Aerial view of the secondary rainforest at Bukit Batok nature park, where the setting sun cast a rosy glow on the canopy
As night approached, the sky dimmed, with the sunset adding faint hues of pink to the greyish clouds amid the blue canvas.
By 7.45 pm, five of us participants started our night walk at Bukit Batok nature park, led by our knowledgeable guide Tony O’Dempsey.
We stopped by under a majestic rain tree, which supports a host of other plants, such as ferns and creepers, near the carpark entrance.
As we entered the park via the main track, we were fortunate to spot a solitary Sunda colugo, aka flying lemur, clinging onto a tall tree trunk.
Tony paused at a few junctures and told us about several kinds of plants, such as cinnamon (whose leaves appear to have freckles) and clidemia (whose leaves have a hairy surface).
He also demonstrated that the fruits of clidemia are edible by eating one himself, and I followed suit – I was glad to learn a jungle survival skill.
One of us spotted a green caterpillar hanging onto an imperceptible thread, as if it was floating in the air.
We passed by a fig tree that looked spectacular, with its roots wrapping around a boulder for stability.
I decided to shine my phone light on some plants to see if I could see any creatures, and was soon rewarded with the sighting of a beetle resting on the underside of a leaf.
Tony pointed out a large tree with patches on its trunk, which bears resemblance to eucalyptus trees.
On the way back to the park entrance, we saw a snake skin, from which the snake had moulted, at the ceiling of a shelter.
Here we are, back at the entrance of the nature park, having learnt much about its nocturnal beauty and perennial treasures
Despite the late hours, I did not encounter any mosquito during the night walk in this regenerating secondary rainforest.
This contrasts with the fact that Bukit Batok housing estate opposite the park is currently experiencing a high number of dengue cases.
Perhaps restoring ecological health and making the urban environment conducive for frogs and dragonflies to control mosquito populations would be good?
For me, the opportunity to go on an intertidal walk was one of the reasons why I had signed up for the BFF Challenge in the first place. Although I was really interested in exploring the intertidal zone, the guided walks I had encountered were all too expensive for a student like me. So, I was really happy that on the 14th of April, I was able to go on my first ever intertidal walk with Young Nautilus at Changi Beach! It was a really fun and enriching experience, which made the long journey to and from Changi Beach truly worth it.
From what I know, many intertidal walks are conducted in the wee hours of the morning, so I was relieved that this one was in the afternoon – I could take my time to travel over to Changi Beach Carpark 6. There, I met up with the other BFF-ers as well as our guides Yong Jen and Leon, and soon, we were on our way down into the intertidal zone, where there was no shortage of flora and fauna to be found!
First, we saw sand dollars buried in the sand, along with different sea cucumbers like the pink warty sea cucumber and the thorny sea cucumber. Yong Jen shared with us that sand dollars, sea cucumbers and sea stars are all related in that they are all echinoderms with pentaradial symmetry. This means that their body parts are arranged along five axes of symmetry. For me, it was really cool to see what I had learnt in the (virtual) classroom come to life, as I had learnt about the different animal phyla and their characteristics in a biology module this semester!
A sand dollar!A pink warty sea cucumber!
As we walked further out and our guides introduced us to more and more marine creatures, one thing that took me by surprise was the way in which the walk was conducted. Young Nautilus had prepared baskets in which they displayed marine creatures that they had presumably found earlier, and these formed ‘stations’ that our guides would bring us to in order to introduce the creatures to us. While I felt that it would have been more exciting to find the animals ourselves rather than having them presented to us in a container, I guess that would lower the likelihood of us being able to see so many things, and would mean less opportunities for learning. In the future though, I would love to explore the intertidal zone on my own, once I have learnt enough about the different creatures I can find there.
Leon telling us more about a flower crab at one of the ‘stations’ prepared by Young Nautilus.
Apart from the sand dollars and sea cucumbers, we saw many other interesting creatures, such as an onch slug, a dead sea jelly and a burrowing moon crab with paddle-like legs. We also saw a broken sand collar, which I learnt is the egg mass of a moon snail, made of mucus and sand.
