International Vulture Awareness Day: Vultures in Singapore

(Photo by reurinkjan)

Today is International Vulture Awareness Day, and I thought it would be appropriate to write about records of vultures in Singapore.

But why do we need a day to celebrate vultures? As stated on the International Vulture Awareness Day website:

Vultures are an ecologically vital group of birds that face a range of threats in many areas that they occur. Populations of many species are under pressure and some species are facing extinction.

The International Vulture Awareness Day has grown from Vulture Awareness Days run by the Birds of Prey Programme in South Africa and the Hawk Conservancy Trust in England, who decided to work together and expand the initiative into an international event.

It is now recognised that a co-ordinated international day will publicise the conservation of vultures to a wider audience and highlight the important work being carried out by the world's vulture conservationists.

Macaques, Conflict and Keyboard Warriors

(Photo by John 3000)

About a week ago, someone named Paul Chan wrote in to the Straits Times Forum, in response to reports of several long-tailed macaques attacking visitors to the Forest Walk along the Southern Ridges.


Long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis);
(Photo by gamebit)
(The photos in this post feature several macaques that have been encountered by visitors to various parts of the Southern Ridges over the past few years)

Cull monkeys if over-population is the problem (Mirror)

I WAS shocked to read that a search was on for a monkey believed to have attacked three people over the past three weeks ("Attacks spark hunt for monkey"; last Friday).

I was also disappointed with the response of National Parks Board (NParks) officials that the monkey-feeding problem might have reached a tipping point and that sometimes, animals just go crazy. Did NParks do an extensive survey or study to arrive at such conclusions?

Despite many reports of rogue monkeys attacking people and foraging for food at bus stops and households, NParks prefers to pin the blame on human feeding or provocation.

The attack on Hort Park visitor Tang Mae Lynn was apparently due to the monkey pack invading her personal space at the Forest Walk; she carried no food or drink. The problem could be due to monkey over-population or lack of monitoring by NParks officials.

I disagree with NParks about not going after the monkeys because the creatures belong there as much as humans. Does that mean we should silently accept monkey attacks as normal?

It is the job of NParks to ensure monkeys behave where they co-exist with us. NParks has a duty to patrol and monitor the growth of the animal population within the forest boundaries. The animals should be culled if they encroach on human living space and disturb our peace. They should also be punished if they misbehave.

NParks could install closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras along the Forest Walk and areas prone to monkey attacks to check on the culprits while initiating programmes to control such disturbances so that both animals and people can share the limited space on our island in peace.

Paul Chan

Raffles Museum Treasures: Banded paper wasp

Banded paper wasp (Polistes sagittarius)
Collected from Kent Ridge, June 1997
Native to Singapore

Asian Hornet Net
Distributional checklist of the species of the genus Polistes (Hymenoptera: Vespidae; Polistinae, Polistini)
Keys to the genera of social wasps of South-East Asia (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)


(Photo by KatanaZ)

Raffles Museum Treasures: Giant weevil

Giant weevil (Macrochirus sp.)
Collected from Kent Ridge, 1999
Native to Singapore


Macrochirus praetor
(Photo by audobonimages)

Raffles Museum Treasures: Man-faced bug

Man-faced bug (Catacanthus incarnatus)
Collected from Kent Ridge, May 1992
Native to Singapore


(Photo by odonatah)

Raffles Museum Treasures: Domestic huntsman spider

Domestic huntsman spider (Heteropoda venatoria)
Collected from Kent Ridge, April 1996
?Native to Singapore: Commensal

A Guide to Common Singapore Spiders
A checklist of spiders from Singapore
Featured Creatures
BugGuide.Net


(Photo by frolickauai)

Raffles Museum Treasures: Cicada

Cicada (Purana tigrina)
Collected from Kent Ridge, October 2000
Native to Singapore

A revision of the cicadas of the Purana tigrina group (Hemiptera, Cicadidae) in Sundaland


Purana nebulilinea
(Photo by Jacqueline)

Raffles Museum Treasures: Giant African snail

Giant African snail (Achatina fulica)
Collected from Kent Ridge, September 1988
Introduced to Singapore

The Giant African Snail: A Problem in Economic Malacology
PetSnails.co.uk
ARKive
Global Invasive Species Database
National Invasive Species Information Centre
Caribbean Pest Information Network
The Spread of the Snail Achatina fulica to South China
Invasive Snails and an Emerging Infectious Disease: Results from the First National Survey on Angiostrongylus cantonensis in China


(Photo by settka)

Of moths and social media

(Taken by jinnslim)

Much has been said about online social networks; tools such as blogs, instant messaging, Facebook, Twitter, and many other platforms have made it possible for people to establish channels for communication and share information very easily.

Recently, I saw firsthand the relevance of social media where it comes to natural history.

It all started more than 2 weeks ago, with a Twitter update by my girlfriend Christel, who saw several caterpillars in an area of the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Monkeys getting more daring at Forest Walk: One snatches food from passerby

29-year-old engineer Chris was shocked by how bold these monkeys at Forest Walk were, when they snatched a packet of yellow curry gravy from a passerby.

The STOMPer told STOMP about the incident which occurred last week (Jan 23) at about 1pm.

"The monkeys just snatched the yellow curry gravy from a person just enjoying a walk through the forest walk part of the southern ridges, furthermore making a mess of the place as it spills the gravy all over the bridge.

"Trekkers were scared and intimidated by the behaviour.

