Wildlife of Singapore

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A crab-eating macaque, a primate native to Singapore Macaca fascicularis.jpg
A crab-eating macaque, a primate native to Singapore

The wildlife of Singapore is surprisingly diverse despite its rapid urbanisation. The majority of fauna that still remains on the island exists in various nature reserves such as the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. [1]

Contents

In 1819, Singapore was mostly covered in rainforests. During that time, it still contained flora shared with the Malay Peninsula, but even then, the biodiversity of fauna was relatively low. Following the establishment of the British trading post, rapid deforestation began due to crop cultivation, and was largely completed by the 20th century. By some estimates, there has been a loss of 95% of the natural habitats of Singapore over the course of the past 183 years. [2] Due to the deforestation, over twenty species of freshwater fish, 100 species of bird, and a number of mammals became locally extinct. [3] A 2003 estimate puts the amount of extinct species as over 28%. [4]

In modern times, over half of the naturally occurring fauna and flora in Singapore is present only in nature reserves, which comprise only 0.25% of Singapore's land area. [2] Estimates made in 2003 have said that the rapid habitat destruction will culminate in a loss of 13-42% of populations in all of Southeast Asia. [5] To combat these problems, the Singaporean government has made the Singapore Green Plan in 1992 and the new Singapore Green Plan in 2012 to continue it. The plan aims to keep tabs on the unstable populations of fauna and flora, to place new nature parks, and to connect existing parks. In addition, there were plans to set up a "National Biodiversity Reference Centre" (now known as the National Biodiversity Centre). [6] The last goal was reached in 2006 when the centre was founded (it also accomplished the establishment of two new nature reserves in 2002 [7] ). Since its foundation it has been formulating various specific initiatives including attempts to conserve the hornbill and the rare dragonfly Indothemis limbata . [8]

Fauna

Mammals

Singapore has roughly 80 species of mammals (out of 11 different orders) including 45 species of bat and three species of non-human primates. [9] Currently the only introduced non-domestic mammal species in Singapore is the variable squirrel. [10] The abundance of bats however has been decreasing rapidly due to a habitat loss of over 95%. [11]

Birds

Singapore is the occasional home of 395 species of birds (out of which roughly 180 species are resident birds). [12]

Reptiles

Singapore contains a relatively large number of reptiles, a total of about 110 species (4 of which are introduced). [13] Most of the species, roughly 75 are snakes (mainly Colubrid snakes). [14]

Amphibians

Singapore has 30 species of amphibians (out of which two species, the painted bull frog and the American bullfrog, are introduced species). [15]

Flora

Singapore currently contains 1358 known species of native vascular plants, of which approximately 759 are critically endangered. [16]

Urban Environment Interactions

Singapore's land area is dominated by urban development that is interspaced by natural reserves, waterways, parks and a large interlinked network of over 300km of park connectors (PCN). [17] The indigenous wildlife that has adapted to the urban environment includes the following fauna:

1. Smooth coated otter (Lutrogale perspicllata) - in 2022, the local otter population has expanded to 17 families "fishing for tilapia in waterways and sleeping under bridges". There were reports of people who had their prized koi collection decimated by hungry otters. [18]

2. Long tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) numbered more than 2,000 according to a 2015 census. There were reports of macaques scaling HDB buildings and invading homes. [19]

3.The Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) is native to Singapore and the species had declined to the point of local extinction during the 19th century. [20] However, these birds made a comeback, they were known to have established a thriving population on Pulau Ubin and on occasion, could be sighted at various locations throughout Singapore. [21]

4. Wild boars (sus scrofa) are native to Singapore with some weighing up to 100kg and could be sighted in urban areas close to the forested areas. There were reports of wild boar attacking people who strayed into their territory. [22]

Other wildlife sightings include the following:

1. Critically endangered Sunda pangolin (Manis Javanica) [23] [24] [25]

2. Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor) which re-colonised the Central Catchment Reserve after escaping from the Zoo in the 1970s. [26] In 2023, there was a report of road kill along the Bukit Timah expressway. [27]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bukit Timah Nature Reserve</span> Nature reserve in Singapore

The Bukit Timah Nature Reserve is a 1.7-square-kilometre (0.66 sq mi) nature reserve near the geographic centre of Singapore, located on the slopes of Bukit Timah Hill, the country's highest natural peak standing at a height of approximately 165-metre (541 ft), and parts of the surrounding area, located actually in Bukit Panjang. The nature reserve is about 15 kilometres from the Downtown Core, Singapore's central business district (CBD).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Catchment Nature Reserve</span> Largest nature reserve in Singapore

The Central Catchment Nature Reserve is the largest nature reserve in Singapore, occupying 2880 hectares. Forming a large green lung in the geographical centre of the city, it houses several recreational sites, including the Singapore Zoo, the Night Safari and the River Safari, as well as several newer facilities built to encourage public appreciation of the reserve, such as the HSBC TreeTop Walk. The reserve sits within the boundaries of the Central Water Catchment. It is one of the four gazetted nature reserves in Singapore. The other three are the Labrador Nature Reserve which was gazetted since 1 January 2002, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. All four nature reserves along with the parks are protected under the Parks & Trees Act 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Satpura Tiger Reserve</span> National park in India

