Buffy Fish Owl (highly rare!) by Abdul

http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=185547

".... This is the the Fourth sighting of this Buffy Fish Owl which is believed to be extinct on the main island based on Threatened Animals of Singapore-1995....." - Abdul

Darn I wish I could see it in real life too.

Black-eyed Litter Frog Leptobrachium nigrops @ Lower Peirce by Kevin

Black-eyed Litter Frog Leptobrachium nigrops @ Lower Peirce by Kevin
Originally uploaded by koiyau.

Black-eyed Litter Frog Leptobrachium nigrops spotted at Lower Peirce Reservoir. Spotted by Chengpuay actually but too bad he dun have camera that day so I am posting this pic. This nocturnal frog has large jet black eyes, I guess to hunt in the dark. I don't know about average frog leg length but apparently this guy has rather short legs and can't hop around very well. Funny right? There's more "When disturbed it will assume a low crouch rather than attempt to flee." Hmmm I wonder if its because of the short legs.

"The species breeds in shallow forest streams and the tadpoles are large and black. The Black-eyed Litter Frog ranges from Peninsular Malaysia to Singapore and possibly Sarawak, Borneo. Size (snout to vent) : Female 5 cm, Male 4.5 cm"


References

Wild Singapore site
http://www.wildsingapore.per.sg/discovery/factsheet/frogblkeyed.htm

Amphibians of Southeast Asia : Black-eyed Litter Frog - Leptobrachium
nigrops
http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/amphibians/black-eyed_litter_frog.htm

Colugo attacked by poachers! (reproduced from wildsingapore)

This time this is a sighting of an ugly side of human nature instead
of nature--poachers. I hope everyone can play a part in protecting
what precious little we have....
Kevin

Colugo attacked by poachers!
Photos and details on Aaron's post on the Nature Photographic Society forum
http://www.naturephotosociety.org.sg/dcforum/DCForumID2/574.html#1

Poachers shot down a mother colugo (flying lemur) and her
baby on Sunday. A group of civic-minded people alerted NParks who took charge of
the situation.

More about colugos...
Norman Lim who studied them
http://www.wildsingapore.com/riablog/people/norman.htm

Fact sheet and photos of colugos on Kwok Wai's WildLife Singapore
website http://www.wildsingapore.per.sg/discovery/factsheet/colugo.htm

"Flying Lemur thriving in Singapore's Nature Reserves"
http://www.molluscan.com/forum/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=printer_format&om=153&forum=DCForumID14

The nature reserve is supporting a 3,000-strong colony of flying
lemurs, which were previously thought to be near extinction in
Singapore.

Associate Professor Peter Ng, director of the Raffles Museum of
Biodiversity Research: 'This animal is secretive and rarely seen. A
study like this shows that an endangered animal like the flying
lemur is doing better than we thought.'

However, other less-adaptable species could be in trouble.

Earlier this year, a landmark study by the National University of
Singapore and Australia's Northern Territory University found that
Singapore has lost about half its animal species in the last 200
years.

Based on detailed documentation of the state of mammals, birds, fish
and butterflies on the island, it found that at least 881 of 3,196
recorded species, or 28 per cent - had vanished forever.

Taking into account the probable number of animals here before
detailed records were made in the late 1800s, it predicted this
figure was actually higher - about half Singapore's animals.

And more than half of those remaining live in the nature reserves.

Considering how many species have gone extinct, Prof Ng said it was
a very pleasant surprise to find the flying lemurs thriving.

'It shows that even though we have small forests, they do contain
some jewels.'

You CAN make a difference!
--------------------------
Be alert to people who are out to hurt our native wildlife.

If you come across suspicious people in the forest, please call
NParks at 64685736.

Branded Imperial Eooxylides tharis @ Lower Peirce by Kevin

Branded Imperial Eooxylides tharis @ Lower Peirce by Kevin
Originally uploaded by koiyau.

Finally more pics of my own! This is a Branded Imperial butterfly (Eooxylides tharis subsp distanti) spotted at Lower Peirce reservoir at 2006.02.25. The caterpillar of this small butterfly feeds on the infamous Smilax bracteata, which is a common local forest vine which grows very aggressively.


















References

awakening to the forest riches of macritchie, singapore
http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/pub/naturewatch/text/a073d.htm

ARCBC: Biodiversity Information Sharing Service
http://arcbc.org/cgi-bin/abiss.exe/spd?SID=798267605&spd=1009⊂=2096&tx=LE

The Branded Imperial
http://www.geocities.com/rainforest/vines/2382/lycaenidae/tharis.htm

Lower pierce macros 11/03/06 by melvynyeo

http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?p=1981792
All insects! But great shots! Would be fun to id all of them if I could...

Blue-winged Pitta Pitta moluccensis @ SBG by SKFOO

http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?p=1981472
SkFoo spotted this rare bird who is an uncommon winter visitor to our tropical island in Botanic Gardens and have wonderful pics to show! He has an excellent writeup on their biology as well!
with sources from "Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds" and "Birds –An Illustrated Field Guide to the Birds of Singapore" A must READ!

Oriental Whip Snake Ahaetulla prasina @ Bukit Panjang Mountain Biking Trail by domvonn

http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?p=1941941
Oriental Whip Snake spotted at Bukit Panjang Mountain Biking Trail 26/02/06 by domvonn
Busy week! Will post my lower pierce exploits soon.