hills are beautiful

but so are the wildlife living in, on or around them. 

I used to think that Singapore didn't have much wildlife, that the birds we see on the streets and the occasional monkey were all that we have. Now, I know better. According to the NParks website, Singapore is home to approximately:

364 species of birds

107 species of reptiles

58 species of mammals

28 species of amphibians

290 species of butterflies and 

68 species of freshwater fishes.

This is amazing, especially since much of Singapore's forests have been felled due to urbanisation.

On another note, it was revealed back in 2003 that Singapore has lost up to 73 percent of its plant and animal species in the last 200 years. While the data might not be as relevant now, it reminds us that loss of biodiversity and extinction of species is a major problem. The Cream-coloured Giant Squirrel used to be abundant in Singapore, but is now feared to be extinct locally. This squirrel can grow up to 1 metre long and weigh up to 1 kg. Imagine that! The cute little guy below is the squirrel I'm talking about. 

Cream-coloured Giant Squirrel, photo taken at Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum during my visit there

Coming back to the topic at hand, analysis in 2002-2003 have shown that 4,866 species of plants, 627 species of butterflies, 234 species of fish, 111 species of reptiles and 91 species of mammals have died out locally over the last 200 years (the last 210 years now). Using Singapore as an example, scientists then predicted that Southeast Asia (SEA) will face the extinction of many species like Singapore, in the future. 

With the recent news on the local extinction of Sumatran Rhinoceros in Malaysia and the spate of illegal hunting activities in SEA forests, the possibility of turning this crisis around looks slim.

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To learn about the many species of animals in Singapore, head to: https://www.nparks.gov.sg/biodiversity/wildlife-in-singapore/species-list

To read the article about the extinction of Singapore's plant and animal species referred to in the post, head to "Singapore Extinction Spells Doom For Asia?" written by John Pickrell in England, July 23, 2003