Spitting King Cobra spotted at Ulu Pandan Canal

Town Council: Rodent control treatment will be extended to Blocks 406 and 407

West Coast Town Council will ensure that rodent control treatment will be carried out at Blocks 406 and 407 to curb the rodent problem in the area.

In an earlier article, STOMPer seabass had commented he is disappointed that his repeated requests for action on the many rat holes in this area have been ignored. He also said that the rodent problem is starting to worsen.

A spokesperson told STOMP:

"We're aware of the feedback on rodent sightings at Block 405, Clementi Avenue 1, and have been carrying out rodent control treatment.

"We've also extended the rodent control treatment to Blocks 406 and 407.

"The resident emailed the MP about the issue on 6 June 2010 and our MP has brought it to our attention.

"During his scheduled house-to-house visit in the vicinity on 9 June 2010, he also visited the site with our Town Council staff and asked that the surveillance and treatment be stepped up in view of the construction sites nearby.

"We would like to appeal to our residents to dispose of their litter properly to minimise the availability of food source for rats.

"We thank the STOMPer for the feedback."

Related post: Are my calls for action going down these rat holes? (11th June 2010)

Are my calls for action going down these rat holes?

STOMPer seabass is disappointed that his repeated requests for action on the many rat holes in this area have been ignored. He says that the problem is starting to worsen.

The STOMPer wrote in an e-mail:

"Some time in early 2010, I noticed the presence of a rat hole beside the drain in front of Blk 405 Clementi Ave 1.

"I sent an email to the Town Council on this seeking their assistance to follow-up on the matter.

The Senior Property Officer thanked me for the feedback and assured me that they would nstruct their contractors to carry out weekly rodent treatment in the area.

"However, nothing appeared to be done and the original 1 rat hole increased to 3. I e-mailed again to update him on the increase in the rat holes and to find out what was being done.

"I was disappointed that I did not receive any reply.

"After that, I emailed the MP to inform him of the situation and asking for assistance to curb the rats from continuing to multiply, but still there was no response.

"I checked again this afternoon and the rat holes are still there.

"During my walk from Blk 405 to Blk 407, I discovered the presence of around 6-7 more holes along the pavement between Blk 406 to Blk 407.

"I hope the authorities will do something about these rat holes.

"Even if there are no more rats in the holes, these holes should still be covered up to prevent rats from breeding."

How did bird lose its head?

STOMPer Vincher was shocked when she came across the carcass of this headless bird in a Clementi carpark.

"Was it murdered by a cat?" she wondered.

"I found this poor headless birdie in front of block 702 Clementi at carpark c35 in lot 604.

"I really felt sorry for the bird. I spotted it at 8:30am today (Apr 8)."

There's a couple of possibilities:

The first possibility is that this feral pigeon (Columba livia) was killed by a cat, which bit off the head. However, the lack of any signs of a struggle, such as blood and loose feathers scattered everywhere, make this quite an unlikely explanation.

The second more plausible option is that the head is merely tucked beneath the bird's body, such that it is obscured from view.

Beneath all their feathers, birds actually have long necks that are capable of some degree of flexibility. You would be surprised at how thin the necks of some birds actually are, beneath all the feathers.


(Photo by Flint-Hill)
Naked neck, a breed of domestic chicken (Gallus gallus) that lacks feathers on its neck;

Even pigeons, which appear to have short stumpy necks, have surprisingly slender necks. This is easily seen in the Romanian naked neck tumbler, a fancy pigeon breed that lacks feathers on the neck.


Romanian naked neck tumbler;
(Photo by jim.gifford)


Pigeon skeleton;
(Photo by Ryan Somma)

It is this flexibility that enables the bird to tuck its head away while sleeping or resting, and appear headless. I would suppose that in the case of this pigeon, moving the carcass would reveal the head.

It is interesting to note that such flexibility is also seen in non-avian dinosaurs, especially in theropods, which birds are descended from. Quite a few skeletons of dinosaurs are recovered with the head thrown back over the shoulders, in a death pose that is seen in many specimens.


Gorgosaurus libratus, Royal Tyrell Museum;
(Photo by Royal Tyrrell Museum)


Struthiomimus altus, American Museum of Natural History;
(Photo by Nilesh Karia)


Compsognathus longipes, Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences;
(Photo by tina_manthorpe)


Archaeopteryx lithographica, Museum für Naturkunde Berlin;
(Photo by Hornplayer)

It was originally hypothesised in 1918 by Roy Moodie that these dinosaurs had died as a result of poisoning or disease, although it was eventually rejected by others in favour of theories that such poses were the result of water currents, or the shrinking and dessication of ligaments and tendons as the carcass decayed, pulling the neck back.

