Spitting King Cobra spotted at Ulu Pandan Canal

Man hurts hornbill by grabbing it around the neck just to take pictures

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.

STOMPer's plea to park users: Please throw your litter into rubbish bins

Rhythm with Nature @ Gardens by the Bay

The Gardens by the Bay are finally open, and apparently saw more than 70,000 visitors over the first 2 days of its opening. I was part of that crowd on Saturday evening, as I had managed to win a pair of free tickets to catch local singer-songwriter Corrinne May, who was performing as part of Rhythm With Nature. Thanks Timberland Singapore for the tickets (and the shoes), which I had won as part of their Earthkeepers 101 blogging contest.

Chek Jawa in June with the Naked Hermit Crabs

(Photo by Kok Sheng)

With it being the June holidays, the Naked Hermit Crabs received an overwhelming response for our monthly guided tour on the Chek Jawa boardwalk. And so 5 guides showed up on Saturday morning, ready to take on the crowds and share the sights and sounds of this very special place.

Delivery guy disposes of rubbish into canal at East Coast Park

Is this a rare species? Unusual blue-plumed bird spotted on tree in Bukit Gombak

Monkey problem getting worse: One even invades Khatib MRT Station

Angler who injured turtle with fish hook should be shamed

Red-eared rescue

If there's one thing I can't stand, it's seeing debris left behind by careless or irresponsible anglers. On too many occasions, I find rubbish that has been left on the shore after a fishing session, whether it's unused bait, discarded catch, lightsticks, or tangles of fishing line. I do wish that more anglers would take the effort to dispose of their trash properly, especially because of the risks of wildlife being harmed by hooks and fishing line.

There have been examples of local wildlife being needlessly injured or killed by fishing gear, from birds such as Oriental pied hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) and barn owl (Tyto alba), to reptiles like estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), dog-faced water snake (Cerberus rynchops), and Malayan water monitor (Varanus salvator). Even wild boar (Sus scrofa vittatus) have not been spared!

Today, I discovered yet another unfortunate victim of irresponsible anglers.

Bungalow owner wants to barbeque civet cat for dinner after it destroyed his phone wires

Woman caught dumping bagful of rubbish into drain

Year of the Dragon: The "Dragon Cats"

(Photo by StefanKoeder)

An unfortunate consequence of having the Chinese zodiac associated with animals is that there are bound to be plenty of superstitious people who get a pet associated with that particular year, only to lose interest soon enough. Despite campaigns to encourage responsible pet ownership, the Year of the Rabbit was not a good one for plenty of pet bunnies, dumped once the novelty wore off. In Singapore, most exotic reptiles are (thankfully?) banned as pets, so we won't get a spike in cases of chameleons, iguanas or bearded dragons being released in our parks. However, there is the likelihood that by the end of the Year of the Dragon, we may see a rise in sales of another animal, and a corresponding spike in cases of abandonment and neglect. One thing's for certain, the chinchilla actually has very little to do with dragons.

'It looks like a Komodo dragon': Huge monitor lizard spotted in Kallang River

Ball-cutter fish

(Photo from The Sun)

Over the past week, you may have read about the discovery of a fish with a rather unsavory taste for a particularly vulnerable part of the human anatomy.

Seven Links Blog Project: A Milestone Year

We're almost a week into the new year, and while I'm not really the sort who likes to reflect on the past year and mull over my successes and failures, Crystal Riley from Crystal and Bryan in Singapore has tagged me to take part in the Seven Links Blog Project, where I repost links to seven of my posts from different categories. Although I was tagged last year, I only found out last night, and I guess it's still not too late for me to look back on 2011.

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

Baby crocodile spotted in Pasir Ris canal

Dangerous prank: Man releases large hornet on bus, causing panic