I have crossed paths with the horseshoe crab numerous times in my life. Since young, I have come across them along the northern shores, some in good shape, while others badly entangled in illegal driftnets. In school, I learnt about the incredible value of their blue blood in the medical field (for the detection of bacterial infection). And through the Internet, I realised that they are facing threats in Singapore, be it habitat destruction or death from gillnets.
For this reason, I signed up for this horseshoe crab rescue and research activity at Kranji Mudflats, to hear directly from expert Lester on the current state of horseshoe crabs and learn interesting facts I have never heard of. In particular, we focused on the mangrove horseshoe crab, which is the predominant species of horseshoe crab living at Kranji Mudflats. It can be differentiated from the coastal horseshoe crab – the other species in Singapore – by checking its tail: the mangrove horseshoe crab has a smooth tail, whereas the coastal one has spikes growing along its tail.
While waiting for the coast guard to open the gate for us, Lester gave us an informative talk on the mangrove horseshoe crab and the mudflat it lives on. We learnt cool facts such as the males having big bicep muscles which they use to latch onto the females during mating, and that there can be one male latching onto multiple females or multiple males on one female during meeting. We were also told that any horseshoe crab with a width below 7.5cm is considered a juvenile, while those above can be sexed.
After the coast guard opened the gate for us, we stepped onto the sloshy mudflats to look for any horseshoe crab we could find, which we would measure and record down the measurements in a Google docs. Every bit of this data will be going to fill the missing data currently needed to give horseshoe crabs a IUCN conservation status. Once our mangrove horseshoe crabs are given an official status by the IUCN, it becomes easier for Nature Society, other NGOs and policymakers to justify their protection and implement relevant policies. Yet, a hurdle to be overcome is the fact that horseshoe crabs are more closely related to insects than actual crustaceans. Thus, putting in place a law to protect horseshoe crabs would possibly mean that other laws protecting insects need to be implemented too, which may sound absurd.
With the decline of horseshoe crab numbers in recent years (as Lester puts it, horseshoe crabs used to carpet the mudflat while today we see far less concentration of them), it is evident that we need to take action to conserve them. As resilient as these living fossils may be, no animal can withstand the annihilation of their homes at an unprecedented speed. Hopefully more people will step up to volunteer for the collection of horseshoe crab data which can serve as a stronger ground of argument in the future – one person’s small contribution can go a long way.
It was my first time coming to Bukit Batok Nature Park and here was how my experience went!
I usually only came to places such as Bukit Timah and Botanical Gardens when I used to live on the west side of Singapore. At most, I would only see monkeys, wild pigs, chickens, and our local birds and insects. This would also occur during the morning, so seeing how these animals behave at night was truly an experience for me.
We have Uncle Tony as our main guide for the night and he was VERY knowledgable as he also came from an amazing background with tons of experiences in this area.
Everyone gathered at a car park nearby and our first lesson for the night was on how to use the flashlight properly! It may seem such common sense, yet we still learn new things every day. We thought about how you should place it beside your eye when shining light onto a distance as the reflection of the light from your eyes matters a lot.
After graduating from the technicalities of flashlight usage, we continued our walk and learnt new things about the kinds and structure of a tree and its history behind it. Uncle Sam also identified the trees quite easily and he thought us some of the characteristics to look out for such as the roots, colouring, texture, etc.
We also tried to spot animals that may be hiding behind or up high on a tree, away from human sight. Luckily we did find some! such as Lemurs, and LOTSA bugs and insects!
it glided onto another tree after this photo was taken! SIDE NOTE: do not shine light on them for too long 🙂
When I arrived at Sungei Buloh, I was greeted by the melodious sounds of birds chirping in the trees. I thought: “Well, since I came all the way here, I might as well a bit of bird watching in before the event starts.” I followed the sound to a tree of Asian Glossy Starlings calling loudly.
My first time getting a decent photo of these guys. They always seem to blend in with the shade of the trees…
I also spotted a White-Bellied Sea Eagle circling the sky a distance away.
While waiting for roll call, I was also greeted by an olive backed sunbird and a yellow vented bulbul. Sungei Buloh truly is a home to a diverse array of bird species.
