A “Hidden” World @BBNP

9 July 2021, 7.45pm-10.30pm | Bukit Batok Nature Park Night Walk | Kymberly Goh

Back in April, I signed up for the BBNP Night Walk but the trip was unfortunately cancelled and further postponed due to weather conditions (rain sigh) and Phase 2 COVID-19 restrictions. Thankfully, after months of waiting, I finally got the opportunity to go on this guided walk with Uncle Tony – whom is an absolutely knowledgable and chatty gentleman, kinda reminds me of this teacher who taught me back in Secondary school :”)

Uncle Tony told us that the forests and trees surrounding BBNP could stretch all the way to Tengah?/ Jurong area?, meaning there was ample space and a hotspot for biodiversity in this area! He gave us pointers on how to spot for colugos (I had zero clue what they were before the trip! Honestly thought they were flying squirrels but turns out they’re similar but not exactly! And they have a distant relative in the Philippines) such as how yellow light tends to be easier for us to use to spot wildlife at night, red is better for the creatures in case we accidentally shine off and injure their eyes / so as not to startle them etc;

There was a light shower in the late afternoon and we were worried we wouldn’t be able to spot them but luckily, we managed to spot a couple, slowly waking up from their slumber as they think about what to do/ go about their “day”. We even got to see a colugo “fly” or I guess the correct term is glide – gosh! such beautiful and cute creatures!

Uncle Tony shared with us that he came from a family who did logging, hence he was very knowledgable about the different types of trees and plants – which I found fascinating! He was kind of like a walking encyclopaedia – though I must admit I felt quite stumbled and challenged by all the scientific terms that was spewing our from his mouth so effortlessly! Nevertheless, I was thankful he was super open and welcoming to share his love for SG’s biodiversity with us! 🙂

Some things I learnt include how to spot a durian tree (spot for gold-coloured undersides of the leaves and ding ding ding! thats it! but don’t pluck them / take them! Its an offence bc its a nature reserve!), how to spot for the sunda colugos and many more things such as – I never knew that fig trees grow from up-down (like those hanging vine like things u always see near them? those are their roots!) and if you go to BBNP, they grow in a straight line because the road is blocking it! Quite interesting if you ask me, nature truly has its ways to flourish and thrive if we give it the chance to.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end – just as we started to get more excited about finding more colugos and learning more from Uncle Tony, a heavy downpour struck :”(. Though short, I had a great time! As I listened to the sound of the rain within the comfort of my home, I couldn’t help but wonder – how did I miss out on all of these amazing creatures and plants even though they were so close to me? The “hidden world” of flora and fauna lives on invisibly amongst us, amongst the hustle and bustle of our home; the place we call our garden city, yet there is so much we don’t know / are missing out on. I hope we can continue to preserve and protect these “hidden spaces” and our biodiversity for our future generations to come.