I stick to protected places like the Sheraton Towers hotel where you do not encounter monitor lizards. Most of the wildlife which I encounter turns up cunningly concealed in batter on my plate. However, my jogging family have encountered all sorts of creatures, in Singapore (as well as Malaysia and Indonesia) whilst roaming around remote paths, as I shall explain further on in this post.
Monitor Lizards
In Singapore you can see monitor lizards roaming freely in places such as the Botanical Gardens. Signboards joyfully alert you to the presence of the alarming lizards as if seeing them is a twee treat.
I am glad to say I have never encountered a monitor lizard, despite visiting the Botanical Gardens many times. I do monitor my surroundings carefully for monitor lizards, photo opportunities, dangers, and escape routes.
Komodo Dragons
To me, a monitor lizard looks like a small komodo dragon (found on the island of Komodo in Indonesia. You can also see a Komodo dragon in London zoo, in England. A cross between a blown up lizard and a shrunken dinosaur. Twice the size of any member of your family and far more unpleasant than even your worst relative.
How can I remember to link Komodo and Indonesia (not Malaysia). The letter o which appears twice in Komodo and once in Indonesia.
Photo by Mark Dumont of a Komodo dragon in the Cincinnati Zoo, USA in 2013. Photo in Flickr uploaded to Wikimedia article on Komodo dragon.
The komodo dragon is dangerous. To humans and animals. A very nasty creature.
Monitor Lizards?
Monitor lizards aren't always friendly, either.
My husband took a video of what he thought was a very angry monitor lizard the other side of the perimeter fence around a Singapore army base. My husband was walking along a path when the monitor lizard appeared. It did not run away but ran ahead and when he caught up alongside it, the creature was fearsome and furious, hissing and waving its tongue around and thrashing its big body about.
So much for the idea that they are shy creatures and only get aggressive when cornered. Maybe it was territorial, maybe it was protecting babies nearby. We will never know.
Photo by Trevor Sharot, photographer. Copyright.
Blow up the picture and you can see the black tongue. This is a screen capture still taken form a video. I've also seen some horrid videos of komodo dragons circling an animal, biting it with poison, waiting a day or two, surrounding it, until it drops to its knees and they launch in for the kill and eat it.
Free look at wildlife
Entry to the Botanical Gardens is free. But no guarantee what you will see. You are more likely to see fish and birds. I am glad to say.
Pangolins
This month, March 2019, Singapore Zoo and Night Safari are promoting care of pangolins. I saw an advertising poster beside a bus stop.
Poster about pangolins. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
Next day I received an email inviting me to the zoo. Children are encouraged to do a series of activities and pledge to protect pangolins and at the end are rewarded with a pangolin pin.
Pangolins, covered in scales from head to toe, curl up into a ball for protection. Their name means roller in Malay.
The pangolin, altogether friendly, has no teeth. On the other hand, it has an enormously long tongue. the tongue is used for scooping out ants. The pangolin eats thousands of ants every year. If you are not a fan of ants, you might give pangolins credit for disposing of ants.
Now, there's a clue. I looked up anteater. I recognize the pangolin as an anteater.
Pangolin activities (must book)
March 2-March 31, 2019, weekends only.
Useful Websites
https://www.nparks.gov.sg/gardens-parks-and-nature/dos-and-donts/animal-advisories/monitor-lizards
singaporeair.com
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/make-a-date-with-pangolins
https://www.wrs.com.sg/en/conservation/together-for-wildlife
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anteater
togetherforwildlife.sg
Botanical Gardens:
https://www.nparks.gov.sg/SBG
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.
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