One of the experienced volunteers, Ben gave us a live demonstration on how to plant a tree and reminded us of the safety procedures we have to take note of when using the equipment. (Standing perpendicular from the person using the changkul etc) I was paired with Isaac, a fellow BFF challenger and it was really motivating to work with someone also taking on the BFF Challenge. I asked Airani, one of the organisers, about some of the trees that didn’t look too good and were mostly brown. She explained that this was likely due to heat stress and that even when all their leaves are brown, there is still a chance for them to bounce back. Not sure how likely it would be but either way we helped water the poor trees. (Maybe its like stressing succulents, where exposure to intense sun will change leaf colour but not harm the plant) Anyways, onwards to the tree planting
Tree #1: The Fallen
While discussing which tree to start with first we noticed a tree that fell over on its side. We took pity on it and decided that it shall be the first one we planted. And the tree turned out to be a Heritiera littoralis, more commonly known as a Dungun. A cool fact about this guy is that its fruits (well it doesn’t have any yet cause it’s still pretty small, or at least as small as a tree goes, but when it grows up….) anyways yes it’s future fruits would look like this:
(Incredibly rough rendition of fruit that probably does not do it much justice + ultraman’s head for comparison)
Siva said that the fruit looks like Ultraman’s head and I can’t agree more! He also said how the keel (which is the odd protrusion) kinda acts like a sail on a boat, allowing it to be directed by the wind as it floats on the water surface. This helps the tree to disperse its seeds further.
Much kudos to Isaac for doing a lot of the changkul work while I did the chiam to get rocks (and bricks! And tiles! man theres a lot of stuff in the soil…) out and making the sides of the holes more even. I think we were a pretty good team!
Successful first planting!! 😀
Funnily enough, while digging the hole for the Dungun tree, Airani commented on how our hole might be too big for the tree that we were planting. The tree she was gesturing to was the nearby Syzygium zeylanicum, a small tree that was less than half the height of the Dungun we were planting. So we then had a comical “Thats not our tree…. THIS is our tree” moment and laughed.
Comparison post planting. Not really the most accurate picture comparison but it works
It turned out that our hole was Slightly shallow but we still got her stamp of approval. Which then brings us to….
Tree #2: The aforementioned tiny tree
It wasn’t actually that small, standing at about 70ish cm tall, but compared to the other trees we planted, it was Small. Anyways we decided that since the small tree happens to be right beside our first tree, we could continue with that one. I did some of the changkul-ling this time and we finished digging the hole fairly quickly cause small tree = small hole. Mulching the tree proved to be a bit more of a problem as the dried leaves were all covered in ants. Luckily, we managed to make it through the day without getting bitten.
Truly a groundbreaking experience
Tree #3: Couldn’t think of a catchy name for this one, I’m sorry tree…
The third and fourth tree we handled were Dolichandrone spathacea, also known as Tui or Mangrove Trumpet Tree. We were more experienced after the first two trees and finished the third tree quickly without issue. However, after we watered the tree, millipedes started to crawl out of the leaf litter. Unfortunately these were black and yellow, an invasive species of millipede that is now more common than the native red millipedes.
(Picture of millipedes. Not taken on site but the ones there were the same as these kinds)
Tree #4: The last minute entry
We were heading off to take a break when we were called to help out another volunteer. We were more than happy to help out and went to the rescue! It was the fastest and best planting yet! Isaac and Jim (said volunteer) worked on the hole while I filled the wheelbarrows with the soil mixtures and leaf litter. It was really nice to work with such like-minded people. We started chatting about the other eco related projects we were involved in and exchanged sites to check out. I really enjoyed chatting and bonding over our shared love for nature.
Go team!!! (Isaac if you see this please send the group pic)
In the debrief, Siva, the other organiser of this event, explained the history behind this particular tree planting plot. The place began as just scrubland, filled with tall grass and hosted little to no biodiversity. The soil was clayey and did not have much nutrients. The nearby mangroves also suffered from soil erosion from the land and litter carried in by the tide.
Siva’s team then started an entire mangrove trash cleanup project that removed 20 tons of trash, saving the mangrove roots from being smothered by plastic. Later on the land was reclaimed and a concrete barricade was erected to prevent sediment from falling into the mangrove after being swept by heavy rains. Now, the nearby reclaimed land is being turned into a coastal habitat where special native coastal trees are being planted to bridge the mangrove and the secondary forests. Even the soil has improved! After many rounds of soil enhancement by volunteers, the soil now has earthworms, making it much more fertile and suitable for plant growth.
Listening very intently during debrief
Singapore has very few of such coastal habitats, which makes the tree planting here especially important. I think it’s also under appreciated because they tend to be at the very ends of Singapore, out of sight and out of mind of most people. The tree planting area is really special and has gone through a lot and I’m really glad I can do a small part to help it flourish. This tree planting was really fulfilling and its really encouraging to see how the efforts of many nature lovers can make such a big difference to the environment. (The 40 of us volunteers managed to plant all 60 trees prepared in under 2 hours, with 15 different species of coastal trees and shrubs!!!)
