DISCOVERING THOMSON NATURE PARK
'Discovering Thomson Nature Park (2022)' is a personal project that I undertook over the course of 3 years, documenting the amazing variety of wildlife that reside in this park on the fringes of our Central Catchment forest.
Thomson Nature Park is one of the newer parks that opened in Singapore, and is known for the old Hainanese Village ruins that pepper across the compound. I feel it is one of the most under-rated parks in Singapore due to its rather inaccessible location, but it is my favourite park to visit due to its proximity to my home and the lack of crowds.
Since the Covid pandemic, I have found myself returning to this park over and over again, and it slowly revealed the secrets of its biodiversity to me. Within this small patch of forest, many have called it their home.
All photos below feature wild animals and are taken by myself within Thomson Nature Park.
DISCOVERING RARE WILDLIFE IN THOMSON NATURE PARK
Over the course of 2 years I have filmed and photographed some of the park's resident species, including the critically endangered Raffles Banded Langur and Lesser Mousedeer. Using a mix of natural sound and relaxing music, this video provides an immersive experience to view the wildlife of the park from the comforts of your home.
RAFFLES BANDED LANGUR
Thomson Nature Park is one of the last few strongholds of the critically endangered Raffles Banded Langur. Native only to Singapore and Johor, our local population of 68 faces many threats such as habitat fragmentation, roadkills, and the lack of a diverse gene pool to re-populate.
Elusive by nature, these primates are difficult to spot as they are often high in the canopy and do not make much noise. They remain one of Singapore's national treasures and more should be done to raise awareness of this species and to protect it.
LESSER MOUSEDEER
Once thought to only be nocturnal creatures, mousedeers are now known to be active both in the day and at night. There are 2 species of mousedeers in Singapore - the lesser mousedeer in the Central Catchment forests, and the greater mousedeer on the offshore islands like Pulau Ubin. Mousedeers are generally skittish but if one remains extremely quiet and still, the mousedeer may be comfortable enough to forage within a close distance from you.
ALL ABOUT SNAKES
From top left, clockwise, in order:
Female Wagler's Pit Viper
Male Wagler's Pit Viper
Twin Barred Tree Snake (1)
Twin Barred Tree Snake (2)
Red Tailed Racer (1)
Red Tailed Racer (2)
Elegant Bronzeback
With some luck, you may be able to spot some of the beautiful snakes that inhabit our forests. Some venomous, others not so, you should still keep a respectable distance from any snake you comes across.
Venomous vs poisonous:
If it bites you and you die - it's venomous.
If you bite it and you die - it's poisonous.
FOREST BIRDS
RED CROWNED BARBET
This colourful bird usually frequents the high canopies of the forest. It makes loud 'tok-tok-tok' sounds, and is usually heard but not seen.
BANDED WOODPECKER
With its bright red colouration, it would be hard not to miss this beautiful woodpecker as it flies past you in the forest.
WHITE-RUMPED SHAMA
An uncommon resident in Singapore, the white-rumped shama does come to ground level to forage.
ORANGE-BELLIED FLOWERPECKER
This tiny bird sports bright orange underparts, but its habitat is not limited to just forests, but gardens as well.
GREATER RACKET-TAILED DRONGO
Being one of the more common forest birds, unique features of this bird include its 2 tail extensions and wide array of vocalisations.
CHESTNUT-BELLIED MALKOHA
The malkoha (seen consuming a praying mantis in this photo) has a distinct orange facial patch, and belongs to the cuckoo family
GREEN CRESTED LIZARD
As a native species, its population has been on the decline due to other introduced species like the changeable lizard. Well camouflaged in the greenery, this lizard is difficult to spot, and is often shy with humans.
GIANT SHIELD MANTIS
BARK SCORPION
SUNDA COLUGO
One of the more strange looking mammals in Singapore, the Sunda Colugo, commonly mistaken as a lemur, sloth, squirrel, or bat, is a nocturnal animal that is able to glide from tree to tree, sometimes in flight for the length of an entire football field. It camouflages well during the day, resting on tree trunks or branches.
