Andersons Crocodile Newt, one of Okinawa’s more endearing of species is both endemic to the Ryukyu Islands and endangered. I recently headed North with the goal of firstly locating these illusive critters and if possible to photograph them. With a couple of locations in mind I set out. In past efforts to find these guys I’d whittled down the best spots to a handful of locations with the top two on the shortlist for the evening’s jaunt. I passed the 1hr+ drive North listening to the vibrant sounds of some progressive EDM tunes.
My mind drifted to my first ever encounter with an Andersons Crocodile Newt. I’d been out looking for another ground dwelling icon here in Okinawa, the Kuroiwas Ground Gecko, and was closing in on the end of the shoot when I my ears picked up on the rustling coming from some very close vegetation. It wasn’t a loud rustling, more a very faint, almost whispered trace of movement on dry vegetation.
Inching closer I had my camera settings dialed in. I was shooting with the infamously difficult macro lens that is the Canon MPE65mm f2.8. Alas I’d been using this lens as my go to Macro imaging option for the past four years. I was happy with the settings, I was happy in my understanding of its characteristics and use. I was looking forward to getting the shot. Closer, the rustling in the vegetation came closer, I lay almost sniper like waiting for the quarry to emerge. The slightest of movements of a strand of aged vegetation told me I was close.
“That’s not a blinkin’ Gecko” were the first thoughts to pass my mind. There I was expecting to see the Terminator-esque eyes of Kuroiwas Ground Gecko in my eyepiece alas I was met with the broad and flattened head of a “Whatchamacallit”. The Andersons Crocodile Newt looks like a flattened Gecko, something that may have been rolled out with a rolling pin on a bakers table. With the added aesthetic of it having a ribbed kind of body structure there can be no mistake in its identification. That was a good night.
Back to the present. I’d arrived at my first location. Rather than get the gear ready and then go in hunt of the target I simply locked the car, put on my headlamp and went for a scout. Given these Newts don’t really move that fast and that I was working in a relatively small area meant that if I did see them I wouldn’t have far to go to grab the camera in which time they wouldn’t get that far in their wanderings. It was a good plan, but at the first stop I had no luck. On to location ‘B’.
It was past midnight, the air was dark and still. I was feeling lucky. Parked in a dark, forested grove I headed to a nearby marshy area, one of many in these green rolling hills. I could no longer rely on any audible cues given the night air was filled with the song of Kajika Frogs, diminutive amphibians with huge voices. I had to locate with vision alone. There was motion, on closer inspection I was happy to be looking at the first specimen of the night. I rushed the 50yards to get my camera gear.
For the next 45minutes I located and photographed a number of specimens. My quest to find and photograph the Andersons Crocodile Newt had paid off. Given the numbers of this particular species is in decline due to habitat loss and illegal collection I thought myself incredibly lucky to have happened upon a number of calm individuals who had been almost indifferent to my presence.
A fantastic encounter.