Satpura Tiger Reserve (STR) also known as Satpura National Park is located in the Narmadapuram District of Madhya Pradesh in India. Its name is derived from the Satpura range. It covers an area of 524 km2 (202 sq mi). Satpura National Park, along with the adjoining Bori and Pachmarhi wildlife sanctuaries, provides 2,200 km2 (850 sq mi) of unique central Indian highland ecosystem. It was set up in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kali Tiger Reserve</span> Protected area and tiger reserve in Karnataka, India

Kali Tiger Reserve is a protected area and tiger reserve. It is located in Uttara Kannada district, in Karnataka, India. The park is a habitat of Bengal tigers, black panthers and Indian elephants, amongst other distinctive fauna. The Kali River flows through the tiger reserve and is the lifeline of the ecosystem and hence the name. The tiger reserve is spread over an area of 1300 square kilometres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cúc Phương National Park</span> National park in Vietnam

Cúc Phương National Park is located in Ninh Bình Province, in Vietnam's Red River Delta. Cuc Phuong was Vietnam's first national park and is the country's largest nature reserve. The park is one of the most important sites for biodiversity in Vietnam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tengku Hassanal Wildlife Reserve</span>

Tengku Hassanal Wildlife Reserve is one of the largest wildlife reserves in Peninsular Malaysia covering 605.52 km2 located in the Titiwangsa Mountains, central state of Pahang, Malaysia that was established during the British Colonial Administration. It was officially gazetted to protect all wildlife species, particularly the gaur. The administrative offices of the Reserve are located in several places. The main office is located in Bukit Rengit, and the other stations are in Lembah Klau, Kuala Lompat, and Perlok.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Namdapha National Park</span> National park in Arunachal Pradesh, India

Namdapha National Park is a 1,985 km2 (766 sq mi) large protected area in Arunachal Pradesh of Northeast India. The park was established in 1983. With more than 1,000 floral and about 1,400 faunal species, it is a biodiversity hotspot in the Eastern Himalayas. The national park harbours the northernmost lowland evergreen rainforests in the world at 27°N latitude. It also harbours extensive dipterocarp forests, comprising the northwestern parts of the Mizoram-Manipur-Kachin rain forests ecoregion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manas National Park</span> National park in Assam, India

Manas National Park is a national park, Project Tiger reserve, and an elephant reserve in Assam, India. Located in the Himalayan foothills, it borders the Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan. The park is known for its rare and endangered endemic wildlife such as the Assam roofed turtle, hispid hare, golden langur and pygmy hog. Manas is also famous for its population of the wild water buffalo. Because of its exceptional biodiversity, scenery, and variety of habitats, Manas National Park is a biosphere reserve and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Vietnam</span>

The wildlife of Vietnam is rich in flora and fauna as reflected by its unique biodiversity. Rare and endemic antelope-like animal, categorized under the bovine subfamily, was found in 1992, in Bạch Mã National Park. In the 1990s, three other large mammal species, the deer-like Truong Son muntjac, giant muntjac and Pu Hoat muntjac, were also discovered, the first two in the same park. Conservation protection and scientific studies of the ecology of Vietnam, particularly in the protected forest areas, have been given priority attention by the Government of Vietnam. Laws were enacted to set up Xuân Thủy Wetland National Park, four UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, and Hạ Long Bay and Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Parks; the last two are also designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of the Democratic Republic of the Congo</span>

The wildlife of the Democratic Republic of the Congo includes its flora and fauna, comprising a large biodiversity in rainforests, seasonally flooded forests and grasslands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Karnataka</span>

The state of Karnataka in South India has a rich diversity of flora and fauna. It has a recorded forest area of 38,720 km2 which constitutes 22% of the geographical area of the state. These forests support 25% of the elephant population and 20% of the tiger population of India. Many regions of Karnataka are still unexplored and new species of flora and fauna are still found. The mountains of the Western Ghats in the western region of Karnataka are a biodiversity hotspot. Two sub-clusters of the Western Ghats, Talacauvery and Kudremukh, are on a tentative list of sites that could be designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. The Bandipur and Nagarahole national parks which fall outside these subclusters were included in the Nilgiri biosphere reserve in 1986, a UNESCO designation. In the Biligiriranga Hills the Eastern Ghats meet the Western Ghats. The state bird and state animal of Karnataka are Indian roller and the Indian elephant. The state tree and state flower are sandalwood and lotus. Karnataka is home to 524 tigers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flora of Singapore</span> Plant species of Singapore

Singapore has a wide variety of flora. Plants are mainly used to beautify the landscape of Singapore. The national flower is a hybrid orchid, Vanda Miss Joaquim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borneo lowland rain forests</span> Ecoregion in Borneo

The Borneo lowland rain forests is an ecoregion, within the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, of the large island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It supports approximately 15,000 plant species, 380 bird species and several mammal species. The Borneo lowland rain forests is diminishing due to logging, hunting and conversion to commercial land use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bukit Tigapuluh National Park</span>