I realised that you don’t need to be a researcher or a scientist with a PHD to enact change, all you need is a heart for nature.
The tree planting experience was also not as strenuous as I expected. There was no pressure to complete the task quickly and the organisers regularly reminded us to take breaks. Siva talked about how this planting area might be opening to the public in a few years and I can’t wait for it to take my parents here to show them what I’ve helped to do.
Post tree planting:
While heading towards the bus stop, Jim and I noticed a couple trying to take picture of a bird in the tree. The bird had twigs in its beak and I think it might have been gathering materials to build its nest. I’m not very sure what kind of bird it is but it looks kind of like a female Common Iora.
Cheeky bird refused to stay still and keeps hiding in the branches
We also saw the incredible nests of Baya weavers and were slightly disappointed that they seemed to be empty. Baya weavers are amazing! Their nests are so intricate and its pretty amazing that a tiny bird is capable of such architectural feats. (I’m pretty sure that I’m not able to replicate the Baya weaver’s craft and I have hands!)
We then spotted another little yellow bird further down. Its feathers were a striking yellow and it had a really beautiful call. I had not idea what kind of bird it was at that time but after showing my picture to another volunteer, they identified it as a Common Iora using the SGBioAtlas App. Now I know that said App has a function to filter results and I am definitely going to use it for identification more often.
Adorable yellow fluff ball
All it all it was a very fruitful and satisfying day! I enjoyed myself and got to learn and see a whole lot of flora and fauna. Can’t wait to see what is the next field trip it has in store!
We met up at 7.30am, on 2 April for the otter walk. I was worried that we won’t get to see them as they like to move around a lot and are unpredictable. However, I was in for a surprise! Thanks to the passionate guides that went to look for the otters before the trip, we got to see the Bishan family otters and the otter babies!
Otter paw prints
We got to see their holts, which they rest or sleep in. Their faeces, which is also known as spraint, is used as scent markers by the alpha male in the family to mark their territory. He would do so by rubbing its tail on the spraint and ‘patrolling’ the territory. It contains their distinct scent, to ward off the other otter families nearby. If other otter families want to expand into another territory, they would cross the boundary and a territorial fight would break out. Those fights would usually end with injured or dead otters. Otters are apex predators in Singapore, so their biggest threat are other otter families and dogs.
The otters that can be found in Singapore are usually Smooth-coated and Asian small-clawed otters. Smooth-coated otters are more common in Singapore, and are usually mistaken for Asian small-clawed otters. The Bishan family otters are Smooth-coated otters. Smooth-coated otters are native to Singapore, but left Singapore when the water become polluted. However, they came back to Singapore and was first spotted at Sungei Buloh wetland reserve, where the water is clean. Otters are a bio-indicator of clean water.
Some otter families are more shy with humans than others, so it’s best to keep a 5 meter distance from them, especially on land, so that they won’t feel threatened. However, the Zouk family are not shy with humans at all, and would even come up close to people.
The Bishan family otter consist of 26 members, with 3 pups. There were originally 4 pups, but 1 died after choking on fish few weeks ago. They are the biggest otter family in Singapore, they would not back down in territorial fights and would always win. Otters are organized into their own family hierarchy, which is the alpha male, mother and babysitter. The current alpha male was not originally part of the family. It was observing the family from a distance, and took the opportunity to become the new alpha male when the former alpha male died. The mother have gave birth to 8 generations of pups. In nature, the otter mother would kill any babies that are not her own. However, when her daughter gave birth to a baby, instead of killing it, the mother took care of it. So touching :”) The mother takes lead to bring the family from one location to the other. She would let out a call and the others would follow her lead. It is rare to see as it is usually the male that would take the lead.
They swim and hunt for fishes, usually catfish. Sometimes the older otter would forget to bring the pup for feeding, and will come back to fetch them. I thought that maybe the adults wanted to hunt and eat their portion in peace without the pups disturbing them, then fetch the pup to hunt for them. It would be a very costly and careless mistake in the wild. Or maybe they really are just that forgetful and are accustomed to the safety of Singapore. Some older otters are lazy to catch their fish and like to snatch from other otters. Crows also like to steal their food.
Otters like to be near places with sand or grass. Why? Because when they get out from the water, they would roll on the sand or grass, and when they get back into the water, they can swim faster with ease.
