
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My Oldest New Friend The Aldabra Giant Tortoise
200+ years old is the age of this tortoise I was told. It might be exaggerated but still, I think this is the oldest animal I have ever met. I had to check history books to imagine how the world was like when this old folk was a 3-inch small hatchling. Giant tortoises are proven…
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Not All Alligators Are Americans
“Alligator or crocodile?” is hardly an easy game to play even for reptile lovers. The difference of the shape of snouts is not too obvious. Convergent evolution might be a bit too hard to understand. Most people’s idea is that alligators are the ones in the US and the rest are all crocodiles. Some even think…
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Why Do Some Lizards Have Forked Tongues?
Animals tongues are much more useful than humans! Different Shapes of Tongues Most of the lizards have short and round tongues. Chameleons have elongated, extrudable tongues yet not forked. The only lizards with a serpent-like forked tongue are the carnivorous ones of a larger size in family Varanidae (Monitors, goannas, Komodo dragon) and Teiidae (Tegus, whiptails, caiman lizards).…
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Beauty and the Beast Maternity Shoot With Coco Chiang
Putting a bunch of creepy crawlers on a professional model, actress, and cordon bleu chef Coco Chiang (蔣怡)’s naked body for a maternity shoot may sound crazy but is part of what we do. What is crazy to me is that her baby was born merely a few hours after the shoot! Huge shout out…
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I Am a Fictional Character
I have become a character in this new book – ‘The Golden Age‘ by Marianne Andersen. How amazing! And I just realized that I am the only character based on a real person! This is when I collected this very perfect copy together with author autograph. Parents and educators, you must check out this upcoming book.…
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My Tesla Turned One
Other than animals, just like most big boys, I love cars. Almost every expedition I went on I needed 4×4 vehicles, from Jeep Wrangler to Land Rover to G-Wagon. Back in town, having a G63 as daily driver and a Lambo for track days is just adrenaline pumping dream. However, all of the mentioned vehincles…
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World’s Last Male of This Rhino Dies
So long, Sudan! As a dinosaur fan when I was a kid, co-existing with some still living triceratops on earth inside the timeline of my life was hope, heuristic and what made me go on. But now I’m grown and I’ve learned more. It just leaves tears. After Suni died 4 years ago, Sudan became…
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Face to Face with the Biggest Shoebill
No, it’s not the bill you pay for your Air Jordan. The shoebill (Balaeniceps rex) or whalehead, is a very large stork-like bird. This is one I’ve come across in Uganda. In front of such a prehistoric looking creature with a wingspan of over 8 feet, you better stay low like what I did in…
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Typical Safari Is Not Typical of Me
I just went on a decent, British colonial style safari watching the big five in Maasai Mara, Kenya. Such a typical safari for some who’s been working with wild animals for decades. Why did I feel brand new? It’s because it’s not hands-on. My eyes had plenty to see but my hands had nothing to…
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Two Heads One Body
Siamese, conjoined and polycephaly mean the different conditions of more than a head or some parts of the body. It’s more like twins in progress but never completed. Two-headed humans are mostly identified as two persons. But for animals, it’s still under debate whether they should be considered one or two beings.
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Jesus Christ Lizard
There are over 10,000 extant species of reptiles. How many have you seen? There are only two lizards known to be able to run on water. This earned the renowned Basilisk of the new world the nickname “Jesus Christ lizard”. From the old world, there’s this lesser-known Sailfin Dragon that evokes even more of my…
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From Big Game Tragedy In Ohio To Legal Killings In Hong Kong
After the fire that kills 3,000 high-end top quality snakes in a reptile facility in Colorado merely a month ago, now there is another heart breaking loss in Ohio. R.I.P. to the 50 animals killed in Ohio. 18 highly endangered Bengal tigers, 17 lions, bears, gray wolves, and more were shot to death by the…
