Animal Sightings

These are the animals I saw today in Hampi.

a) bats. First of all I have been seeing bats all over India, starting in Kumily. Jan pointed at the swarm above us -- swarm, like bees, like as far as the eye could see, circling above us -- and said: "It's like the movie The Birds!" I told him I had bad news. They were bats. I have never seen so many. That wasn't so bad. However, I have to admit having been shocked a day later when a bird with a 3-foot wing-span flew directly overhead and, damn, if it wasn't the exact shape of the symbol on Batman's chest.

Today I went into an underground cave in a temple and there were hundreds of bats hanging upside down from the ceiling. I've never actually seen hundreds of bats hanging from a ceiling. My first thought was that, hey! they really do sleep upside down. My second thought was hey! I need to get out of here!

I know it's illogical, but why on earth are bats so eerie??

I know you can't quite tell from the photo, but this was a foot long. Very scary.

b) a millipede. Not just any millipede mind you. This was a foot long and an inch thick. I swear. Thankfully it wasn't moving, or I would have screamed like a girl. Posted by karenceliafox at September 12, 2004 01:40 PM