Company responsible for yellow liquid in Loyang drain will face action: NEA

What is this strange worm-like creature at Pasir Ris Park?

Water pollution? Yellowish liquid spotted in Loyang industrial estate's drainage

Mantis Shrimps of Singapore (ONETWOTHREE DEATH!)

Many people are finally clued in to the awesomeness of mantis shrimps, thanks to a hilarious comic by The Oatmeal.



This has been cited as an excellent example of science communication, and is also a great opportunity to highlight that Singapore has mantis shrimps too!

Happy Year of the Snake!

Schneider's dog-faced water snake (Cerberus schneiderii), Pasir Ris;

According to Chinese astrology, this year is associated with the Element of Water, so it's supposed to be the Year of the Water Snake.

Is this really Singapore? Pasir Ris shoreline covered with rubbish

Hot Mangrove Action at Pasir Ris

On a hot and sunny afternoon, I decided to drop by the Pasir Ris mangroves, as a show of support for the Mangrove Action Squad, who have been conducting guided tours on the boardwalk for the June holidays.

Strange worm-like creature found on Pasir Ris Beach

Year of the Dragon: Seamoths

Kusu Island;
(Photo by James)

There really are quite a number of fishes with dragon-inspired names. Today, we'll look at a family of really bizarre-looking fishes which can be found in Singapore.

Baby crocodile spotted in Pasir Ris canal

Help! Swarms of buzzing bees make school in Pasir Ris their home

Giant jellyfish seen at Pasir Ris

Monday Morgue: 22nd November 2010

Tree-climbing crab (Episesarma sp.)
Pasir Ris, 21st November 2010

Wild Fact Sheets
A Guide to the Mangroves of Singapore
A Guide to Seashore Life in Singapore
WETlands: Tree-climbing crabs in Singapore Mangroves

Monday Morgue: 15th November 2010

Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)
Mainland Tropical Fish Farm, 12th December 2009

This was an empty shell I found in an enclosure that had been set up for red-eared sliders at Mainland Tropical Fish Farm.

Ecology Asia
Wildlife Singapore
Global Invasive Species Database
NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species
Turtles of the World
Animal Diversity Web

Ouch! These weird ants have huge biting jaws on them

STOMPer M spotted this colony of unusual-looking ants near her home. The 1.3 cm long soldier ants had large mandibles and looked like they could give a painful bite.

In an email today (June 4) the STOMPer wrote:

"I was shocked to find these 'pincher ants' near where I live. They were found in Pasir Ris along the Sungei Api Api path between Block 514 and 513.

"Their colony was about 100 metres across from what I could see at night. I was alerted of their presence because they were rustling the leaves there.

"Those with the pincers are about 1.3 cm long and the worker ants are about 1 cm long each.

"I blew onto them and they went into attack mode. It was a bit scary because there were so many. Not something you expect to see at a HDB estate."

Here's another sighting of the termite species Macrotermes carbonarius, which I already blogged about recently here.

Mango stealers caught knocking the fruit off this tree

STOMPer khalif caught these people stealing the mangoes from this tree this morning in Pasir Ris. One of them uses a long stick to knock the mangoes off while the other picks them up and put them in a plastic bag.

He said:

"I saw them at Block 714 in Pasir Ris.

"I was speechless when I saw what they were doing.

"They were using a long stick to knock the mangoes off the tree!

"I don't think they should have been done that because the tree is considered the government's property.

"The town council should take action and not let people do this again."

Related posts: People caught plucking mangoes claim they are RC members (1st May 2009)

Do check out the video posted on STOMP.

Monday Morgue: 26th April 2010

Coastal horseshoe crab (Tachypleus gigas)
Pasir Ris, 2nd March 2010

Wild Fact Sheets
A Guide to Seashore Life

The haze is back at Pasir Ris

STOMPer eastsider woke up to find the CBD skyline, which was normally visible from his balcony, obscured by the haze. There was also a distinct burning smell.

