Rammang-Rammang karst

Rammang-Rammang Geopark is an area of 45,000 hectares (45 square kilometers) in the Maros-Pangkep karst mountain range in Salenrang Village, Bontoa District, Maros Regency, South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia, or about 40 km north of Makassar City. This is the third largest karst after Tsingy in Madagascar and Shilin in China.

Rammang-Rammang Geopark National Park includes karst mountains, forests, lakes, caves, prehistoric paintings, rivers and traditional villages. The site is not too far from Sultan Hasanuddin Makassar International Airport and only a few meters from the Maros-Pangkep axis road.

Karst is formed due to the process of dissolving a carbonate rock and producing a unique surface form in exokarst and indokarst. The mountains are vast and all are enchanting where many peaks loom alone and in groups. These karsts are in the middle of a stretch of rice fields with the beautiful Pute river flow.

This area has at least 268 caves with beautiful stalagmites and stalactites. It is more special that 89 of them are prehistoric caves which have frescoes by ancient people. These paintings are made from the incision of their palms.

The longest and deepest cave in Rammang-Rammang is shaped like a well. The deepest cave is 260 meters in Leaputte Leang, while the longest is Gua Salukkan Kallang for 2,700 meters.

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...

Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar (Amanita javanica)

OPINION - Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar ( Amanita javanica ) is a mysterious fungus species and has been enigmatic since it was first reported by Boedijn in 1951 and after that no explanation or reporting of specimens is believed to be the same as expected. Boedijn (1951) described A. javanica which grew on Java island as having the characteristics covered in the Amanita genus. Corner and Bas in 1962 tried to describe Javan mocca and all species in Amanita based on specimens in Singapore. Over time some reports say that they have found A. javanica specimens in other Southeast Asia including also China, Japan, India and Nepal. But there is no definitive knowledge and many doubt whether the specimen is the same as described by Boedijn (1951). I was fortunate to have seen this species one afternoon and soon I took out a camera for some shots. In fact, I've only met this mushroom species once. Javan mocca is an endangered species and I have never seen in my experience in...

Cembirit (Tabernaemontana macrocarpa)

Cembirit or Pacman ( Tabernaemontana macrocarpa ) is a species of shrub in Apocynaceae or a tree up to 20 meters tall with a stem diameter of up to 50 centimeters. The bark is yellowish brown, brown, gray-brown or gray and abundant white gummy. T. macrocarpa grows in forests ranging from sea level to 1,500 meters with the natural habitat of the karst ecosystem, blooms throughout the year and is a pre-disturbance plant. Fragrant flowers feature a combination of cream, white and orange corolla lobes. Single leaves intersect in the form of a push to a lancet with a size of 6-14 cm long and 1-7 cm wide. The base and tip of the leaf are pointed with a flat edge, the surface is slippery, the top is green and the bottom is light green. Cembirit has fruit with single or paired follicles, round or oval for each 11-16 cm in diameter. The fruit is green and will turn orange as it ages. They will break completely and face down when ripe and the inside is dark red. Each fruit contains 90-...

Dlium