MacRitchie's Beasts

Had a few more critter shots from MacRitchie. Here are some insects that I found on the way.

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This pretty butterfly was spotted together with the Orange Skimmers at the drain. They were drinking and basking at the same time. There were a few more of these butterflies, which I presume are Blue Jays, near the drain. I managed one simple shot of two but they are pretty far apart in the picture.

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There were other creatures like this pair of mating beetles.

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And a shedded exo-skeleton of a big spider, similar to the ones I see in India.

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Apart from these invertebrates, there were lots of squirrels but this time I managed to grab a shot of a Plantain Squirrel as it jumped toward us.

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And finally there was a baby Malayan Water Monitor trying to take shelter in a tree hole near the exit. This ended our journey too. It was as if the monitor was there saying "Goodbye for now! Come back soon!" Well of course I'll be back soon.

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You'll Never Miss These...

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Spotted this young Malayan Water Monitor at the edge of the lake on the way back. These reptiles are generally very common in any area with big water bodies. They are also easily transported through canals and drains and may even end up in a drain in the middle of a city.

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And of course you'll never go back from the gardens without finding one of these Changeable Lizards.

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Reptile of the Day

I never expected to see one of these in MacRitchie. On the other hand I was really expecting to see a few Clouded Monitors. I could not find the bird making all those calling but instead I found this tiny guy, a Malayan Water Monitor. It was slightly bigger than the one we spotted and caught from our school. I took a few shots.

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The young animal was quite scared and moved away from us at first sight. Slowly, he started to dig and look around for insects or anything to eat.

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It slowly started to move towards the water. Before letting it go, I took one last shot with a flash. Pity the lizard, it suddenly got shocked.

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This was the only reptile I came across that particular day at MacRitchie. Although I was expecting to find a few snakes, none of them showed up, causing my trip there rather uneventful. But, I'm at a new place, I'll find it like this now. In the future, I may be able to spot many more creatures.

Close-Up with a Monitor

After guiding the pupils, we were in the canteen having a small snack, when some of the visitors there started taking photographs of something close to the path. Out of curiosity I moved closer to have a look. I later realized that it was a Malayan Water Monitor, about a metre in total length. It was resting just below where we were standing.

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Soon, it started to walk around the area. I took a shot of it as it searched for food near the soil. I noticed that its entire tongue was nearly out in the shot I took.

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It wasn't long after that when it tried to get itself onto the wooden ground where we were standing. The Monitor gave us a weird look at first, then slowly tried to climb up the wooden stand. But someone's flash suddenly disturbed it, making it retreat back onto the ground.

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Well, the Monitor seemed to be determined to succed in his mission in climbing up the wooden stand. Just after a few of the students left, it slowly got its heavy body onto the wooden stand, just inches away from our toes. I took a shot as it slowly walked around on the stand. The tongue is nearly entirely visible in this shot too.

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After finding the area a warm and suitable place to rest,it lowered its legs and lied down there like a baby. Awww... Well, these lizards, although being the largest lizards in Singapore, are commensal with humans and hence are not very aggresive. They may look cute and fierce at times, but in all, it is a harmless giant that will not do anything to you, unless provoked.

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It was time for me to leave the wetland already. Just before leaving, I led down on the wooden stand, put my camera on the floor and took two side-view shots of the Monitor. It gave an awesome look to the photograph, although I had never tried this method.

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Monitor Swimming Gracefully

Having ended the Mangrove Broadwalk, we headed to the bridge hoping to find some migratory birds. I did spot a few but they were far away, too much for my camera's zoom. In the meantime I photographed a large Malayan Water Monitor swimming across the water. It swam very gracefully like a mermaid, although those sharp claws and thick skin doesn't make it look like one.

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After getting the first shot, the monitor actually 'dived' into the water for some reason. I tried my best to get a shot of it with just its tail visible, but by the time I had my camera ready, it was back on the surface again, leaving me with this shot.

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Where did that Beetle go?

This young Clouded Monitor was hunting for beetles and other insects when I was hunting for him in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. He hunts insects and eats them, whereas I hunt for him and photograph him. And thats what I have done. Photograph.

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The Clouded Monitor is in fact very common in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

Close up Shots

This was our 5th trip to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. This time we did not really spot anything much, but I managed to get close to a Common Sun Skink and photograph it just a few inches from the camera.

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I also went quite close to this Clouded Monitor to get a photograph.

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*Images taken with a Panasonic DMC-FS3.*

Clouded Monitor

I was frantically searching for some creatures at the Summit Hut when out of nowhere came this big Clouded Monitor, Varanus bengalensis nebulosus.

It is a medium sized Monitor that can reach up to 1.5 metres. It is distinguished from the Malayan Water Monitor by the position of the nostrils which lie mid-way between the eye and snout.

This mainly terrestrial species can be found in habitats as diverse as scrubland and rainforest, but is generally encountered as it digs amongst leaf litter searching for beetles and other insects. It may also be spotted clinging high up on tree trunks or exploring tree holes : its sharp claws make it an excellent climber.

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I soon headed back to go search for some Snakes.

Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

Today, we went to the West Coast Park Marshland early in the morning to release the baby Malayan Water Monitor. We took a picture of it before releasing it.

After that, we headed straight to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. I was expecting to see at least a few snakes... but unfortunately I did not see a single reptile. Not even a Changeable Lizard.
My friend who came with me was amazed after seeing a cicada.
They are so common... We saw a weird looking moth, a few spiders, a few naughty monkeys and a Giant Forest Ant.

I saw something like a rat but it ran away before I could even get a good look at it.
Will be going back there soon. We only hope that it does not rain.

Malayan Water Monitor

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Man, today was some day. The last day of school for this year was accompanied by a big surprise for us - A young Malayan Water Monitor, Varanus salvator, was found in a small flat hole in the field in our school. It was very surprising though, as we kept thinking how it ended up here. Did it come from Pandan Reservoir?
Anyway, we tried to get it out from the hole, but failed to do so, even after trying for hours. But when we came back from the hall, it was not there in the hole. When we looked around, it was in another hole just like the previous one.
A few workers in the school then spotted us. They managed to help us by using a long stick to take it out. Later, my friend and I placed it in a container. But then, something smelly took place. The Monitor vomited. This was just an act of self defence to flee predators due to the foul smell.
Tomorrow we will be going to West Coast Park to release this small guy into the Marshland of West Coast Park.

The tail that belonged to the lizard that he vomited out. Comparing with the body, it is most probably a Changeable Lizard. There are many of those in our school.

View from the bottom