By any definition, Singapore is a thriving, modern metropolis – a center of commerce in Asia. Nevertheless, behind the shiny glass towers and efficient infrastructure lurks another side to this city. I am not talking about crime; Singapore is certainly one of the safest places in which I’ve lived. No, I am referring to the world of reptiles and other creatures that lurk beneath the surface.
I have become accustomed to the geckos that used to startle me when I walked in the kitchen each morning. Though harmless, I was not used to these little fellows jumping from drawers or out from behind canisters, sometimes on to my hand. And sadly, the fright was mutual. I once opened a window to encourage a lizard to go outside. I watched in horror as he leapt off the window ledge in a moment of panic to a certain death. I now let the little critters be, and after seven months, I hardly notice them running freely around our apartment. After all, geckos are not snakes.
On my first day in Singapore last August, a woman shared a story about a family – in my building – who encountered a snake coming up through the bathtub drain. As if to reinforce the authenticity of this story, the next week, as we entered our playground, one of the domestic helpers warned us to be careful of a tree snake, which lay sunning himself on the trash receptacle (pictured above).
“Snake?! What snake?!” my daughter asked gleefully. She was still disappointed from a recent – failed – snake hunt in the Northwest United States and couldn’t wait to go and hold it. After a quick but stern chat with her, where I explained that under no uncertain terms was she going to pick anything up, we went to investigate. Tales of pythons, notorious for gobbling house cats and lurking in the city’s water pipes, are also common.
Last month on an outing to Singapore’s Sungei Buloh Wetlands, we were surprised to see several monitor lizards, measuring 5 or 6 feet. They weren’t bothered as we skirted around them on the paths. The park is also home to many mudskippers and crab.
It’s not just reptiles you’ll see here. Just yesterday, our tennis instructor put down his racket, clearly surprised, and pointed to a bird, perched on a lamppost. “I haven’t seen one of those in the city in ages!” he exclaimed. We looked up to see a Oriental Pied Hornbill (pictured above) just as it took flight and escaped to the safety of a nearby palm.
If that weren’t enough excitement for one day, later in the afternoon, while hiking in MacRitchie Park, we saw frequent signs warning not to feed the monkeys. We needed no such reminder. Years ago, while Erik and I were picnicing in Sri Lanka, we were approached by several furry friends, baring their teeth and growling. We relinquished our sandwiches and still laugh about how we were “mugged” by monkeys. As we were leaving MacRitichie, we spied a macaque, larger than I expected, swinging from one tree to the next.
Singapore is renowned for its zoo and bird park, but sometimes a walk in the city can be just as exciting.
Thank you to John J. Mosesso, NBII, for the photo of the hornbill.