Resident disturbed to find canal in CCK bright blue-green in colour

DENSO Youth for Earth Action

For the last 3 days, I have been involved with DENSO Youth for Earth Action (DYEA), an international programme to support youths in Japan and ASEAN who are passionate about doing something for the environment in their home countries.

Visiting the ACRES Rescue Centre

To recognise the contributions and efforts of its supporters, the Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (ACRES) organised a get-together at its headquarters at Jalan Lekar. I had a great time chatting with friends and other like-minded individuals who are concerned about animal welfare, and was glad to finally get the chance to visit the Wildlife Rescue Centre, which was opened in 2009.

Hello from Singapore! (@HellofrmSG)

If you've been spending time on Twitter lately, you might have seen the rise of a new phenomenon known as rotation curation, in which a Twitter account sees a change in the person tweeting (or the curator) on a regular basis (usually weekly).

Raccoons in Singapore? Mistaken identity, and the local trade in exotic small mammals

Which one is native to Singapore?
(Left: Photo by kwokwai76)
(Right: Photo by flipkeat)

It's a running gag among nature enthusiasts in Singapore that many members of the public are ignorant of our own wildlife, and that even common native species are bound to get confused with species not found locally. As a result, our monitor lizards become "Komodo dragons" or "iguanas", agamid lizards are "chameleons", sunbirds are mistaken for "hummingbirds", egrets and herons are "cranes" or "storks", our otters are "sea otters", and these are the most obvious errors we've heard of so far.

It is saddening that many people seem to be more familiar with wildlife found in other parts of the world. Perhaps it's because of the prevalence of wildlife documentaries focusing on ecosystems and species found on other continents, or the infusion of American pop culture. Faced with a small, vaguely cat-like mammal in their gardens or on their rooftops, with a dark eye-mask, it's not surprising that some local residents think that they have seen a common raccoon (Procyon lotor), when in fact this is a species native only to North and Central America. In most cases, any reports of "raccoons" in Singapore are likely to be misidentified common palm civets (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus).

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

The Serangoon stork

Mouth of Sungei Serangoon, which has since been dammed up to create the Serangoon Reservoir;
(Photo by Food Trails)

Hello from SG (@HellofrmSG), Singapore's very own rotation curation project on Twitter, has just been launched, and our very first curator is journalist and history buff Eisen Teo (@eisen).

As part of his self-introduction, Eisen shared the etymology of the name of his neighbourhood, Serangoon:





(Note: an alternative explanation is provided in the 27th March 1950 edition of The Straits Times)

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.

Thoughts on Roadkill, Part 2: Invasives & Non-natives

On Monday, the Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (ACRES) posted the following image on their Facebook page:

Green iguanas are native to Central and South America. It is saddening and shocking to sight such exotic wildlife here in Singapore, smuggled in to meet the demand for reptiles as illegal pets. This poor adult male Iguana was found run over and dead on the roads on Sungei Tengah road, right in our neighbourhood - Another victim of the illegal wildlife trade being abandoned to fend for himself.

Thoughts on Roadkill, Part 1: A video collection

Road sign on Sentosa;
(Photo by scubawatters)

Despite my morbid fascination with dead animals, I still get a little shudder every time I encounter roadkill. Maybe it stems from the fact that motor vehicles (through the actions of the people who operate them) can also cause serious injury and death to other people, so it's a twinge of empathy, acknowledging that it is a nasty way to get killed, and the grim realisation that it could just as easily be a fellow human being lying on the road. Not to mention the fact that despite near-universal knowledge and education on road safety, there is no indication that we will ever be able to eliminate vehicular traffic as a significant cause of human mortality. What makes one think that animals, being unable to comprehend the purpose of pedestrian crossings or road signs, would fare any better?

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.

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.

Yikes! Yishun home invaded by breeding wasps

Delivery guy disposes of rubbish into canal at East Coast Park

Please help me find my missing blue baby bird

Surprise catch: Angler hooks baby shark at Punggol End

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

A word of thanks

I'm really pleased to see the support that Monday Morgue has received from many people, especially in the Singapore Blog Awards 2012. Although I did not have high hopes at first, I'm now able to count myself as one of the top three currently leading in votes for my category.

World Oceans Day @ Tanah Merah

Yesterday was World Oceans Day, and in recognition of this day in which we are supposed to "celebrate and honour the body of water which links us all, for what it provides humans and what it represents", the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore (ICCS) team conducted cleanups of 2 stretches of coastline. I had signed up for Tanah Merah Site 7, the same place I had volunteered for earlier in April as part of a series of year-round coastal cleanup efforts. I have visited this shore infrequently every year, and it really is gratifying to see how the efforts of small groups of individuals have truly helped make a difference in reducing the amount of trash accumulating here.

Earthkeepers 101

Timberland Singapore is organising a blogging contest, in conjunction with their upcoming involvement in Rhythm with Nature as the Official Apparel Sponsor.


(Click to enlarge)