Expat Living City Guide – June 2018

Singapore Wildlife

BY CAROLYN BEASLEY

PHOTOGRAPHY NATIONAL PARKS

BOARD & CAROLYN BEASLEY

Welcome to Singapore – and welcome to its wildlife!

This might be the third most densely populated

country in the world, yet some beautiful and bizarre

creatures call the island home. Here we take a look

at the most interesting and elusive of them.

#1 Raffl es

banded

langur

Let’s start with

monkeys,

though not

the lunch-

stealing long-

tailed macaques.

The Raffles banded

langur is only found

in Singapore’s Central Catchment Nature

Reserve and in Johor (Malaysia); it feeds on

leaves and fruits. Only 40 to 60 remain – the

main problem is loss of habitat and food with

many of its food species also endangered.

Safari tips: For the best chance to see

a langur, quietly walk along Old Upper

Thomson Road and the Lower Peirce

Reservoir boardwalk early in the morning.

Search high in the trees and remain on the

designated pathways. Try not to disturb the

monkeys; keep noise to a minimum.

#2 Malayan

colugo

While you’re in the

forest, keep an eye out

for the Malayan colugo,

also incorrectly known

as a flying lemur.

Despite being around

40 centimetres long

and relatively common,

it can be tricky to

spot as it’s mostly

nocturnal. Its most

astounding feature is

the skin membrane

that stretches from its

neck right around the body, between the limbs and

incorporating the tail, allowing it to glide up to 100

metres.

Safari tips: Take a quiet early morning stroll on the

trails and boardwalks at Lower Pierce Reservoir. Look

out for dark or light grey shapes attached to tree

trunks, or hanging from a limb.

Safari

232 CITY GUIDE 2018

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