In 2001, at the age of 44, and after spending 30 years working as a petroleum geologist, I made the life-changing decision to delve into the world of Southeast Asia’s wildlife. I soon launched Ecology Asia, which was one of the earliest websites to share information about Southeast Asia’s vertebrates.  The objectives of the website are :

1.  To increase awareness of Southeast Asia’s lesser known vertebrates within the general public.
2.  To place in the public domain my own images of rare, newly-found or undescribed species of potential interest to researchers.
3.  An easily-navigable, advertisement-free, non-profit website with fast-download, which displays images and factsheets in a manner which illustrates the glorious diversity of the regions vertebrates. All images are taken in natural habitats.

Through Ecology Asia, I receive emails and queries from a diverse group of people.  For example, I receive emails from children who have photographed a vertebrate in their neighbourhood and wish to learn more. And I receive emails from serious researchers who have spotted an unusual or undescribed species on my site.

As I slowly build Ecology Asia I expand my own skills and knowledge of the natural world.  Through Ecology Asia I have shared my images with numerous publications including most recently ‘Mammals Of Southeast Asia’ (Shepherd, 2012)  and Squirrels Of The World’  (Smithsonian Institution, 2012 ).  My  most recent triumph was the rediscovery of the rare Hairy-nosed Otter Lutra sumatrana in Peninsular Malaysia.

Given the huge diversity of bats in Southeast Asia, my own collection of bat images and factsheets is fairly modest but I am sure that researchers will enjoy looking at what I have seen. I am always on the lookout for roosts as I explore the region’s forests and other habitats.

Click here to see my bat pages :  http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/bats.htm

… and I hope you enjoy my website, not only the bats !

Nick Baker

Singapore