However, in 2007, Cynthia Faux and Kevin Padian published a paper claiming that such explanations were wrong, and that this pose was more likely to be caused by brain damage. Experiments showed that rigor mortis or shrinking of ligaments during decomposition failed to account for such poses. Instead, this pose, known as opisthotonus, is associated with damage to the cerebellum, which can occur as a result of suffocation, disease, brain trauma, or poisoning. Hence, instead of having taken place through postmortem processes, the opisthotonic posture indicates that violent death throes had taken place at the moment of death.

GrrlScientist of Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted) and Bora Zivkovic of Coturnix have provided excellent summaries of this paper. While Brian Switek of Laelaps reminds us why this is not necessarily an open-and-shut case.

If such a posture is indeed suggestive of poisoning, it does raise a few questions as to how this particular pigeon died. Was it killed by poisoning? There has been quite a bit of a ruckus in recent months over the culling of pigeons; pigeons are culled with the use of poisons, which does raise quite a number of issues. I'm particularly concerned about the possibility of collateral damage when non-targeted species feed on poisoned baits, and the fact that culling is ineffective when not carried out in tandem with other control measures, such as reducing the availability of food for the pigeons in the first place.

Problems with urban birds are essentially human problems. In most cases, the most effective long-term solution involves changing human behaviour. Whether it is stopping people from feeding pigeons, enforcing proper food waste disposal, or prompt clearing up of leftovers at food outlets, such measures can go a long way towards preventing pigeon numbers from exploding. Culling is only treating the problem, not the source.

Fangqi has taken up this issue, and now compiles all relevant articles and letters on pigeons on the Save The Pigeons blog.

Storm winds whip S'pore: Just look at the damage caused

Singaporeans woke up this morning in the wake of a violent storm that started late last night and lasted till the wee hours of this morning (Apr 23).

STOMPers from all over Singapore sent in pictures of the damage wrought by the huge winds.

Munish, a longtime resident of Dover Road had this to say of the storm winds:

"I stay at Block 31 Dover Road.

"Last night's wind uprooted these trees. I've been staying here over 30 yrs and this is the very first time this thing has happened."

STOMPer Astonished also reported winds strong enough to fell trees:

"Lightning and strong winds hit the trees at Hong Leong Gardens Shopping Centre, causing a tree to be uprooted.

"The tree hit the roof of the shop houses there."

He added:

"I think it should be a precaution for Nparks and area management to beware of how you plant the trees in areas near shops, buildings and houses."

Awed by the force of the winds that felled trees in Ang Mo Kio, another STOMPer wrote:

"These felled trees are the after effects of a 'mini-typhoon' at Ang Mo Kio Street 21.

"There are many more along Yio Chu Kang Road."

Elsewhere, STOMPer Cam reported damage to the blinds at her home caused by the storm:

"I can't believe the wind was that strong! We had to go cut it down in case it fell and hurt someone. The whole balcony is a big mess."

Further north in Bishan, winds tore down branches from a tree that landed on a taxi, damaging the bonnet of the vehicle.

Said the STOMPer of damage:

"On April 22 at about 11.30 pm, part of this tree broke and fell onto a taxi which had just dropped a passenger at the carpark of Bishan Street 22, at Block 229."

At St George road in the Serangoon area, branches also fell on these two cars at a carpark.

In her MMS, STOMPer Fen said:

"At about 11:00 pm last night, I heard branches cracking.

"In the morning I saw that some branches had broken off completely and landed on these two cars parked at a nearby carpark.

"Both rear windshields had shattered and the car directly under the branch had a badly dented roof.

"One of the car owners had posted a note on his windscreen requesting the other owner contact him, so they could work together to clear the branches."

Another unfortunate car owner suffered at the hands of the storm, as STOMPer Faith reports:

"This happened at the carpark of Block 140, Jalan Bukit Merah, right in front of the famous Thai temple.

"A series of strong winds swept central Singapore at about 11.10pm resulting in a huge branch landing on a Mitsubishi Lancer.

"Loud crashing noises from fallen households ornaments were heard throughout the whole block. It must have been one of the strongest winds Singapore had experienced so far.

"No car siren was heard and owner was still unaware at time of my sending this email."

According to another STOMPer, winds in Singapore were strong enough to move heavy objects:

"The wind blew soo hard hard it moved road blocks and distrupted traffic."

STOMP has contacted the NEA for more details on the storm.

UPDATE:

A spokesperson for the NEA had the following comments:

"A 'Sumatra' squall is a line of eastward moving intense thunderstorms accompanied by gusty winds that usually occurs between April and September.

"An average of 2-3 'Sumatra' squalls occur in a month during this period. It normally develops overnight in Sumatra and the Straits of Malacca, and affects Singapore between midnight and 9am.

"Maximum wind gusts of up to 90 km per hour from a 'Sumatra' squall have been recorded in the past.

"The strong winds that affected Singapore last night between 11 pm (22 Apr 09) and 12:30 am (23 Apr 09) were caused by an intense fast-moving 'Sumatra' squall.

"Mean wind speeds ranging from 33 to 54 km per hour were recorded across the island. The highest recorded wind gust was 83 km per hour in the western areas.