With less than normal rainfall, more hot days will be coming our way this March. This is a result of the El Nino weather effect, caused by interaction between the Pacific Ocean and the atmosphere.

In the STOMPer's iPhone contribution:

"I woke up this morning and smelled a burning smell in the air reminiscent of the haze.

"Looking out of my balcony, I saw the landscape enveloped in haze.

"The CBD skyline should normally be visible in the distance in this photo."

Related posts: Bush fire rages at Expo area (19th February 2010)

Related articles: Sorry kid, it's going to stay hot and dry for a while (2nd March 2010) (Mirror)
Last month the driest Feb in 140 years (1st March 2010) (Mirror)
February 2010 is driest month for Singapore since records began in 1869 (2010) (Mirror)
Driest February ever recorded to date in Singapore (25th February 2010) (Mirror)
February's a dry, hot season in Singapore (19th February 2010) (Mirror)
Smoke in the air due to bush fires (18th February 2010) (Mirror)
71 bush fires in two weeks (18th February 2010) (Mirror)

Indeed, it was especially hazy in Pasir Ris this morning. I guess the eastern side of Singapore, which is naturally somewhat drier and receives less rainfall than other parts of the island, is more prone to bush fires, given this current dry spell.

The latest 24-hour Pollution Standards Index (PSI) update, which was released only at 4 pm earlier on, shows a PSI of 36 for eastern Singapore. Although it indicates that the air quality is still considered Good, it is still quite a large jump from the previous day's readings, which gave a PSI of 21.

One potential problem I have with the way the PSI is being updated is that it covers a span of 24 hours. However, this might conceal large rises and falls in the PSI within that 24-hour range. For example, if a bush fire started, but was then eventually put out after a short while, the PSI reading might have crossed over into the Moderate range, except that this rise was cancelled out by the low PSI over the rest of the 24 hours. Would 3-hour updates or even hourly updates be preferable?

An example can be seen from this morning, where it was much hazier than usual in Pasir Ris. Yet despite the noticeable decline in air quality, the PSI (which had been obsolete by more than 12 hours) indicated that the air quality was supposed to be Good. For people with potential health problems, knowing the PSI at that point in time can help spare them from a lot of discomfort.

I just hope that they won't be burning any rainforests in Malaysia and Indonesia during these few months. That would only make things even worse.

Tree topples and lands on motorcycles in Pasir Ris carpark

STOMPer Selvam's motorcycle was one of the bikes under this fallen tree, but luckily for him, there was no damage to his vehicle. Two other riders were not so lucky and their bikes were slightly damaged, said the STOMPer.

The tree fell yesterday (Dec 6) afternoon. "There was no rain, but strong winds," said the STOMPer.

The tree has been removed.

In his email report:

"Nice picture of a fallen tree at Pasir Ris. Almost all the bikes are affected."

Yikes! Snake found in my QQ

STOMPer Angela got the shock of her life when she spotted a python in her car.

In an email to STOMP yesterday (Nov 16), the STOMPer said:

"On Nov 12, I drove my car to work at Loyang. After parking my car and opening the door, the 'thing' caught my eye. I jumped out of my car and called my boss.

"We then called the pest control people to catch the python.

"The car was parked at my office carpark for 4 nights when my family went for a holiday at Genting. No idea how it got in but we suspect that there was grass pruning over the weekend and it might have destroyed the python's home.

"Last weekend was quite a wet one so maybe it decided to stay put in my car.

"It did not attack anyone or scare me while I am driving. If it did, I cannot imagine what might have happened.

"The interesting part is that it was in my car for so long and yet it did not disturb anyone."

It certainly is a very interesting place for a reticulated python (Broghammerus reticulatus) to seek refuge, but it's not the first time a snake has been found hiding in a car. It's likely that in cold weather, a snake might attempt to conserve heat by crawling inside a car.

There are 2 recent stories from the United Kingdom and Florida about snakes in cars, and there is actually a similar incident that took place in Loyang during this same period of time last year. At least in these cases, the snakes were captured unharmed, unlike the snake in this particular incident.