A dead sea jelly.A moon crab.
One of the most fascinating-looking creatures we encountered was the sea pen, named for its resemblance to a quill. It is actually a colony of different kinds of polyps connected to one another, and on this particular sea pen, there was a brittle star and porcelain crab! I learnt that porcelain crabs are not true crabs, as they have three instead of four pairs of walking legs. Other examples of ‘crabs’ which are not true crabs are horseshoe crabs and hermit crabs, which only have two pairs of walking legs.
And speaking of hermit crabs, one thing that I somehow only learnt during this field trip was that we should not pick up and bring home the seashells we find on the beach. Although they are not living things, these ‘seashells’, which are mostly the calcium carbonate outer coverings of dead mollusks like clams and snails, are important to coastal and marine ecosystems. They provide homes for hermit crabs, and when they break down, they provide calcium carbonate for other organisms that build their own hard outer coverings. This is definitely something that I will take note of the next time I visit a beach, and I hope to remind my friends and family about this too.
Other than the interesting animals in the intertidal zone, there was also a lot of seaweed, which led me to ponder the differences between seaweed and algae. Yong Jen shared that seaweed are actually macroalgae, which means that they are large and visible to the naked eye (I think!). He also pointed out that they are different from seagrass, which are vascular plants with roots, stems and leaves. Although seagrass was not as abundant at this part of the beach, I was quite excited to pick up a few leaves, as I had never seen seagrass before! I had learnt about seagrass and the important ecosystem services they provide in another module this semester, so it was super cool to encounter seagrass for the first time.
Seagrass.Seaweed.
After about one and a half hours of walking around and squatting to look at marine creatures, our exploration ended on a high note, as we saw a rare moon-headed sidegill slug before leaving the beach. Although I was not able to fully appreciate the rarity of this sighting, I marvelled at its beautiful colours and patterns. It was a great way to end the walk!
The moon-headed sidegill slug!
All in all, it was a super fruitful first intertidal experience for me, and I will definitely be visiting the intertidal zone again soon. Thanks for reading!
On the 7th of April, I went for the Horseshoe Crab Rescue and Research Programme at Kranji Mudflats. I chose to go on this field trip as I thought that it would be a fun and unique experience that I could not find elsewhere, and it ended up exceeding my expectations!
It was a cool Thursday morning, and I woke up before the sun had risen for the first time in a very long while. Feeling very sleepy but also very excited, I made my way to Kranji Mudflats and met up with the other BFF-ers outside the gate, where we chatted (and fought off mosquitoes) while waiting for everyone to arrive. It was really nice to meet others who, despite coming from different walks of life, shared the same love for nature and biodiversity!
Eventually, we were given a briefing and led down to the mudflats by our guide, Lester from Nature Society Singapore. Although most people think of these places as wastelands, I was struck by its natural beauty, with mangrove trees growing all around, and the vast expanse of sea contrasted with the skyscrapers of Malaysia in the horizon. We trudged through the muddy substrate until we were deep enough into the mudflat, and Lester stopped to share more about horseshoe crabs before we began our survey.
Making our way down into the mudflat.
According to Lester, there are four species of horseshoe crabs worldwide, and two of them are found in Singapore – the coastal horseshoe crab and the mangrove horseshoe crab. As their names suggest, the coastal horseshoe crab is more commonly found on beaches, while the mangrove horseshoe crab is usually found in mangroves. Lester explained to us the differences between these two species – while coastal horseshoe crabs can grow up to the size of your head, mangrove horseshoe crabs are smaller and usually grow up to the size of your palm. Mangrove horseshoe crabs also have shorter spines on the side of their bodies, have rounded rather than triangular tails, and are darker in colour.
Lester also shared about the behaviour of horseshoe crabs, who, as bottom feeders, feed on whatever they find on the sea bottom. They also moult as they grow, which is why we often find horseshoe crab moults along our shores. Then, Lester taught us how to differentiate male and female horseshoe crabs, which can only be done once they reach sexual maturity (horseshoe crabs which are at least 7.5 cm from tip to tip are considered adults!). Males have distinctively swollen, ‘buff’ front legs, and tend to be smaller than females. This is because when they mate, the male attaches onto the female, and since its mouth is on its bottom, it cannot eat.
