Curious and wonderful creatures come out at night here at Samara. I met an interesting creature the other night during a fabulous Boma Dinner here at Samara.

I was roaming around outside while the guests were laughing and drinking wine underneath a blanket of stars and enjoying the nightly chorus around them. He introduced himself as Spikes and I must say his name was very fitting. I have never in my life seen such a wondrous animal. His whole body was covered in black and white spikes.

If you think I have a great personality – and I do – you must meet Spikes. He patrols his territory every night looking for little insects to nibble on and to make sure no other males comes and visits. Any females however are always welcome, always having something ready to drink and snack on while he courts them.

Any males or enemies that come into his territory are met first with a snarl and then with a few spikes shot their way as a warning. After this, if they do not retreat, he will fire almost all his spikes to scare them off. He also warned me that I must not come too close because the spikes are filled with a little venom that can cause some irritation if it enters the skin so I must be careful not to hurt myself. Boy am I happy that we are friends and not enemies!

Just as I wanted to ask some more questions one of Spikes many girlfriends came along and I was all but forgotten. Hopefully I will meet him again and can ask him some more questions in the future or if you are coming to visit us here at Samara you can have a lookout for him outside your room during the night.