MAMMALS

 

Malayan Pangolin (Manis javanica)

Also known as the scaly anteater, this bizarre creature resembles a walking pine cone. However, its armour is not made up of true scales but is instead composed of modified hairs. Subsisting on ants and termites, it uses its powerful front claws to rip open ant and termite nests and uses its long sticky tongue to sweep up the insects. Threatened by habitat loss as well as occasional poaching for food and medicine (the scales are reputed to have aphrodisiac properties), this species has also suffered as a result of the building of expressways that cut through our nature reserves.  Currently confined to Bukit Timah and Central catchment Area.

 

Malayan Colugo (Cynocephalus variegatus)

The colugo is also called a flying lemur, although technically it is not a lemur and does not fly. Instead, it glides using a membrane that stretches around its neck, legs and tail, making it look like an animated little flying carpet when it’s airborne! Found mainly in Bukit Timah, Central Catchment Area and other nearby forested areas. While still relatively common, this species is threatened by loss of habitat, as well as occasional poaching for food. 

 

Malayan Flying Fox (Pteropus vampyrus)

The largest bat found in Southeast Asia. Roosts in trees in large colonies by day and feeds entirely on fruits and nectar. Currently very rare, as it is poached for food, while phasing out of fruit trees in rural areas have also led to its decline. There are several other species of fruit bat found in Singapore, among them the Short-nosed Fruit Bat (Cynopterus brachyotis) and the Cave Nectar Bat (Eonycteris spelaea). The Dawn Fruit Bat is an important pollinator of the Durian (Zibetha durio) so highly prized by locals; however, it is rare due to the scarcity of natural caves and old buildings in which it roosts.

 

Slow Loris (Nycticebus coucang)

A nocturnal primate, this arboreal species feeds on insects and small vertebrates, supplemented with fruit. Its range is limited to Bukit Timah and the Central Catchment Area. Once common, it is now primarily threatened by poachers who trap this animal for the exotic pet trade.

 

Banded Leaf Monkey (Presbytis femoralis femoralis)

This subspecies is endemic to Singapore. Unlike the common long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis), this monkey is entirely vegetarian, feeding on mature green leaves. These monkeys used to be common throughout Singapore, however habitat destruction and poaching have seriously depleted their numbers, with only a population of about 20 individuals remaining in the Central Catchment Area. The decline of the population in Bukit Timah was so drastic in the 1960s and 1970s that by the mid-1980s, there was only one female, isolated from the rest of the population in the Central Catchment Area by the Bukit Timah Expressway. Besides loss of habitat degradation and occasional poaching, feral dogs are also a serious menace; the old female of Bukit Timah was fatally mauled by a pack of dogs in 1987. She is now on display at the RMBR (the picture on the upper left).

 

Cream-coloured Giant Squirrel (Ratufa affinis affinis)

Another subspecies unique to Singapore. The giant squirrel was first discovered by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819, who said it was 'abundantly present in the woods'. Only four have been spotted sporadically in the Central Catchment Area over the last 10 years. They are so rare that there is no single photograph of them in the wild. One of the world’s largest squirrels, this rodent has a body length of 37-44 cm. Habitat destruction and trapping for the pet trade and for food were the reasons for its decline in the past; now inbreeding due to low population numbers may soon doom this unique subspecies to extinction. (Photo is of a related sub-species from Johor.)

 

Flying Squirrels

Two species of flying squirrel were recorded from Singapore in the past: The Red Giant Flying Squirrel (Petaurista petaurista) and Horsfield's Flying Squirrel (Iomys horsfieldi). Unlike most squirrels, they are nocturnal, and are restricted mostly to primary forests. They have membranes between their front and hind legs that enable them to glide from tree to tree (Note: This membrane is not as extensive as that of the colugo.) However, with increased development and deforestation, they have not been spotted for several years now and may have already become extinct. Yet there is a glimmer of hope: unidentified flying squirrels have been seen in Bukit Timah; these may be Horsfield's Flying Squirrel. And in 1997, a third species, the Red-cheeked Flying Squirrel (Hylopetes spadiceus) was recorded for the first time in Singapore in Bukit Timah; a testament to the wonders that remain hidden in Singapore's remaining wild places.