A male horseshoe crab.A female horseshoe crab.
After Lester’s sharing, we started our survey of the horseshoe crabs in the mudflat. We stood in a line parallel to the shore, then slowly moved down towards the water as we dug around in the mud for horseshoe crabs. The horseshoe crabs found would have their length taken and their sex identified. It was not easy to find them at first, but I eventually found a few, which was exciting! Lester shared that the population of horseshoe crabs used to be much larger, and that surveys would yield buckets upon buckets of horseshoe crabs.
A horseshoe crab I found! I was surprised at how small they could be.
Unfortunately, the horseshoe crabs here face a number of challenges, which is why they are not as plentiful today. Firstly, horseshoe crabs are not protected under the Wildlife Act, and as such, are particularly vulnerable to human threats like land reclamation and net fishing. Also, the changing, increasingly sandy substrate at Kranji Mudflats is unsuitable for horseshoe crabs, which is why they are being found in increasing numbers at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve instead.
Interestingly, I learnt that horseshoe crabs here are also being threatened by the invasive Charru mussels from South America. These Charru mussels are one of the many other species found on the mudflat, which include flower crabs, thunder crabs, sea anemones, drill snails and cone snails. They were first found in large numbers here in 2015 to 2016, and could have arrived in Singapore in ballast water. They are harmful to horseshoe crabs as they can prevent horseshoe crabs from burrowing into the ground, and can even latch onto them, preventing them from moving or eating properly. Thankfully, volunteers have been doing their best to manually remove these invasive mussels.
The invasive Charru mussel.
Not only did I have a lot of fun during this field trip, but I also learnt a lot about horseshoe crabs, and gained a better understanding of the need to protect these interesting creatures. Thank you Lester! According to Lester, most of the people (including him) with Nature Society Singapore are volunteers, and it struck me how much of our conservation efforts are down to volunteer efforts, and how passionate these volunteers are.
Through this field trip, I also realised how important first-hand experiences with nature and biodiversity are in developing a love for the environment. It was only after getting down and dirty in the mudflats with the horseshoe crabs that I began to understand the importance of protecting them. When people are able to appreciate the beauty of the natural world, they will be more likely to take action to protect it. As put by Baba Dioum, “In the end we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.”
On the 26th of March, 2022, I went to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (SBWR) to learn more about the habitats present at the reserve, as well as conservation efforts by the National Parks Board (NParks). It was humbling to have the experienced guide Ivan Kwan to impart his wealth of knowledge and experiences, as he had previously worked at NParks at Sungei Buloh.
We started the walk with the introduction of SBWR, which is one of the four nature reserves in Singapore. SBWR was demarcated as a wildlife reserve when conservationists in the early days of Singapore’s development recognised that it was a key location for migratory species along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. However, I quickly learned that the reserve faces numerous challenges.
To start off, Ivan pointed out that the freshwater body at the entrance is home to some invasive cichlids that are not native to Singapore and should not exist in there. These include species such as Mayan cichlids. Exotic species have been recorded to potentially outcompete native species and cause the extinction of native species, hence the term invasive species. It is a concern that there are many invasive species in Singapore, some of the more notable ones being the red-eared sliders, commonly termed as terrapins by the laymen. The biodiversity of Singapore is not exactly well studied, and with uninformed or irresponsible acts of releasing non-native species into the wild, it may lead to the extinction of species we may not even know existed in our little island state. Hence, I learned that it is important to spread the message to family and friends who own exotic pets, and encourage responsible ownership of pets.
Then, we walked along the boardwalk, where we saw several different species of mangroves, each with their distinctive characteristic roots. With his wealth of experience with mangroves, Ivan was able to point out some amazing creatures which reside in this habitat. This includes the onch slug, tree-climbing crabs, mudskippers, and horseshoe crabs.
