Firefighters put out forest fire at Sembawang

Ew, white liquid spotted in drain in the Katong area

Prickly Porcupines

There are porcupines on Pulau Ubin!

Robert Teo from the National Parks Board (NParks) shared this video showing a wild Malayan porcupine (Hystrix brachyura) being released, after it had been caught and kept as a pet by one of the villagers.

The growth of Monday Morgue

Wild boar (Sus scrofa vittatus) skull, Pulau Ubin
31st May 2009

Monday Morgue had a humble start. It began as a weekly feature over here on The Lazy Lizard's Tales, a way to provide filler material when I didn't have the time or energy to write proper blog posts, while giving me the chance to share random photos I'd taken of dead animals I encountered while outdoors.

Last year, I decided to split it off and have Monday Morgue hosted on its own dedicated site. At first, I toyed with Tumblr, but eventually settled on Posterous.

For some reason, Monday Morgue seems to have become quite a hit with many people.

Earth Day Coastal Cleanup @ Tanah Merah

For those of us who visit and explore the shores of Singapore to document the marine life that can be found on our coasts, Tanah Merah stands out as a unique and special place. Although the original shore here is long gone due to land reclamation, a rich community of marine organisms has managed to colonise and reestablish itself. We find habitats as diverse as rocky shores, seagrass beds, sandy beaches, coastal forests, and even a coral reef on the outer edge of the seawall.


(Photo by Ria)

Unfortunately, this shore, despite its beauty and diversity, suffers from pollution. Much of the marine life is slowly recovering from the devastation of the oil spill that struck 2 years ago, although some crude oil still lingers in the environment. Another insidious threat comes from the vast quantities of garbage that wash up and get trapped behind the seawall. Because this area is not under the purview of the armies of cleaners that work tirelessly every morning to remove litter and other trash from our public beaches, the rubbish simply accumulates, forming massive piles of plastic, broken glass, and other debris.


Litter on Tanah Merah shore, July 2011;
(Photo by Ria)


Dig deep enough, and you'll find out where much of the oil has gone, April 2012;
(Photo by Ria)

In response, the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore (ICCS) team has decided to conduct a series of year-round cleanups on this shore.



And so, keen to do my part on a shore that I am personally very fond of, I signed up for the latest session, which was held on the morning of 28th April.

First time playing with Storify

Earlier this week, I attended the U@live session featuring Professor Leo Tan. As usual, I live-tweeted the event, and decided to use Storify as a medium to curate and organise my tweets. The result is this.

Kind-hearted Hougang Sec students help bird trapped in drain

Monkey problem getting worse: One even invades Khatib MRT Station

1m-long monitor lizard at Kallang River catches visitor by surprise

Beach-goer can't enjoy stroll along Changi shoreline as it's strewn with rubbish

Weird spiky bug spotted near Yishun block gives passerby the creeps

Angler who injured turtle with fish hook should be shamed

Watch your step! This creature is a jellyfish, not a plastic bottle

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

Meet the 'friendly' wild boars at the wetlands of Pulau Ubin

Strange worm-like creature found on Pasir Ris Beach

Woman caught dumping bagful of rubbish into drain

S'pore getting more polluted? Discharge turns Mountbatten drain bright blue

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.

Year of the Dragon: The Dragon Eel

(Photo by Réunion Underwater Photography)

It's easy to look at a moray eel (F. Muraenidae) and imagine it to be some sort of underwater dragon, guarding the treasure within its cavernous lair. One species in particular has quite a unique appearance, and as a result carries a dragon-inspired name.

Year of the Dragon: The Dragon Wrasse

(Photo by Reeflections)

There are a number of fishes that have dragon-inspired names, and today's post will take a look at one such species.

Year of the Dragon: More Dragon Slugs

(Photo by paulhypnos)

Yesterday, we looked at a species of marine slug known as the blue dragon nudibranch, one that is seen quite often on reefs in Singapore waters. Today, my post will focus on a very different nudibranch that shares the same name.

Year of the Dragon: Dragon Slugs

Beting Bronok;
(Photo by Ria)

Yes, even soft, spineless creatures can be named after dragons.

Year of the Dragon: Dragon flowers

(Photo by Jörg Hempel)

It is amazing just how so many different creatures can be associated with dragons for some really spurious reasons. Take for example, the chinchillas (Chinchilla spp.), whose Chinese name of 龙猫 ('dragon cat') is due to the fact that they resemble a Japanese anime character who bears that same name in Chinese translations. Or the dragon trees (Dracaena spp.), named after their reddish sap that was extracted and marketed as the blood of mythical reptiles. And don't get me started on dragon fruit (Hylocereus spp.); the only possible link with dragons I think of comes from the apparently scaly fruits and spiny succulent stems.

With the various flowers named after dragons though, the connection with the mythical fire-breathing reptiles turns even more tenuous.

Year of the Dragon: Dragon Trees and Dragon's Blood

(Photo by Ayala Moriel)

Carrying on the theme of posts on organisms that are somehow associated with dragons, we now come to another interesting group of plants.

Year of the Dragon: Dragon fruit

(Photo by daria_weber)

Moving away from animals for a while, this post will look at a plant that is familiar to most of us, and is linked to dragons by name.