Do you know that otters communicate with each other too? They have different calling sounds for different purposes, like when they hunt for fishes in a group by surrounding the fishes, to express aggression, to greet others, etc. They usually sound high pitched, almost chirpy.
Otters signaling to pass through
When being close to otters, its important to read their signal and body language. When they are standing on their hindlegs and looking into your direction, it is to signal to the people blocking their way that they want to pass through, and for people to move away. They will make a growling sound if people cant read their signal and give them space to pass through.
Researchers from all over the world come to Singapore to research on otters, as otters are much more easily spotted in Singapore compared to other countries, where they would have to wait in the forest for around a week to be able to spot them. We’re pretty lucky to live in Singapore as we have the opportunity to see otter in urban areas!
While otters are very cute and seem cuddly, its important to respecting wild animals and give them space to feel comfortable (like introverts!) . Even though otters are safe and well liked among Singaporeans, if people do not give them space and get too close to them, they might bite and injure people as they feel threatened. The public would be scared and would not be as open to otters living with us. If the government takes action to remove otters living in urban areas, otter sightings would be rarer. If that day comes, it would be sad that otters do not have freedom to move around and be stuck in tiny spaces in zoos. Taking the initiative to inform loved ones of what we should do to respect otters would help the otters and people to co-exist in peace!
I’m very thankful for the passionate guides for bringing us to this trip, and shared so many interesting knowledge of the otters and wildlife! I was inspired by the guides’ enthusiasm for wildlife and have a deeper appreciation towards wildlife in general. I enjoyed the otter walk very much and would go for such trips again! 🙂
I signed up for the otterwatch on 2nd April hoping to simply see some cute otters, and I was not disappointed, but I did not expect an insightful lecture into otter behaviour, family hierarchy and a recap of the gruesome histories of 2 otter families at war. Led by the otter experts, we started just outside Nicoll Highway MRT and we would have seen them right away if they had just woken up a bit later 😡
But complaints aside, the possibility of seeing a family of 20 otters right outside an MRT station is testament to their adaptability as a species – to be able to adapt to such a niche urban environment so well is impressive, considering otter sightings in other countries are inconceivably harder to come by.We did instead get to see their home – a tiny tunnel that somehow manages to squeeze all the members which I have no way of comprehending how unless I was an otter maybe. We also got to see their poop which was not quite what I expected, because of the shattered glass-like appearance of their dried waste due to the fish scales in their diet. Looks pretty but smelly is an understatement.
Nonetheless, we marched on under the morning sun, over the bridge, onto the PCN, in hopes that our efforts would not be in vain.
In short: it was worth it. We managed to see the entire family of otters feeding and playing in a very picturesque pond that attracted a huge crowd! Other than being cute, they also exhibited some interesting behaviour such as different calls. If not for the otter experts there was no way I could have differentiated a normal adult’s call from a pup’s cry for food. There was one time when the otter pup got left behind by the group, its calls could be heard by the mother which rushed back to reunite it with the family. Seeing this complex family dynamic between otters just helped me appreciate these creatures even more.
Some otters drying themselves on the grass
We ended the walk with an otter crossing aided by the otter watchers, telling bikers and runners to low down when the otters were crossing. I’m glad to see everyone was so understanding and willing to stop to take a few pictures, because at the end of the day all of us will have to learn how to coexist peacefully with our little friends.
Thank you park goers!
With the recent spate of otter incidents on social media, it might paint a bad image for them. Some even say otters are edging into pest territory. However we have to understand that they are still territorial wild carnivores, and the price we have to pay to be fortunate enough to have these wonderful creatures right in our backyard is to learn how to respect their space and this applies to all urban wildlife as well. So while it may be tempting to pet an approaching otter pup, it would be best not to unless you want to be bitten.
On the 2nd of April 2022, I woke up early in the morning at around 6:00am ready to meet one of the otter families. I was very excited, hence I quickly packed my bag and headed to the meeting point. I was running a bit late but was really lucky to be able to reach at around 7:45am, where I was greeted by facilitator Marjorie and Yane.
Marjorie first introduced me to the Bishan otter family, which consists of 26 smooth-coated otters. She showed me the otters’ spraint (aka their faeces) and footprints, indicating that they were at the location before, which was also near where their holt (aka their underground home/nesting area) was. The spraint contained visible short fish bones, which means that the otters have really sharp teeth and are able to chew and swallow down fish bones. Even though the entrance to their holt looked really normal (like a regular hole; I would not know that it is their home), it is able to house 26 otters which was quite fascinating.
