To a greater or lesser extent, those living in Singapore are familiar with Pulau Ubin’s rustic charm. Today, Pulau Ubin attracts more than 250,000 visitors per year – and as the number of visitors increases, so do the reported sightings of wildlife. There have been supposed sightings of animals like Orang Utans and sun bears, and even of big cats like panthers and tigers!

These reports are so incredible, that it would be tempting to dismiss them as urban legends or perhaps wishful thinking. However, with so many reported ‘encounters’ surfacing from time to time, one can’t help but be curious: could these animals really exist on Pulau Ubin? This question was enough to pique the interest of Marcus Chua, a student with the Systematics and Ecology lab at the National University of Singapore (NUS). And so Marcus decided to get to the bottom of these stories for his honours research project.

Starting in November 2008, Marcus spent ten months exploring Pulau Ubin, looking for elusive creatures. As part of NParks’ collaboration in his research, ten new camera traps were purchased and placed with bait in locations throughout the island. These recorded for a total of 402 days, to capture any elusive animals that might wander into their range.

The footage from the cameras revealed many of the usual suspects on Pulau Ubin: dogs, cats, monitor lizards and wild boars. Also featured were animals that are typically harder to spot by humans as they tend to steer clear of human traffic. The Jungle Fowl, the Crab-eating Macaque, and the Common Palm Civet all had their moments in front of the cameras. Even the Pulau Ubin Cow was captured on film, finally putting to rest all rumours that its existence was merely a myth.

The proudest achievement of the camera traps is unequivocally the rediscovery of the Greater Mouse Deer (Tragulus napu) on Pulau Ubin, last sighted in Singapore in the 1920s. Mouse deer are the smallest hoofed mammals in the world, and this particular mouse deer had been believed to be extinct in Singapore for the last 80 years.

All of these medium-sized mammals play an important part in the biodiversity of Pulau Ubin because of their roles as both seed dispersers and predators. They are able to shape the physical landscape of the forest areas they live in, as well as that of Pulau Ubin at large.

The captured images of these animals, especially the Greater Mouse Deer, are vivid proof of the amazing diversity of Pulau Ubin’s natural wildlife. They are also encouraging visual evidence for those interested in conserving the island’s natural habitat. Meanwhile, the rest of us can rest easy in the knowledge that we are extremely unlikely to encounter tigers and bears on this idyllic little island…

By Justin Tan

Snapshots from the camera traps: a Jungle Fowl pecking through the forest.

Snapshots from the camera traps: a Common Palm Civet moving about after dark.

Snapshots from the camera traps: the infamous ‘Pulau Ubin Cow’, rumoured to roam free around the island.

Snapshots from the camera traps: the Greater Mousedeer, a surprise find on Pulau Ubin