Contents

1. Five otters seen on Pulau Buloh - a third cub?!
2. Biking in Ubin 2001 - series begins this Sunday.
3. Briskwalk 2001 series over; thanks to guides; photos on webpage
4. BP/SSC Field guides also available on Popular online store
5. New book - Trees of our Garden City
6. Articles by Otterman - a print to web project by Ria Tan

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---> [1] Five otters seen in Sungei Buloh Nature Park
<http://otter.nus.edu.sg>
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Five otters were just sighted last week in SBNP. In all likelihood,
it is the resident family of Smooth Otters with the latest addition
to their family - a third cub!

In November 1998, a pair of adult Smooth Otters were first seen in
the park environs. This was then the first report of otter cubs on
Singapore since the 1960's (apart from the family of Small-clawed
otters on Pulau Tekong in the early 1990's) . I would subsequently
receive several reports of this pair from R. K. Ramakrishnan, a
park ranger at SBNP who had helped track records of otters in
the park in the mid-90's.

On 23rd and 24th May 1999, Tony O'Dempsey ('orang ular') calls in
sightings of a cub accompanying the pair. A year later on 20th
May 2000, I am alerted of the presence of a second cub by
S. M. A. Rashid and Linda Goh. Nick Baker would finally provide
photos, taken on 22nd August 2000.

In the past few months, the family of otters have not been seen.
This absence preceeding their re-emergence with a new cub is
consistent for this family and the behaviour of the species
elsewhere. We are now awaiting confirmation of this.

Joseph Lai was lucky enough to see them this year, and yes,
Joseph, we are eating our hearts out! Certainly good news!

---
From: Joseph Lai
Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2001 17:49:19 +0800
Subject: Re: Otter sighting record

Hi Siva,

I saw a group of otters this afternoon at about 3pm hugging the
shallow waters off Pu[lau] Buloh. Five to be exact -- three big ones
and two small ones (juveniles). They were quite playful and chased
some fishes around. I saw the young one eating a fish on the shore.
He was quite inquisitive.

Together with another, he ventured onto dry land in Pu Buloh and
came out intermittantly, scrambling on the rotting branches on the
ground.  When three of them started swimming a couple of feet
northwards, they halted and called out to the two on the land. On
hearing so, the two responded with their sharp cries and came out
of Pu Buloh. Together they swam northwards to the open sea.

What a wonderful sight to behold ! Guys... eat your heart out !

Cheers,

joe
 

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---> [2] Biking in Ubin 2001: three Sundays in July
<http://biking.sivasothi.com/>
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Three Sundays in July 2001.

Join N. Sivasothi and friends of the Habitat Group for three rides
on Sunday mornings at Pulau Ubin. Please email biking@...
if you are intending to join us.

Please read details at: <http://biking.sivasothi.com>

Journey to the North: 9am - 12pm. Late start: Suitable for children.
Journey to the West: 8am - 1pm. Weaker cyclists may return earlier.
Journey to the East: 8am - 2pm. The most challenging ride.

Note - allocate time for the ferry ride and choosing a bike. We will
leave on time.
 

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---> [3] Briskwalk 2001 series over; photos on webpage
<http://briskwalk.sivasothi.com/>
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It was a good series with eventy-one of you turning up for the
last walk. Thanks in particular to the safety and route guides
who ensured a series of safe walks on Sunday mornings in June:
Jaswant, Lynn, Min Yee, Debbie, Alvin, Airani, Angeline, Amy
& Evelyn.

Digital photos courtesy of Alvin Wong are up on the webpage.
If your connection is not to slow, you can view the pictures
as a QuickTime slideshow. Just tried that out ands it looks
like a decent alternative for making galleries

The walks took less than two hours, and some particpants asked
if we were much faster than last year. Actually our route was
a little shorter this year due to the presence of new Singapore
Island Country Club's (SICC) course that lopped off a decent stretch
of forest on their property.

I promised some background so here goes: this was the site
of a controversial fire, which was witnessed by members of
the Nature Society (Singapore). SICC denied involvement,
and an exchange in the papers led to the submission of a
letter by Alan Owyong, "How is SICC being eco-friendly?"
which was published in the Forum page of The Straits Times,
on Wed 13th Jan 99 [Habitatnews 99-06].

'In that letter, he points out that large tracts of secondary
forest cleared earlier purportedly for a topographic survey, was
later admitted to make it more convenient for members to tee off.'

The next series of briskwalks will be in June 2002. You will be
notified via this newsletter.
 

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---> [4] Field guides on sale at Popular Bookstore online
http://store.yahoo.com/popular-sg/
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While updating a links page for Habitatnews, this page was revealed:
Popular online, via the Yahoo! Store facility. You can order many of
the BP/Singapore Science Centre Books guides at:
<http://store.yahoo.com/popular-sg/adult-sports-leisure-nature.html>

This site thus joins MPH <http://www.mphonline.com> and Select Books <http://www.selectbooks.com.sg> in offering the BP/Singapore Science
Centre Books online. Useful for those overseas.
 

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---> [5] New book: Trees of our Garden City
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"Trees of our Garden City - A guide to the Common Trees of Singapore"
'is a 202 page, soft cover A-Z guide to the trees that make the Garden
City green. 17 x 24 cm. Published by National Parks Board and edited
by Tee Swee Ping and Wee Mei Lynn, the book lists 80 trees and palms,
all described and illustrated in first class photos showing the whole
tree as well as close-ups of flowers and fruits.

Available at Nature's Niche for S$33.

-- source: Morten Strange.

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---> [6] Articles by Otterman, another print to web
        project by Ria Tan
<http://http://staff.science.nus.edu.sg/~sivasothi/articles/mudskipper/>
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Articles from my student days, published mainly in the Mudskipper.
Some are related to natural history - leeches, penguins, Pulau Tekong,
frogs and macaques. If you like the droll manner, you might find some
of the other articles interesting as well.

"...suspended up between two papaya trees. I needed a stick to
knock down the fruit but he gave me a lecture on the weaknesses of
papaya tree branches (while I hung on, sweating) before handing me
the stick. I was quite upset, as you might understand, also since I
was in a hurry for there was some doubt as to the legality of the
entire proceeding."

Some articles are awful, but I left the good the bad and the ugly up
there. Exactly as Ria Tan had converted it  - yes, it is another
Print to Web Project by Ria Tan <http://www.naturia.per.sg/>

It was actually completed ages ago but we forgot about it. Expect
more news on that front once we finish verification, yes she
will be helping to provide of a couple more guidebooks online.

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