Onch slug on a mangrove treeA mangrove horseshoe crab on the mudflat
Here, we learnt of another couple of challenges the reserve face. First, there is the problem of litter. While we walked along the boardwalk, it was impossible to miss the amount of litter and trash stuck among the roots of the mangroves. I initially thought that some of the litters are done by visitors or contractors doing works in the reserve, but was enlightened that most of the litter are brought in during the high tide, suggesting that the litter may have been introduced from neighbouring shores. It is a saddening sight to see so much trash, especially since it is home to many native species and these litters pose a great threat to them. It is difficult to solve this problem as the complex root systems of the mangroves make it difficult for people to conduct clean-ups, and to top it off, one needs to be aware of tide trends to ensure safety during the clean-up. Hence, it is not as simple as a beach clean-up.
The second problem faced by the reserve is the unexplained change in sedimentation. As the name suggests, the mudflat is typically composed of muddy sediments which the mangroves have been well adapted to accrete. This provides a buffer for inland during storm surges as the mangroves can compact the sediments and act as a barrier. It is also beneficial to the stability of the mangroves, as the roots can anchor to the ground. The issue is that there has been an increase in sandy sediments which the mangroves are not as adapted for. This has resulted in reduced accretion by the mangroves, and some of the mangroves are collapsing due to the lack of stability. The Nparks staff have made efforts to support some of the older mangroves, by stacking rocks or artificially adding more clayey soil to support the trees and prevent them from collapsing. This brought to home the idea that just because the area has been designated as a nature reserve does not mean that we can just leave it alone and it will thrive. The world has been altered by man so significantly that sometimes, leaving the wildlife alone may detrimentally lead to its own collapse, and so we still have to intervene to ensure that the ecosystem can thrive.
The sediments are a lot more sandy
It was overall an enlightening trip, and with Ivan’s experience and skills, we managed to see the famous estuarine crocodile Tailless, the resident macaque troupe, a couple of oriental pied hornbills, and even ended the trip with a sighting of a beautiful oriental whip snake. I have learned much about SBWR from this walk, and I look forward to being able to enjoy more of the reserve in the future.
When I think of Pasir Ris Park (PRP), chalets, barbeque pits and the beach come to mind. Although PRP is a mere 30 minutes from home, I don’t usually visit the park for other purposes like bird-watching as I have never thought of it as a biodiversity hotspot. When I saw the sign-up link for the bird watch at PRP, I was intrigued and decided to take a look for myself.
As I reached the meeting point near the freshwater pond at Carpark B, my misconception of PRP as merely a recreational location was immediately debunked. I heard rich melodies coming from the songbirds and the calls of other wild birds such as the Red-breasted Parakeet, Collared Kingfisher and the Black-naped Oriole. Soon, I met up with Weiting, our guide for the morning, and the other participants. It was a really small group so it felt like we were friends coming together to do some bird-watching.
Although I have some basic knowledge of the common birds in Singapore, I gained new insights into the behaviours of the different species. Did you know kingfishers will smash the fish that they have caught against hard surfaces? This helps them to stun and/or kill the fish, as well as break up the spines so that the kingfisher will be able to swallow the fish safely. We did not see this in action but it was astonishing to learn about this particular behaviour. I also managed to see a few species that are new to me, such as the Rufous woodpecker and the Laced woodpecker.
We were fortunate enough to see other creatures like a pair of otters frolicking in the river and marking their scent on land. Later on, we watched some mischievous macaques playing in the water and having fun by trying to pull each other’s tails.
A park-goer also alerted us to a Painted Bronzeback (do correct me if I am wrong!) which was initially slithering on the ground but swiftly made its way up to the branches as we approached. A group of ladies passed by and were curious about why we were staring at a tree. As we shared the sighting with them, it was encouraging to see other members of the public being interested in and respectful of biodiversity by observing the snake from a distance. They also asked us about how to behave around snakes and told us about their own experiences with them. It was especially heartwarming to hear that people wish to co-exist peacefully with snakes although they are often perceived as being scary and aggressive.
