Most zoochatters when thinking of Singapore think of the magnificent zoos to be found there. However for such a small, overbuilt island a surprising amount of wildlife can be found. As a major air hub it is very easy to get to, and the country itself is probably about the safest and easiest there is in the world for the tourist. All this makes it an ideal destination for anybody wanting to dip their toe into Asian wildlife observation for the first time. I am fortunate to travel quite a bit for business and so have been to Singapore many times. However often my stays are very brief, just stopping on the way to somewhere else. Over the last 18 months I have been there three times, but the total amount of time I have been able to devote to wildlife watching is about 15 hours over the three visits. I have also only been to four destinations, the Botanic Gardens, Dairy Farm Reserve, Changi Beach Park and Pasar Ris Park. Despite this, as the list below shows, I have observed and identified 49 species during these visits. For many of these species, Singapore is by far the easiest place in the world to see them in the wild. Mammals Long-tailed macaque Common treeshrew Plantain squirrel Slender squirrel Smooth-coated otter Birds Grey heron Striated heron Eastern reef heron Milky stork White-bellied sea eagle White-breasted waterhen Red junglefowl Little tern Zebra dove Spotted turtle-dove Red-collared dove Pink-necked green pigeon Tanimbar corella Yellow-crested cockatoo Red-breasted parakeet Square-tailed drongo-cuckoo Black-capped kingfisher Stork-billed kingfisher Collared kingfisher Common flameback Sunda pygmy woodpecker Golden-bellied gerygone Black-naped oriole Common iora Greater racket-tailed drongo House crow Pacific swallow Sunda yellow-vented bulbul Olive-winged bulbul Swinhoe's white-eye White-crested laughingthrush Javan mynah Common mynah Asian glossy starling Crimson sunbird Brown-throated sunbird Plain sunbird Ornate sunbird Tree sparrow Other Clouded monitor Asian water monitor Common sun skink Buffon's River garfish Singapore tree-climbing crab Mangrove horseshoe crab
Singapore has always intrigued me more as a wildlife destination than a zoo one - it is often described as city that is just as much for wildlife as people, I am am very interested to see how true this description of the city really is. Also, I hear there are (relatively easy to see) wild pangolins.