Otter’s footprints
Marjorie told me that the otters have woken up early in the morning at around 6:15am and had made their way across the river to the Bay East Gardens. Normally, they will go left or right but they decided to swim across the river that day. After understanding more about their habitat, we took a 45 mins walk over to Bay East Gardens along the Nicoll Highway, even though the walk was a little tiring, the route was scenic which made the walk much much better.
City skyline
On the way to meet the otters
When we arrive at the site, the Bishan otter family were swimming in a pond and having their breakfast (foraging for food), consisting of mostly fish. I was extremely happy when I got to see them in such close proximity and observe their behaviour. I heard many different kinds of noises, mainly 3 kinds: sounds of whining, grumbling when fighting and begging for food, high pitch squeaking by the adult otters and a deep short squeaking sound from the pups. There was also the crunching sound of the fish bones as they consumed the fish.
Otters rolling on the grass and sand to dry their fur and also heading back into the pond to catch more fish
That’s me trying to video them in action
The otter family then head to another pond, when the leader of the group made a call, to forage for more food. However, when they were about to move to their next location, they left one of the pups behind. The pup was too scared to cross the pavement so it made sounds to call for help from his mom. We patiently waited and witness how the otter mother and pup communicated through their calls and they managed to reunite. 🙂
Otters crossing the pavementWhitetip mum coming to the rescue of one of her pups
The otter family went into the river and swam across to forage for more fish to eat, however again they left their pups behind and some of them needed to come back to fetch them while the rest was busily eating the big catfish that was caught. At first, I saw how they were sharing the catfish, but eventually, it became a mini quarrel to claim a piece of the catfish for themselves. At the same time, I also saw how they co-exist with us in such an urban environment. Living in such an urban environment, a problem they would face would be high human traffic (cyclists and joggers), which would hinder them from crossing the park connector. Luckily, the facilitators managed to stop the cyclist and pedestrians to let the otters cross safely, which is a small action that we can do to ensure that not only the otters but we as pedestrians are also safe. The otters also defecated at another of their frequently used ‘toilet’ which was across the river.
Otters feasting on a catfish that they caught One location of their ‘toilet’, where they would defecate
In between and at the end of the walk, Yane shared with us more about the Otter Family, mainly the Bishan, Marina and Zouk families. Also, how the otter families are territorial and would fight for space, there was once a pup was killed during one of the fights and it resulted in the marina otter family retreating to another location. Hence, the territorial fights would ensure that their numbers are in check. She also touched on how the Marina otters were more friendly than the Bishan otter family, elaborating on the myth that many people think that there are too many otters and that they are everywhere, as we really do not know where they will be until we track their location down. Also, she shared that the Botanical Gardens incident was really unfortunate for the jogger as it was not him who step on the otter pup and was actually another jogger in front of him, however since he was the one nearest to the otters at that point in time, the otters attacked him instead. From this incident, we can learn that we should be careful of where we step and we should stay at least 3 to 5m away while observing these cute otters as they are considered wild animals and can pose harm to us if we go too near to them. Furthermore, I also learn that there are 2 kinds of otter species in Singapore, the smooth-coated otters and the other one I have not seen, the Asian small-clawed otter.
The otters also have many roles, such as apex predators to aid in clearing invasive species such as catfish, a bio-indicator of clean water as well as our mascot and feel-good trigger. They can be found in many places such as the sea, beaches, reservoirs, waterways, canals, drains, parks, park connectors, public open fields, and neighbourhoods as these places are interconnected and they would move from a big water body to a small water body and vice versa. They are intrigued by the sound of water, which is why they accidentally land in swimming pools and private fish ponds as they would want to check out the place to see if there are any fishes to eat. Hence, it is best to fence up fish ponds to prevent them from consuming our expensive pet fishes. Also, we can play our part to protect them by keeping our environment clean by discarding unused fish hooks, plastic, rubber and styrofoam responsibly.
Yane sharing with my group about the urban otters
All in all, it was a very meaningful morning witnessing the Bishan otter family and also meeting like-minded people who are passionate about wildlife and nature. I really hope that we can continue to co-exist with such wonderful animals in our urban environment and remember to always watch them from a distance to let them be comfortable in their own environment. Lastly, thank you to the organising committee for making this otter walk happen as well as to the volunteer guides from Otterwatch who shared with me so much information about the otters.
Thanks for reading and looking forward to more field trips ahead 😉
I got out of bed eager for an early morning adventure and made my way to our meeting point, somewhere deep inside Kranji. While waiting for the rest of the team to arrive, I was eating my breakfast….without realising I was becoming breakfast for the commander-level mosquitos!! At one point, I had 5 of them on me 😵. Alas, our insect repellants were not able to completely repel these little buggers, with me topping the charts with 30 over bites. We later learned that the mosquito situation worsened due to neighbouring constructions and an abandoned building…(which led me to think does that mean our migrant workers face such bites on a daily basis?)