"A wind gust is a sudden brief increase in the speed of the wind.

"Short duration showers fell over most parts of the island but were heavy in only a few areas. The highest rainfall of 7.0 mm was recorded around Sembawang.

"A wind gust of similar strength was last recorded on Jun 20 2000.

"For the rest of the month, we can expect another one or two 'Sumatra' squalls but they are unlikely to be as severe as the one last night."

Related articles:
Tropical storm behind strongest winds to hit Singapore in 9 years (24th April 2009) (mirror)
Wild wind wreaks havoc (24th April 2009) (mirror)
Gusty winds and rain wreak havoc (24th April 2009) (mirror)
Gusty winds wreak havoc (24th April 2009)
Freak storm wreaks havoc (23rd April 2009)

Related post: Tree uprooted and crashes into construction site during storm in Changi Village (23rd April 2009)


A Sumatra Squall approaching eastern Singapore on 4 July 2005
(All images in this section taken from the NEA's WEATHERWise Singapore)

From the NEA's Meteorological Service FAQs:

What are Sumatras?

Sumatras are lines of thunderstorms which usually occur between March and November each year. These squalls (lines of thunderstorms) develop at night over Sumatra or the Malacca Straits and move east towards Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia usually during the pre-dawn and early morning. They are often characterised by sudden onset of strong gusty surface winds and heavy rain lasting from 1 to 2 hours as they move across the island. Maximum gusts of up to 50 knots have been recorded during the passage of a Sumatra squall (Gusts are temporary rise in wind speed).

A satellite image showing a Sumatra Squall affecting Singapore and southern Peninsular Malaysia

And from WEATHERWise Singapore:

An isolated thunderstorm cell has a short lifespan, usually less than an hour. Sometimes, a number of units or cells of thunderstorms may be organized by wind pattern or by terrain into a line. A thunderstorm line, also known as a squall line (or squall) moves and behaves collectively and can have a longer lifespan.

A Sumatra Squall is such an organised thunderstorm line that develops over Sumatra Island in Indonesia or the Straits of Malacca, often overnight, and then moves eastward to affect Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. In a typical case, the squall line can bring about one to two hours of thundery showers. Often this happens in the predawn hours or morning. Some Sumatra Squalls are also accompanied by wind gusts of 40 to 80 km/h. Gusts are short-duration bursts of wind. Occasionally, such gusts are strong enough to uproot trees.

Sumatra Squalls can develop at any time of the year, but are uncommon during the Northeast Monsoon Season. Convergence of air streams at low levels (height of less than 1 km) over a large area is a pre-requisite for the development of a Sumatra Squall. Additionally, a general westerly wind above (between 2 to 4 km) blowing from Sumatra Island towards Singapore is needed to steer the squall line forward.

Radar images showing the passage of a Sumatra Squall.

As Kok Sheng mentioned, how apt that this spectacular show of nature's power should take place on Earth Day. It would do us well to remember that although we have the capability to drastically change the environment to suit our needs, to tame mighty rivers and level towering mountains, and even possess the ability to alter the climate, at the end of the day, we are just like any other species, at the complete mercy of the forces of nature.

Overgrown trees along AYE make walkway dark and dangerous at night

These trees along the AYE near Clementi West Street 1 have not been pruned for many years, and STOMPer Mahat feels that this makes the walkway very dark and dangerous at night.

He says:

"The trees along AYE near Block 611, Clementi West Street 1 are overgrown.

"These trees have not been pruned for many years and its creepers have overgrown to other trees around it.

"At night, it becomes very dark and dangerous to passersby.

Bees, bees and more bees at Clementi!

STOMPer Dawn living in Clementi West Street 1 was shocked to see a great swarm of bees outside the window of her flat this morning (April 6).

She said:

"I had a very terrible shock when I entered my room after I bathed this morning!

"There were nearly a thousand bees outside my window, spreading four levels up from my floor.

"I'm curently living in Clementi West Street 1, and there is a Lift Upgrading Project conducted in my estate.

"There is the Clementi Woods Park nearby.

"I dont know what had triggered over 1,000 bees to come over to my place, and I got a terrible shock.

"I hope that the HDB or NEA can do something about this -- it has happened for the third time already!"

Related posts: Several beehives in overhead bridge leading to SGH (16th February 2009)

There are quite a few reports on STOMP about bee swarms in urban Singapore, as can be seen from these posts featuring swarms in Serangoon, Pasir Ris, Ang Mo Kio, Bukit Gombak, and Jurong West.

While the risk to human safety is definitely present, one wonders if it is ever possible for Singaporeans to adopt a more tolerant approach towards living with bees. After all, we don't have to contend with Africanised honeybees, unlike people living in the warmer parts of the Americas. It seems that the immediate reaction to any swarming behaviour or the discovery of any hive is to attempt immediate eradication of the colony. It is interesting however to note this particular dispute over the fate of a bee hive.