Painted Bronzeback Photo credits: Weiting
As we made our way through the park, we also discussed issues such as the songbird trade and various human-wildlife conflicts. The caged songbirds at the entrance of the carpark were a stark reminder of the rampant poaching and trading of endangered songbirds like the Straw-headed bulbul. There is also an area in the park which has been cordoned off and Weiting explained that it was done to prevent parkgoers from trampling into the bushes to snap photographs of the owls which used to reside there. This reminds me of the instances when crowds thronged Changi Beach and dug up sea creatures. While I appreciate that people want to learn more about our local biodiversity, there is definitely more work to be done in terms of educating people about being respectful of wildlife and nature, as well as what it truly means to be part of a city in nature. One solution I can think of is to inform people about the availability of guided walks, where participants can learn about wildlife without sacrificing the health of our local ecosystems.
The field trip was really fruitful as we saw not only feathered creatures but also other animals such as otters, macaques and snakes. Nature continues to fascinate me and today’s trip emphasises the fact that there is so much to see and so much more to discover. I also realised that I do not necessarily have to go to far-off places like Chestnut Nature Park or Bukit Timah to observe nature. I will definitely return to PRP soon to look out for all sorts of creatures, whether big or small.
Thanks to Weiting and Nigel for their time and patience in guiding us and sharing their knowledge!
Waking up early in the morning, I was looking forward to my nature walk at Windsor Nature Park, a nature park that I have not yet visited before. Sadly, as I was arriving at the nature park, rain clouds came in and it started to drizzle. In our WhatsApp group, the guides informed us that they have to cancel or reschedule the walk due to the current weather conditions. I was upset that I may have made a wasted trip to the park but thankfully, our experienced guides, Sean and James, informed us that the rain clouds may pass soon and offered to continue the walk if we desired. Whilst most of the group was unable to join us, I and another BFF-er along with Sean and James met up at the park and begin our entomology trail when the rain stopped and the sun came up at 9am.
Whilst many people, including myself, would have thought that after a rain shower, there would be lesser people and fauna at the park, I was pleasantly surprised to see many bees already flying out to collect nectar from the radiant flowers. During our short trail along the Venus Loop, we managed to spot many species of insects including snails, beetles, flies, caterpillars, and many other tiny insects that were just relaxing or moving about on leaves and wood stumps.
Tiny Snail out after the rain
Even though the trail was relatively short in distance, we took our time to spot the many tiny insects around us – those that were openly moving on the leaves and fungi-filled stump, those hidden under the leaves and those just actively flying around and “working”.
As someone who never really took the time to observe insects, and at times even afraid of some of them, I managed to learn quite a lot from my experienced guides, who were experts in their own fields of entomology. Thanks to their sharp eyes and extensive knowledge of insects, we were able to find different species of insects at every turn, sometimes even at every step, and I learnt little bits of knowledge about each of the new species of insect that we saw.
Semi-Social Caterpillars who share the same leaf with each other
I learnt that there were actually many insects who liked to imitate other insects as a form of protection. An example would be a harmless fly pretending to be a dangerous wasp. Ironic how the fly would be bolder than the wasp when we approach it – while the fly will remain still as we edge closer to it, the wasp will fly away at our slightest advancements. Perhaps imitating a dangerous species in the insect kingdom has made these flies bolder and less affected by us humans.
“Imitation Wasp”
Apart from insects, we also saw other bigger animals such as chickens, plantain squirrels and even a huge wild boar who was just casually crossing the trail and trotting into the forest.
One of many plantain squirrels on our walk
We also saw a few rare insects and habitats on our trail – a huge green tree snail that typically comes out at night, a massive termite mound with thousands and thousands of termites at work, and a natural freshwater habitat inhabited by tiny fish and water bugs.
Green Tree Snail Termite Mound
Overall, I learned a lot from this 3hr walk around the Venus Loop. I learned many new facts about different species and insects and even some tips on how to spot and identify them. One key new fact that I learned from my guides is that there are many species of insects in the world, so much so that they cover half of the animal kingdom that we know, but while there are so many species of insects, there are still so little that we know about them – why they behave in certain manners and even what some species of insects are as many are still unnamed. This is why museums are constantly finding research material from citizens so that they can find out more about the insects we see and hopefully provide better protection and conservation for some of the endangered insects.