Moving on to the main highlight of our trip – horseshoe crabs! After our safety briefing our guide from NSS, Lester, brought us down to the mudflats. At first, it was tough trying to adapt to walking across sinking mud, but soon we got the hang of it.
Heading down to the mudflats
Mudflats featuring Lester
Horseshoe Crabs
Lester introduced us to the various marine creatures living amongst our mudflats including flower crabs, cone snails etc. We then formed a line and gingerly looked through the mud and under the algae for the star of the show. There are four species of horseshoe crabs, and Singapore is home to two of them, the costal horseshoe crab and the mangrove horseshoe crab.
Once we found a large enough horseshoe crab Lester started to share all about them:
To differentiate between male and female, the front two legs for males are bulkier (almost bicep-looking). They moult to grow bigger, and you can only tell their sex once they reach sexual maturity. Jimmy’s post has a great picture showing these bicep looking legs, check it out.
We learnt about the anatomy of the horseshoe crab, including how to safely pick them up. What stood out for me was learning that their mouths are at the end of their legs, so technically whenever they are walking they are feeding too!
Horseshoe crabs are often bled for their blue blood that is used to test for the presence of bacteria in human medication (Previously pharma used rabbits). They are bled up to 75% of their blood before being released, Lester notes that survival rates after release are unknown. A synthetic alternative was innovated by National University of Singapore’s Department of Zoology, and is slowly getting adopted in the EU but for (ahem) particular reasons the US is not on board.(Random thought, where do SG pharma companies stand with this?)
The first horseshoe crab I found! You can tell it’s a female because of it’s legs
Another juvenile horseshoe crab – we saw many that day! v smolvcute
NSS’s Role in Horseshoe Crab Conservation
Lester shared that this initiative has been running for 11 years and pre-covid/ in the early days horseshoe crabs were collected safely by the buckets to be measured and gender-identified before releasing them back. Through the data collected, NSS submits them to IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) as the current record is “data deficient” and the Singapore Red Data Book (Where the mangrove horseshoe crab is listed as vulnerable, and costal horseshoe crab is listed as endangered.). That day, unfortunately we saw mostly juveniles. It seems like the population has definitely deteriorated 😔.
Panic! At Kranji Mudflats – The invasion of mussels
The invasion of the American Mussel hit headlines in 2018 – This blogpost by WildSingapore nicely captures the various articles by news outlets.
Beautiful but deadly! Common name: American Mussel ; Scientific name: Mytella strigata.
Found in dense mats of up to 10,000 individuals, the American Mussel was displacing the Asian Green Mussel native to Singapore, and making it difficult for horseshoe crabs to burrow in the sand. They even attached themselves to horseshoe crabs (see vid below).
Towards the end, we had to get out of the mudflats asap as it was about to rain. To sum it all up, I enjoyed myself and learnt a lot about horseshoe crabs on this trip, and I do hope that the government would offer this incredible species some protection!
Thanks for reading till the end, signing off with a video of a very sm0l horseshoe crab 🥰 (Link)
It was a beautiful Saturday morning which made it a perfect day to go Otter watching. I made my way to Nicoll Highway MRT at about 7.20am where I met with the facilitators, Marjorie, Yong Lin and Yane!
Yong Lin was the guide for my group. According to him, the otter group that we were supposed to see that day was a family of over 20 smooth-coated otters! Unfortunately, they had woken up early that day and have already made their way over to the Bay East Gardens around 6 am. In the meantime, we were able to take a closer look at the otters’ nesting area. Interestingly, despite the fact that the entrance to their underground chambers looked pretty small and ordinary, the underground chamber could house over 20 plus otters all together! The otters were also quite particular about hygiene as they would only defecate at a specific location a little distance outside their nesting site.
Image of the location where the otters would defecate.
We then made our way over to the Bay East Gardens by walking along the Nicoll Highway. I have managed to capture a beautiful scenery overlooking the Kallang River.
Image of the Kallang River.
When we arrived, we were greeted by the sight of otters frolicking among the lotus plants for their breakfast. Their diets consist of mostly fishes. Similar to some of us, some of the otters were lazy to catch their own fish, and would whine at those who have happened to have a successful catch, hoping to get a free meal!