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.

Year of the Dragon: Singaporean Dragons

(Photo by sayhitoant)

As mentioned in yesterday's post, Singapore is home to a number of agamid lizards (F. Agamidae). This post will discuss the several species of agamids that are found here.

Year of the Dragon: Amazing Agamids

(Photo by ~zymon~)

According to the Chinese zodiac, it's now the Year of the Dragon, and I thought I'd do a special post on some of their real-life counterparts. No, dragons don't really exist, but there are a number of lizard species commonly known as 'dragons'.


(Photo by mlp55)

The most famous 'dragon' is of course, the largest extant lizard, the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis). With its fearsome, prehistoric appearance, one can easily imagine how early sightings of large monitor lizards may have led to stories about ferocious gigantic reptiles.

Besides the monitor lizards, however, there is a family of lizards which contains some very bizarre-looking members, known collectively as the agamids (F. Agamidae). Often adorned with frills and crests, some agamids look so strange that they would probably not appear out of place in a medieval bestiary.

Flight of Dragons

(Photo by Javier_M.)

Over the last couple of years, I've seen a particular image make its way around the Internet, popping up every now and then creating somewhat of a stir every time it resurfaces.

Snake spotted in country club

Resident surprised to find snake on staircase at Woodlands block

'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.

On Meat-eating Giant Pandas

(Photo from Huffington Post UK)



A few days ago, this sequence of camera trap images of a giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) gnawing on the carcass of an animal started showing up on news sites all over the world. It's received quite a fair bit of attention, and certainly reveals a darker side to the seemingly placid and peaceful nature of the giant panda. However, it does appear that much of the coverage of this story overlooks a couple of facts.

Ribbons: Terrestrial Nemerteans of Singapore

People with a fascination for marine life would probably have heard of nemerteans, commonly known as ribbon worms.


Black and white ribbon worm (Baseodiscus delineatus), Terumbu Pempang Darat;


Red ribbon worm, Kusu Island;
(Photos by Ria)

Most ribbon worms live in marine environments, with a small proportion adapted to freshwater habitats. Just earlier today, I learnt that a small handful of nemertean species have actually managed to colonise the land, and that they can be found in Singapore!

The Toddycats are going to Geylang!

The Toddycats! will be hitting the heartlands, with a very special exhibition at the Geylang East Public Library this Saturday, 10th December. With an exhibition of specimens, educational posters, games, and talks, it's the perfect opportunity to learn more about Singapore's wildlife.



Here's a sneak preview of what you can expect to see, based on our briefing and training session yesterday evening.

Timberland's Vivocity Concept Store opens

It's been months since I last saw my travelling companions and friends during my trip to Inner Mongolia and Sichuan in August, and last Friday, I had the excellent opportunity to catch up with them at an event organised by Timberland Singapore: the official opening of the new 2,400 sq ft concept store at Vivocity, a first for the brand's Asian outlets.

My Nuffnang Story

Where it comes to blogging, it's essential to establish good relationships with people. Bloggers inevitably tend to form communities, reaching out and building friendships with not just readers, but also with fellow bloggers. We are after all highly social animals, and the whole point of blogging is to communicate ideas to an audience that could potentially number in the thousands, if not millions.

The Chironomids Part II: Millions of Midges

Male adult midge, Sungei Buloh;
(Photo by Marcus)

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, 'This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered with them. But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land. I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign will occur tomorrow.'" And the Lord did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh's palace and into the houses of his officials; throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies.

- Exodus 8: 20-24

Midge swarm, Utah;
(Photo by AMICHAELMURRAY)

In the previous post, I discussed some aspects of the biology and ecology of the Chironomidae, also known as non-biting midges. I briefly mentioned the tendency of many midge species to form huge swarms, which can have negative effects on human communities in the vicinity. This post will look at one such swarming event in Singapore.

The Chironomids Part I: Marvellous Midges

(Photo by zh3nG 正)

Most of us are familiar with mosquitoes, and public service messages constantly remind us of the fact that there are commensal species which breed in stagnant water in and around our homes. In one aspect of their life cycle, mosquitoes (F. Culicidae) are not unique; numerous other species of flies have aquatic larvae, and the adults are often referred to as midges. One family in particular, commonly known as the chironomids or non-biting midges (F. Chironomidae), is well-represented throughout the world.

Wild boar... in Tampines?

"He's dead, that's what's wrong with it!" "No, no, he's uh... he's resting."
Wild boar resting beneath diesel tank, Tampines;
(Photo from Channel 8 news Facebook page)

As a longtime resident of Tampines, I pay very close attention to sightings of wildlife in this part of Singapore. True, we may not be very close to the forests of the Central Nature Reserves, and most of our parks are little manicured gardens nestled amongst the HDB blocks, but we do have much larger patches of vegetation. While these areas are little more than wasteland composed of a mixture of fire-tolerant woodland, scrub and grassland (wildfires are not uncommon occurrences during the drier months), they provide habitats for many species. One such pocket of greenery was recently converted into the Tampines Eco Green.

Still, the thought of a wild boar (Sus scrofa) living here was a big surprise for me.

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