This walk started on a low with rainy weather but ended with a high with me leaving with new knowledge and mindsets about insects. Can’t wait for my third and final BFF trip!
After a 30 minute walk from Cashew MRT (including us getting lost along the way), my friend and I reached Chestnut Nature Park to meet up with the rest of the group. After a short introduction and briefing, we begin our walk. Near the entrance of the nature park we saw a strangling fig tree, which despite how it looks was actually 1 tree and not multiple trees. Our guild Vilma explained that the “trunks” of the tree was actually roots from the main tree reaching down to the forest floor and grew thicker as they absorbed water and nutrients from the ground. During our walk, we managed to spot some strangling fig trees that had “consumed” other trees and killed them by taking all the nutrients on the ground and blocking most of the sunlight.
Strangling Fig tree near the entrance of the nature park
Shortly after, we came across a jack fruit tree and saw a squirrel scurry up the tree to eat the jack fruit. While looking at the squirrel, Vilma mentions that jack fruit trees are not native to Singapore and are usually a tree grown to earn some money (cash crop) in the past, and that Chestnut Nature Park used to be a kampong. We find more evidence of that through the walk as we spotted shattered tile and pottery on the ground and other non-native plant species such as the oil palm tree (another cash crop planted during the kampong days).
Plantain squirrel eating jack fruit
We were extremely fortunate to see many of wildlife that Vilma mentioned at the start of the walk. Before starting the walk at Chestnut Point, we saw a troop of long tailed macaques rushing towards a group of people who were having their breakfast and we were told sternly to keep any lose hanging items in our bags. Further into our walk, we managed to spot 2 colugas having a nap on tree trunks! (at different locations) Did you know that they do not have eyelids and sleep with their eyes open?
First coluga of the day!Second coluga of the day!
We also saw a clouded monitor lizard, sun slink, emerald dove and even a mouse deer which dashed away after spotting us.
Clouded monitor lizardSun skink
All in all, I had a fun time at Chestnut Nature Park learning about wildlife. It is a beautiful place teeming with wildlife (especially insects) and I will definitely be visiting again!
Although I live close to the nature park, I’ve never been there before hence I decided to sign up for this field trip with a friend. As this was our first trip, we were pretty excited. Walking to the nature park itself was quite tiring as it took around 30 minutes from the MRT station but we were glad when we finally reached and met up with the others!
Tunnel leading to Chestnut Nature Park
Along the trail, we were first greeted by roots of Strangling Fig. The aerial roots looked like thin trunks of multiple trees but upon closer inspection, they belonged to the same tree.
Strangling Fig
Our guide, Vilma, explained to us about the leaves of Macaranga trees and how their petioles are not connected to the edges unlike many plants, and are instead connected closer towards the middle of the leaves. She also shared about the “toilet paper” leaf, a yellow leaf that we picked up from the ground which had a soft and slightly fuzzy underside, making it “suitable” as toilet paper haha.
Macaranga tree
We were lucky to have come across some wildlife such as a Clouded Monitor Lizard, Colugos, Squirrels, an Emerald Dove and a Mouse Deer. I learnt that Clouded Monitor lizards can be differentiated from Water Monitors by the location of their nostrils, with the latter having nostrils closer to the tip of the snout! We saw a squirrel eating a jackfruit and Vilma shared that squirrels eat durian as well which was quite interesting, given their hard shells!
Clouded Monitor LizardColugo
Other bugs we came across
We also came across footprints, possibly belonging to wild boars!
The streams we walked by were really beautiful and relaxing to look at.