"Please don't feed the monkeys as it will promote aggressive behaviour to humans."

Yet another example illustrating why feeding the monkeys is a bad idea.

The long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) which are commonly encountered in our forests and nature areas may look cute and endearing, but they certainly can become a nuisance. Once they have learned to associate people with food, they soon find out that it is easy to intimidate, harass and bully people in an attempt to get them to surrender any edible items. Bags are stolen and ransacked, and one should never underestimate the possible damage a macaque may deal with its canines, not to mention the risk of disease transmission due to such close contact.

One does wonder; what on Earth was a person doing, carrying a bag of curry into the forest? The idea of an idyllic picnic in the woods is but a myth, and possible only in places where much of the larger fauna has been trapped, shot, and poisoned out of existence, or wisely chooses to hide away so as not to offend trespassing humans.

Be careful of gaps on the ground when you're at Henderson Waves

STOMPer Entomologist is concerned about the wide gaps found on the ground at Henderson Waves.

In an email to STOMP today (Jan 29), the STOMPer says:

"The other day I hiked from Alexandra Road to Mt Faber and the journey took me across the Alexandra Arch and the Henderson Waves. Near Preston Road I came across this beautiful rain shelter and decided to take a rest. However there were no benches provided and I had to sit on the floor.

"When I reached Henderson Waves, I saw several tall trees growing out of the ground and the trunks were surrounded by some wrought iron wire mesh. There were wide gaps between the trunk and the wire mesh.

"Children are curious by nature and I shudder to think what would have happened if a child were to step into the gap.

"This gap is an allurement for children and I hope it can be sealed up to prevent an accident from happening."

First of all, any parent irresponsible enough to allow his or her child to wander close to these holes unsupervised probably has no business allowing his or her genes to survive.

Secondly, I presume that the gaps are there so as to provide allowance for the tree to expand its girth as it continues to grow. While I'm not sure if it's an adequate long-term solution (will the tree ever grow to a point where its girth may exceed the space given?), I trust that the people who planned such features have taken a reasonable approach towards reaching a compromise; allowing the trees to develop and mature without having their growth excessively hampered, while refraining from posing any excessive threat to the safety of visitors.

After stupid Singpost vandalism stunt, yet another public sign defaced

So much rubbish for these small bins at Henderson Waves

These bins along the Henderson Waves bridge are too small to handle the volume of rubbish picnickers leave behind them on weekends, says STOMPer May.

Here's what she wrote in an email today:

"I took these pictures today (Nov 1) at 7:50am.

"I hope NParks will look into this matter. There are only four small bins along the entire length of the bridge, and the bins are of a relatively small capacity.

"Over the weekends there are many people picnicking on the bridge and their leftover food is not placed into the bins as they were already full."

Note the pair of long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) foraging among the trash in the first photo.

It certainly does pose a problem when there are insufficient rubbish disposal facilities in our parks and nature areas. If left uncleared, the garbage will attract scavenging animals, and might also end up polluting the environment. However, these photos also indicate a problem with the mindsets of many people who use our parks and nature areas. Instead of complaining about a lack of bins along this stretch, why don't people just hold on to their garbage until they find another one that isn't full?

Here in Singapore, we have become used to the idea of having a dustbin conveniently situated every few metres, even in the middle of our nature reserves. However, this is not the case elsewhere; in most other countries, when out hiking or camping, it is basic decency to take all trash with you when you leave. Perhaps it would be a good idea to introduce and reinforce the idea of a hiker's basic code of conduct here in Singapore; it does seem that basic hiking etiquette is sorely lacking in many people who use our parks and nature areas.

New look of Telok Blangah Bridge, no thanks to vandals

STOMPer Steven was shocked to find Telok Blangah Bridge being destroyed by vandals.

He said:

"I went to the bridge last weekend with my family and I was shocked by the view.

"What happened and why did they do this?

"I hope the people in charge would consider fixing a sky cam to catch those who vandalise and take action against them."

Related posts: Even plants are not spared by vandals (16th September 2009)
'Gangs' responsible for graffiti at Pasir Ris mangrove site (21st July 2009)

Pathetic brainless idiots.

Blue net at Pulau Ubin can save your life

"Rubbish left on Mount Faber trail is such an eyesore"

While on a trail from Mount Faber to Kent Ridge, via the South Ridges trail, STOMPer Azmi was upset to find rubbish left on the ground by inconsiderate park goers.

In an email to STOMP, he says:

"I took the following photos while I was trailing from Mount Faber to Kent Ridge via the South Ridges trail.

"These are some pictures of rubbish left behind by inconsiderate park goers.

"The rubbish is such an eyesore and those who dumped their rubbish should be severely dealt with."

Stressed out? Relax at the beautiful Henderson Waves and Forest Walk

STOMPer Wen Bin recently took a trip down to the picturesque Henderson Waves and Forest Walk. He sent in these stunning pictures to share.

Here's what he wrote in an email today (Feb 20).

"I would like to share some selected shots I took at Henderson Waves and Forest Walk.

"This is a great place for destressing and having a workout.

"I highly recommend it for nature lovers."

Overhanging branches at Mount Faber sidewalk a nuisance to pedestrians

A STOMPer says these overhanging branches along a sidewalk at Mount Faber are a nuisance to pedestrians.

He says:

"I was walking from the Southern Ridge to Mount Faber along this pavement. The branches were so long that you can find ants and other insects falling on your head.

"Why have they been left uncut for so long?"