Presented by Keith and Jan Wiggers
Tuesday, October 10 ,2017
7:00 Social; 7:30 Program
Padilla Bay Interpretive Center
10441 Bayview-Edison Road
Mt. Vernon, Washington
Keith and Jan Wiggers will present a video program highlighting their two-month trip to Indonesia. With a population of 261 million people, it is the world’s fourth most populous country and the most populous Muslim majority nation. It is the largest archipelago in the world with over 17,000 islands. It straddles the equator, and from east to west, spans about the same distance as from New York to Los Angeles. It has the highest mountain between the Himalayas and the Andes and is one of only three equatorial places in the world to have permanent snow and glaciers.
Indonesia has the highest rate of endemism in the world: with only 1.3 percent of the earth’s land surface it is home to about 20 percent of the world’s land species. The species in the western islands have a strong Asian connection (placental mammals and many Asian bird species). The eastern islands have a strong Australian and New Guinean connection (marsupial mammals and the spectacular Birds of Paradise), while the middle islands have been influenced by both sides, as well as having many of their own unique species.
Please join us for an evening with the incredible Birds of Paradise, Komodo Dragons, and Tree Kangaroos.