After they have had their fill, the leader of the group made a call which had the same meaning as “Time to go!”. One by one, the otters clambered up onto the banks and dried themselves by rolling and rubbing themselves against the grass. It was a really adorable sight!
Image of otters drying themselves.
When the otters have more or less dried themselves, they slowly made their way over to the river. However, they were faced with a dreadful problem: high human traffic. Even for us, it was somewhat dangerous to stand at the edge of the Park Connector as there was a chance that we could meet with an accident with an unsuspecting cyclist. Thankfully, our facilitators stood their ground in the middle of the human traffic and formed like a human barrier, successfully making a pathway for the otters to scamper across safely.
Image of Otters crossing.
As we made our way to the debriefing location, I felt somewhat sad that my day with these otters has come to an end. At the same time, I was glad that I had taken the time to meet this amazing family. My experience that day has left me with much to ponder over. As the environment in Singapore flourishes, our encounters with these wildlife would only continue to increase. Yet, some members of the public have expressed their dissent and fear of these wildlife being a nuisance in our concrete jungle. Some even have demanded the culling of the population in hopes of “controlling” them. Personally, I find the views from this group of people to be really cruel. They choose to fear the wildlife instead of learning how to interact and understand them. In all honestly, these wildlife would not harm us unless we have provoked them first.
Another early morning again…All of us got up to meet outside the Kranji-Mandai Mudflats to see horseshoe crabs. And right before we entered the area, we were met with the first challenge: the fierce mosquitoes! Despite applying much insect repellant, all of us had many mosquito bites. Thankfully there were not as many mosquitoes in the mudflat. At 7.35am, we started to move into the mudflat.
The mudflat is a restricted area and probably for a good reason. In my opinion, it is mainly to protect the wildlife there like the horseshoe crabs. Another reason could be the crocodiles in the water body next to the mudflat. “We always work our way down because never face your back to the crocodiles.” – a very memorable quote that I’ll remember. (haha) We went in with our Nature Society Singapore guide, Lester. He showed us many creatures living at the mudflats. We saw a flower crab, telescope snail, conch snail (In particular a drill snail) and a thunder crab. Word of caution: We learnt that a certain conch snail may inject a toxin that is fatal to humans and a thunder crab may pinch you quite hard so handle animals carefully. While walking through the mudflat. we were faced with yet another challenge. We kept sinking in the mud! Good tip that I learnt was not to think too much about it and keep moving forward.
A flower crab!
Next, we started looking for horseshoe crabs which may be trapped under some algae. We worked our way down nearer to the sea and slowly revealing what is under the algae. I was a little impatient at first, when most of the participants managed to find a horseshoe crab. Then I managed to find one, only to find out it was the moult of the horseshoe crab. Midway through the search, Lester stopped us to explain more about the horseshoe crab. We learnt to identify parts of the horseshoe crabs like the gills and the mouth which is at the bottom of the horseshoe crab. The horseshoe crab has a tail to make itself upright during the high tide if it is flipped over. We also learnt to differentiate between a female and a male and their reproduction method (where the male latches on to the female and follows her until she finds a place to lay her eggs). Another thing we learnt was about invasive species like mussels which could possibly grow in the horseshoe crab. After that, we continued searching and I managed to find one myself which was an exciting experience for me.
The underside of a horseshoe crabBaby horseshoe crab (Please be careful and do not crush its shell)Invasive mussel species
The weather started to take a turn nearing to the end so we tried to quickly make our way out of the mudflats. We still got caught in the rain so we had to clean up at the bus stop. Nonetheless, it was a really eye-opening experience. This mudflat used to be a fishing village and there used to be nets still there so once in a while, the nets are checked and any horseshoe crabs are released. People have some misconception that the mudflats are useless and barren. Especially with the smell of some stuff decaying and it has much trash left behind from the fishing village. But there we saw mangroves growing and there is also wildlife there, so actually it is a place worth keeping. The mudflat condition are also changing, leading to lesser horseshoe crabs. In order to save more wildlife there, I hope to help raise some awareness to have more people help the wildlife there.
The landscape of the mudflat
To end off, I really appreciated this experience and thank you to everyone who made this experience really memorable. Thanks for reading! 🙂
The walk to our meeting point at Chestnut Point was a stretch along rows of condominiums. The transition from urban to wild was like entering an entirely different universe. Are we still in Singapore? Traversing through the underpass to our starting point felt like a doorway to another world. Who would have thought that nature could exist alongside towering blocks of concretes and a busy highway as well?
