Biodiversity for kids during the September holidays!

Exciting nature activities for kids are lined up for the coming school holidays! Lots of fun ways to discover and enjoy Singapore's biodiversity!

Here's highlights of some of the many exciting nature events for kids during the September holidays.

29 Aug (Mon): Talk on "Understanding the dynamics of the pangolin trade"

Pangolins are found in Singapore! They are also found elsewhere in the region and sadly, the target of wildlife trade.

Pangolin photographed in Singapore by Norman Lim. From Wildlife Singapore.

Find out more about pangolins, and efforts to understand and control the trade in pangolins in the region.

20 Aug (Sat): A Public Forum on Forests

Learn about climate change and the ecological impacts on Singapore, and about conservation of our forests in this public forum.

Full pdf on Sivasothi's blog.

To celebrate the International Year of the Forest, 2011, the Singapore Institute of Biology (SIBiol) and Science Centre Singapore jointly present this public forum.

BeMUSE features the creatures that call Singapore home

The latest issue of BeMUSE Jul-Sep 11 features a story about Singapore's biodiversity!

In "We're not alone" Marcus Ng shares about the creatures that call Singapore home.

Have a Crabby National Day!

Singapore freshwater crab;
(Photo by David Maitland, from A Guide to Freshwater Life in Singapore)

It's National Day, and I thought that it would be appropriate to highlight some very special fellow Singaporeans.

Where it comes to food, chilli crab has got to be one of our favourite local dishes. And given that it was created here, it certainly is a serious contender for Singapore's national dish.


(Photo by ladyironchef)

The crabs that we most commonly consume in Singapore are the various species of mud crabs (Scylla spp.), with flower crabs (Portunus pelagicus) coming in a distant second. Both kinds of crab are regularly encountered on many of our shores, especially in shallow waters with muddy or sandy seabeds.


Mud crab, Pulau Pawai;


Flower crab, Pulau Sekudu;
(Photos by Ria Tan)

However, did you know that we have some very special crabs? They're way too small to be eaten, but that doesn't mean that they don't deserve attention from fellow Singaporeans.

Singapore's cool colugos: why they glide

Studying Singapore's colugos, researchers including our very own Norman Lim have discovered why these animals glide.

Although called flying lemurs, these creatures are not lemurs and they don't fly!