The

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

is surprisingly diverse despite its rapid

urbanisation Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly the ...

. The majority of

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

that still remains on the island exists in various nature reserves such as the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and the

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve The Sungei Buloh Wetland Reservoir (Chinese: 双溪布洛湿地保护区, Malay: ''Kawasan Simpanan Alam Semulajadi Sungei Buloh'', Tamil: சுங்காய் புலோ ஈரநில வளம்) is a nature reserve in the northwest a ...

. In 1819, Singapore was mostly covered in

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

s. During that time, it still contained

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

shared with the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...

, but even then, the

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

of fauna was relatively low. Following the establishment of the British trading post, rapid

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

began due to crop cultivation, and was largely completed by the 20th century. By some estimates, there has been a loss of 95% of the natural habitats of Singapore over the course of the past 183 years. Due to the deforestation, over twenty species of

freshwater fish Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, especially the difference in levels of s ...

, 100 species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

, and a number of mammals became locally

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

.
-> A 2003 estimate puts the amount of extinct species as over 28%. In modern times, over half of the naturally occurring fauna and flora in Singapore is present only in nature reserves, which comprise only 0.25% of Singapore's land area. Estimates made in 2003 have said that the rapid

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

will culminate in a loss of 13-42% of populations in all of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

. To combat these problems, the Singaporean government has made the

Singapore Green Plan The Singapore Green Plan (SGP) was created in 1992 to ensure that the economic growth model of Singapore does not compromise the environment. The SGP sets out the strategies, programs and targets for Singapore to maintain a quality living envir ...

in 1992 and the new Singapore Green Plan in 2012 to continue it. The plan aims to keep tabs on the unstable populations of fauna and flora, to place new nature parks, and to connect existing parks. In addition, there were plans to set up a "National Biodiversity Reference Centre" (now known as the

National Biodiversity Centre The National Biodiversity Centre (: NBC; Chinese: 国家生物多样性中心; ms, Pusat Kepelbagaian Bio Nasional; ta, தேசிய பல்வகை உயிரியல் நிலையம்) is a branch of the National Parks Board ...

). The last goal was reached in 2006 when the centre was founded (it also accomplished the establishment of two new nature reserves in 2002). Since its foundation it has been formulating various specific initiatives including attempts to conserve the

hornbill Hornbills (Bucerotidae) are a family (biology), family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly coloured and sometimes has a Casque (an ...

and the rare

dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...

Indothemis limbata ''Indothemis limbata'', the restless demon, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is found in India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand. Two subspecies can be found.''Odonata: Catalogue of the Odonata of the World''. To ...

''.

Fauna

Mammals

Singapore has roughly 80

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

s (out of 11 different

orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

) including 45

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

and three species of non-human

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

s. Currently the only introduced non-domestic mammal species in Singapore is the

variable squirrel Finlayson's squirrel or the variable squirrel (''Callosciurus finlaysonii'', sometimes misspelled ''C. finlaysoni'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. The species occur ...

. The abundance of bats however has been decreasing rapidly due to a habitat loss of over 95%.

Birds

Singapore is the occasional home of 395 species of

s (out of which roughly 180 species are resident birds).

Reptiles

Singapore contains a relatively large number of

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

s, a total of about 110 species (4 of which are introduced). Most of the species, roughly 75 are

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

s (mainly Colubrid snakes).

Amphibians

Singapore has 30 species of amphibians (out of which two species, the painted bull frog and the

American bullfrog The American bullfrog (''Lithobates catesbeianus''), often simply known as the bullfrog in Canada and the United States, is a large true frog native to eastern North America. It typically inhabits large permanent water bodies such as swamps, po ...

, are

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

Flora

Singapore currently contains 1358 known species of native

vascular plants Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They al ...

, of which approximately 759 are critically endangered.

Urban Environment Interactions

Singapore's land area is dominated by urban development that is interspaced by natural reserves, waterways, parks and a large interlinked network of over 300km of park connectors (PCN). The indigenous wildlife that has adapted to the urban environment includes the following fauna: 1. Smooth coated otter (''Lutrogale perspicllata'') - in 2022, the local otter population has expanded to 17 families ''"fishing for tilapia in waterways and sleeping under bridges"''. There were reports of people who had their prized koi collection decimated by hungry otters. 2. Long tailed macaques (''Macaca fascicularis'') numbered more than 2,000 according to a 2015 census. There were reports of macaques scaling HDB buildings and invading homes. 3.The Oriental Pied Hornbill (''Anthracoceros albirostris'') is native to Singapore and the species had declined to the point of local extinction during the 19^th century.https://www.nparks.gov.sg/nparksbuzz/omeissue-15-vol-4-2012/conservation/hornbills-in-the-lion-city However, these birds made a comeback, they were known to have established a thriving population on Pulau Ubin and on occasion, could be sighted at various locations throughout Singapore. 4. Wild boars (''sus scrofa'') are native to Singapore with some weighing up to 100kg and could be sighted in urban areas close to the forested areas. There were reports of wild boar attacking people who strayed into their territory. Other wildlife sightings include the following: 1. Critically endangered Sunda pangolin (''Manis Javanica'') 2. Sambar deer (''Rusa unicolor'') which re-colonised the Central Catchment Reserve after escaping from the Zoo in the 1970s.https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/sambar-deer-making-a-return-in-singapore-study-shows In 2023, there was a report of road kill along the Bukit Timah expressway.https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/sambar-deer-killed-accident-bke-2904356

References

External links

National Biodiversity Centre, Singapore

National Parks Board, Singapore
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wildlife Of Singapore Biota of Singapore