A peloton of cyclists crowd Chestnut Point, some resting from the steep ascent to the park’s entrance from civilization. After a some time, I met up with the group. It was a small and cosy group consisting of three others, our guide, Kripa, our facilitator, Stefanie and fellow BFF participant, Abishek. The walk began with an introduction to some of the flora in Chestnut Park.
Image: Simpoh Air (Dillenia Suffruticosa) – The leaves are used to wrap foods like Tempeh.
Image: Walking Figs – These plants are commonly found in Singapore’s secondary forests
Our guide, Kripa also shared with us that many of the plants like the Oil Palm, Durian, and even Ginger are plants left behind by people who used to live in kampungs back in the 1900s. As we moved further into the forest it became more apparent that the amount of biodiversity here is far more diverse than I could imagine.
Image: Wasp Figs – These figs are home to specific species of fig wasps. Fig wasp females dig their way into figs like these to lay their eggs. As they do so, they lose their wings in the process. The fig wasp males are usually the first to hatch and live inside these figs and mate with females that enter the figs. Only certain species of wasps choose to breed in certain species of figs.Image: Fungi grow on decomposing bio-material.
If our guide, Kripa hadn’t pointed it out to us, we would have completely missed the Colugo having its’ daytime nap. Perfectly camouflaged atop a tree, the Colugo hung on, completely still. It was pointed out to us that the Colugo was aware of our presence, as its’ eyes were still opened. Upon seeing this, it made me wonder how many nature trails I have walked and how many animals have passed me by, unnoticed.
Image: Sundah or MalayanColugo (Galeopterus Variegatus) – The colugo or flying lemur is a nocturnal animal that is usually found clinging on to tree trunks and hanging on tree branches. Image: Unidentified spider having a feast. I saw a lot of different spiders but did not have the right tools to take good pictures. Please recommend a macro rig I can try out!Image: Woolly Aphid? I’m not too sure. But this hairy thing caught my eye when it started moving.
We approached a narrow bridge built across a small stream. The view was picturesque; a small flowing stream dressed with dense vegetation and leaf litter.
We come upon a clearing in the forest where a log had rotted, and fungi were growing atop it. Kripa our guide explained to us that the forest is like a network, and it sends information throughout this “interconnectedness” tells the fungus where something has died, so that it knows where and when to start sprouting.
Image: Unidentified fungus.
We approach the mid-point of our trip, a drain canal, fenced.
Image: A scene from IT. This is where Singapore’s version of Pennywise, The Clown lives. Image: Unidentified Ginger plant. I swear I could have taken a better picture. These Ginger plants are probably the same ones that the locals who once lived here use to propagate. Image: Off the beaten path. Image: Snail.
We took a less traveled shortcut and cut our way through some vegetation to arrive on the road back to civilization. Here, we found a second Colugo. This one was of a slightly duller color, and we presumed that it is a female of the species.
Image: Sundah or MalayanColugo (Galeopterus Variegatus) – Female Colugos tend to be larger and greyish in colour. The males are more brightly colored reddish-brown. Image: Assassin Bug (Cosmolestes Picticeps) – One of Singapore’s native species of Assassin Bugs. This family of insects is so-named because of their method of hunting by stabbing their prey. Image: Greater Racket-Tailed Drongo(Dicurus Paradiseus) – These birds are found near Plantain Squirrels and Long-Tailed Macaques to look for insects that fall off while the animals are foraging.
As we neared the end of the trail, we were greeted by a family of Long-Tailed Macaques. Surprisingly despite being the second most successful primate in South-East Asia, first being Homo Sapiens, it is still listed as Vulnerable under IUCN’s (International Union for Conservation of Nature) list. This is probably due to the fact that they are only found in secondary forests like these, and in South-East Asia, these forests are in decline. In Singapore particularly, only about 2.9% of the country’s land area consists of areas like these.
This fact alone is an indicator that we should create more awareness for our last vestiges of wildlife in Singapore. Singapore is doing a great job integrating with nature, with the surrounding condominiums doing trails around the condominium filled with dense vegetation. But with that, we city dwellers do have to learn to be more tolerant of our wild animal counterparts.
Image: Long-Tailed Macaque (Macaca Fascicularis) – The only commonly sighted monkey species in Singapore.
Returning back to civilisation was a breath of fresh air. It was like every nature walk I have been to, returning from a whole new other world. And this world is right under our noses too. I hope this entry gives people a glimpse into the wild side of Singapore. Maybe, this will encourage more Singaporeans to find a day or two to head down to a park or nature trail near you to experience Singapore’s greener side, and at the same time, be more respectful to its’ inhabitants.
BFF Biodiversity Challenge 2022 