Bukit Tigapuluh National Park - The Thirty Hills - is a 143,223 hectare National Park in eastern Sumatra, consisting primarily of tropical lowland forest, largely in Riau province, with a smaller part of 33,000 ha in Jambi province. It is famous as one of the last refuges of endangered species such as the Sumatran orangutan, Sumatran tiger, Sumatran elephant, and Asian tapir, as well as many endangered bird species. It forms part of the Tesso Nilo Complex biodiversity hotspot. The Park is inhabited by the indigenous peoples of the Orang Rimba and Talang Mamak tribes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eco-Link@BKE</span> Ecological bridge in Singapore

The Eco-Link@BKE is an ecological bridge in Singapore which connects the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve with the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.

The Mandai Wildlife Bridge is an ecological bridge in Singapore. It links portions of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve that are otherwise separated by the Mandai Lake Road.

Windsor Nature Park is a nature park in Singapore. It was opened on 22 April 2017. The park forms a green buffer zone between Central Catchment Nature Reserve and the urbanized areas of Singapore. The park contains three hiking trails and a canopy walkway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raimona National Park</span> National park in Assam

Raimona National Park is located in extreme western part of Assam, India. It is spread across Gossaigaon and Kokrajhar subdivisions of Kokrajhar district of BTR.

References

  1. ↑ "National Parks Singapore".
  2. 1 2 Brook, Barry W.; Navjot S. Sodhi; Peter K. L. Ng (2003-07-24). "Catastrophic extinctions follow deforestation in Singapore". Nature. 424 (6947): 420–426. doi:10.1038/nature01795. ISSN   0028-0836. PMID   12879068.
  3. ↑ Corlett, Robert T. (July 1992). "The Ecological Transformation of Singapore, 1819-1990". Journal of Biogeography. Blackwell Publishing. 19 (4): 411–420. doi:10.2307/2845569. JSTOR   2845569.
  4. ↑ "Extinctions in Singapore". Animal Planet News. 14 August 2003. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  5. ↑ "Singapore is more wild than you think". The Straits Times.
  6. ↑ "National Initiatives". National Biodiversity Reference Center. Archived from the original on 2010-03-02. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  7. ↑ "History of Biodiversity Conservation in Singapore". National Biodiversity Reference Centre. Archived from the original on 2007-10-05. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  8. ↑ "Initiatives". National Parks Singapore. Archived from the original on 2010-01-31. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  9. ↑ "National Biodiversity Centre Mammal List". Archived from the original on 2014-03-12.
  10. ↑ "List of mammal species present in Singapore" (PDF). Global Biodiversity Information Facility. June 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
  11. ↑ Lane, David J. W.; Kingston, Tigga; Lee, Benjamin P. Y.-H. (2006). "Dramatic decline in bat species richness in Singapore, with implications for Southeast Asia". Biological Conservation. 131 (4): 584–593. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2006.03.005. ISSN   0006-3207.
  12. ↑ "National Biodiversity Centre Bird List". Archived from the original on 2014-03-12.
  13. ↑ "National Biodiversity Centre Reptile List". Archived from the original on 2014-03-12.
  14. ↑ "List of reptile species present in Singapore" (PDF). Global Biodiversity Information Facility. March 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
  15. ↑ "National Biodiversity Centre Amphibian List". Archived from the original on 2014-03-12.
  16. ↑ "Singapore Red Data Book" (PDF). p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-15.
  17. ↑ "Know Our Recreational Connectivity". pcn.nparks.gov.sg. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
  18. ↑ "Slippery, hungry, sometimes angry: Singapore struggles with 'unparalleled' otter boom". The Guardian. 2022-10-23. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2023-10-18.
  19. ↑ "About 2,500 cases of monkey-related feedback received in Singapore each year". CNA. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
  20. ↑ https://www.nparks.gov.sg/nparksbuzz/omeissue-15-vol-4-2012/conservation/hornbills-in-the-lion-city
  21. ↑ "Rare sighting of 8 hornbills loitering along Pasir Ris HDB corridor". mothership.sg. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
  22. ↑ "Bukit Panjang wild boar attacks: More traps to be placed, fences extended after 2 injured". CNA. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
  23. ↑ Zikri, Arif (2022-11-10). "In Singapore, critically endangered pangolin spotted by apartment residents in car park, rescued by animal group (VIDEO)". Malay Mail. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
  24. ↑ "Man Spots Rare Sunda Pangolin Crossing S'pore Road, Makes Sure It Gets To Safety". Must Share News - Independent News For Singaporeans. 2022-07-09. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
  25. ↑ "Endangered Sunda Pangolin Walks Along S'pore Footpath, Shuffles Up To Human & Sniffs Camera". Must Share News - Independent News For Singaporeans. 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
  26. ↑ https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/sambar-deer-making-a-return-in-singapore-study-shows
  27. ↑ https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/sambar-deer-killed-accident-bke-2904356
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