Overall, I found the trip really enriching and enjoyable! It was interesting to learn different facts about flora and fauna there from our guide and others. I’ll be looking forward to my next field trip! Thank you for reading :))
I’ve never been to Bukit Batok Nature Park before (let alone at night), safe to say I was really excited for this walk! As more participants streamed in we chatted for abit before our guide for the night, Uncle Tony, arrived in his truck. Now I’ve met Uncle Tony at various virtual engagements before, but this was my first time meeting him in person, I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to learn from someone so knowledgeable about our biodiversity.
Off we went! As we walked through the park, Uncle Tony explained how large rain trees are often home to climbers or ferns that in turn provide homes for many fauna species – ranging from birds to insects and even bats. They create microhabitats that play an important role in supporting our biodiversity.
Uncle Tony looking under the ferns located on a rain tree (Pic by Stefanie)
When it comes to conservation, we often focus on conservation significance species (i.e. labelled endangered etc). Uncle Tony shared about the important role our common plants play in the ecosystem, in providing food and shelter to a myriad of fauna species. Even for the tiniest of creatures, who form the foundation of our ecosystem!
Pic of one of the common plants (I have forgotten its name :p someone please remind me haha)
Uncle Tony also shared about the Banyan Tree! As it grows and spreads its branches out horizontally, it grows aerial roots that mature into thick, woody trunks to support its branches. How smart!!
Banyan Tree roots that has thickened over time, offering support!
My last flora fun fact before we move on to our fauna haul – Uncle Tony pointed out that there were a couple of Sea Apple trees, a coastal species native to Singapore. Bukit Batok is not exactly near the coast so what is this tree doing here? Well it was used as a firebreak! In the past, large forests were cleared for plantations that would move from land to land, eventually resulting in lots of lalang abandoned fields that were highly flammable. The Sea Apple does not burn easily and was planted extensively as firebreaks.
Now moving on to the fauna section of this post, we actually spotted two colugos!! One of them a larger brown coloured one that was spotted by a keen-eyed participant actually glided right in front of us – it was super exciting as I had never seen one glide before.
The brown colugo spotted by another participant. The other one we spotted was slightly smaller in size with a grey-ish colour.Our flashlights were disturbing it, hence you can see how it has angled its body to decide where it would be gliding to!
We also spotted some insects along the way – including my first ever praying mantis!!
Praying mantis
Beetle
All in all, it was a really fun trip and my favourite takeaways were spotting the colugos and learning about plants especially since I don’t have much experience with plants. I do hope to have more opportunities to learn more about them and the vital role they play in our ecosystems.
My next walk is going to be the entomology one – so excited!!
Armed with a torchlight in my hands, I made my way towards to the west @ Bukit Batok Nature Park (BBNP) for a night walk on 22 April 2022. I reached and found myself with some of the other nature go-ers there. We chatted a bit before Uncle Tony arrived, where he began a small introduction on how to properly use the torchlight to identify “eyeshine”, which is reflection of light from the pupils, to then help pinpoint the location of the animals around us. The proper terminology for this is actually Tapetum Lucidum, which refers to a layer of tissue in the eyes of many vertebrates. This also contributes to the superior night vision of some vertebrates!
To put it simply, when you shine the torchlight and an animal happens to be looking back at the light, there would be a pair of small flashes of light shining back at you! Apologies for the long intro, now onto the more exciting segment of the trip – the walk itself!
Into The Thick Of It
After waiting for everyone to assemble, we then made our way into BBNP. We first stopped by a giant rain tree, where Uncle Tony commented that bats tend to sleep under the massive ferns growing on the rain tree and that this single tree itself is home to many floras and faunas as well.
Uncle Tony pointing to where can you potentially find bats sleeping in the day.
We then proceeded to the main road in the park where our team then tackled both sides of the road with our torchlights (as there were both surrounded by vegetation) trying to spot “eyeshines”, to see if we can find any interesting animals. I encountered my first “eyeshine” here, which was actually green in color. I called out to Uncle Tony and he mentioned that those are probably spiders as they commonly reflect a green “eyeshine”. What Uncle Tony was most interested in, is actually a red “eyeshine”, which a Colugo is known to have. Moments after that, we soon found ourselves *SPOILER ALERT* the first Colugo spotting of the night!!