 

Red Spiny Rat (Maxomys surifer leonis)

Another endemic subspecies. Presently known only from the forests Bukit Timah and the Central Catchment Area. Little is known about its habits and status.

 

Otters (Lutrinae)

Two otters are native to Singapore, the Oriental Small-clawed Otter (Aonyx cinerea) and the Smooth-coated Otter (Lutrogale perspicillata). They are currently very rare, due to pollution and destruction of the mangrove and riverine habitats they need. They were probably also persecuted by fish farmers for the damage they cause to fish stocks. The Oriental Small-clawed Otter was known to breed in the early 1990s in Pulau Tekong, and may still survive in Singapore, while for the past few years there has been a small family of Smooth-coated Otters at Sungei Buloh. Perhaps as we restore the mangrove forests, these adorable creatures may return to their former haunts.

 

Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis)

A very rare carnivore that has been spotted only twice in recent years. One was trapped in Pulau Ubin in 1997 while the second was a victim of a hit-and-run accident on Mandai Road near the Bukit Timah Expressway. The last of the wild cat species still living in Singapore. Very little is known of its distribution and status in Singapore and it is probably threatened by habitat destruction, predation by feral dogs and possibly hybridisation with domestic cats.

 

Lesser Mousedeer (Tragulus javanicus fulviventer)

One more endemic subspecies, though the species as a whole is widespread throughout South-east Asia. One of the world's smallest ungulates and weighing just 2 kilograms, this dimunitive mammal feeds on leaves and fallen fruit. Males can be differentiated from females by their pair of sharp canines protruding from their upper jaw. Poaching and feral dogs are its biggest threats to survival in its last strongholds of Bukit Timah and the Central Catchment Area. Its very similar reltaive the Greater Mousedeer (Tragulus napu) has not been as fortunate; it has most probably been wiped out in Singapore, due to the same factors listed above. However, reintroduction programmes are being planned to release Greater Mousedeer into the forests of Bukit Timah and Central Catchment Area.

 

Wild Boar (Sus scrofa)

Once widespread throughout Singapore, hunting and clearing of habitats wiped it out . However, pigs from peninsular Malaysia crossed the sea and colonised Pulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong, and in recent years they have established populations in the forests of the western and eastern parts of the island. As long as poaching and habitat destruction are controlled, the survival of this species seems secure.

Photo credits

Manis javanica by Francis Lim. Taken from "A Guide to the Threatened Animals of Singapore" (Singapore Science Centre Series, 1995)

Cynocephalus variegatus from http://wildsingapore.per.sg/discovery/factsheet/colugo.htm

Photo of gliding Cynocephalus variegatus by Tim Laman, from http://flood.nhm.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wildwin/2001/win.dsml?catdescrip2=abm&posdescrip2=hc&picnumb=ss08

Pteropus vampyrus from http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/photos/im/im0168aS.html

Photo of Nycticebus coucang from http://www.primates.com/slowloris.htm

Presbytis femoralis femoralis photos from http://wildsingapore.per.sg/discovery/factsheet/bandleafmonkey.htm

Ratufa affinis from http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/newspaper/Archives2001/The%20Straits%20Times%20Interactive%20-%20National%20Day%20Webspecial.htm

Picture of Maxomys surifer by L. H. Emmons at http://www.nmnh.si.edu/vert/mammals/mamphoto.html

Lutrogale perspicillata from http://www.aquarium.co.jp/info/ap.html

Aonyx cinerea from http://www.otter.org/otterframes.html

Prionailurus bengalensis from http://hazelh.best.vwh.net/html/taleopcat.html

Tragulus javanicus fulviventer from http://www.markuskappeler.ch/fot/fots/uk_kleinkantschil.html

Photo of Sus scrofa by Ria Tan at http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/news/chekjawa/ria/text/149.htm