Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Tree Shrews at MacRitchie

Went to MacRitchie again last Sunday with SY for another recce. We didn't managed to find the colugo again though, but instead, we spotted several common tree shrews (Tupaia glis).

tree shrew

According to the Wildlife Singapore Website, tree shrews live in permanent pairs, though interestingly we actually saw 3 of them together that day. They normally feed on insects found on fallen trees, branches and fruits. While they look like squirrels, tree shrews are actually not rodents, but are placed in their own order, Scandentia. You can differentiate them from squirrels by their longer, pointy snouts.

On a side note, today we saw a colugo again! This time at Bukit Timah.

colugo, flying lemur

Really cute. Seems like there's a rather healthy population of colugos at this part of Bukit Timah, since according to LK she regularly see them while conducting walks there.

Was really hoping to see other animals like pangolins, but I guess like they said in Hokkien, no fish prawn also can? Or perhaps, no pangolin colugo also can?

Haha :P

2 comments:

Hugh Griffith said...

I'm a fan of your blog. I spent a summer in Singapore 20 years ago as a student, and had the opportunity to visit some of the sites you feature. I love the diversity you're finding, and am intrigued by the colugos, which I had hoped to see but had no luck. It's great to know there are so many. (At least it seems a lot to me, given the size of Singapore and human footprint there.) Quirky creatures in many ways, including how they cling to trees.

Thanks very much for the vicarious thrills.

Ron Yeo said...

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Glad that you enjoyed reading my nature experiences :)