Not my photo but a close up of the Sunda Colugo from incidentalnaturalist.com.
Unfortunately, I did not manage to snap a photo of the Colugo, but it was Grey in color and was rather active as it leapt up the tree after being spotted by Uncle Tony. As it seems disturbed by the constant lights shining at it, we decided to keep our torchlights away and proceeded deeper into BBNP.
After stopping for a small pitstop to refill our water bottles, we carried on with our walk. Uncle Tony then provided us with informative lectures on the various plants in the area. Particularly, he introduced us to the Banyan Fig, which is a tree that actually spreads not only vertically but also horizontally!
I don’t know why but this is actually the only photo I took that night – Banyan Fig tree’s aerial roots forming into trunks upon reaching the soil to support its wide spread branches.
Midpoint – the Quarry
We then reached to the quarry area of BBNP. It was a very peaceful and serene place to be. Aside from a man yelling periodically while doing his exercises, you can hear the dripping sound of water into the quarry and the sounds of cicadas all around us. PERSONALLY, I felt that the sounds are more intensified due to the shape of the quarry, which generates an echo, which in turn magnifies these sounds (or it’s just me). I also spotted countless lynx spiders (Google said so) in the shrubs surrounding the quarry. It is my first time seeing these spiders and they are one of the species of spiders that has spiny legs.
Uncle Tony also shared with us his stories before Singapore learnt of the importance of protecting our biodiversity. Singapore has come a long way as compared to say 20 years ago. Many of our nature parks today may not exist if not for people from Uncle Tony’s generation challenging the government and their respective agencies and contractors. Through their perseverance, they have maintained and protected many of our now beloved nature parks and the biodiversity within them.
Moving on, we proceeded up to a higher locale within BBNP where Uncle Tony shared with us about the Sea Apple plant.
“huh Sea… Apple..?”
You might think what’s a Sea Apple plant doing in the middle of the park? So apparently in the early 1900s, the Sea Apple plant are used as a firebreak, to prevent fires from breaking out in our highly flammable lalang wastelands. These trees grow tall and also provide shade to the lalangs, which adds on another preventive measure to help protect against fires.
The team then carried on forward while I strolled behind them. I then spotted something brown.. hanging on the trunk of the tree. No prizes for correct guesses to what I spotted. T’was a brown-colored Colugo!! I then called for the group to come over and observe this particular Colugo. Uncle Tony then immediately explained that we actually have 2 colors of the colugos here in Singapore – grey and brown. One might think that the colors assists in a form of identification but Uncle Tony clarified that himself is unsure as well as he has seen both colored colugos carrying a baby.
STILL not my photo but an onsite photo of the brown-colored colugo.
Seemingly disturbed by the light shining on it, the colugo then leapt upwards and looks in a direction where a tree trunk is in sight.
“Watch, it’s preparing to glide.” Uncle Tony pointed.
And as if it heard its cue, the colugo hopped off the trunk and glided to another trunk on the other side of the pavement. It was simply a spectacular sight to behold as it was in the air above us, gliding across in all its elegance and beauty. Despite the colugo gliding onto a tree that was lower and still next to the pavement, we decided against intruding its space any longer and proceeded to finish our walk at BBNP. Before reaching the end point, a teammate also spotted a praying mantis! I don’t have a picture of it to share but it was both of our first time seeing a praying mantis in the wild so it truly was a good night for spotting wildlife!
Final Thoughts
Overall, it was an enriching journey with Uncle Tony and the rest. I truly enjoy the act of trying to spot animals in the wild, not knowing what we would find and getting the sense of achievement when you spot something. I also learnt more about the flora and fauna in our nature parks, and these parks can be just minutes away from residentials (the nearest residence was just a traffic light crossing away).
Sometimes, we overlook these conveniences we have and get so engrossed in our daily lives, be it schooling or working (or both), and we take them for granted. Perhaps it’s good to take time to stop and smell the roses, to hear the cicadas and busk in the serenity nature provides.
Thanks for reading till the end, stay safe and take care!
BFF Biodiversity Challenge 2022 