Best of our wild blogs: 8 Feb 09

Tanah Merah Surprises!
on the wonderful creation blog

Turtles Spotted at Semakau
on the Manta Blog

Life History of the White Four-Line Blue
on the Butterflies of Singapore blog

Pedal Ubin 07 March 2009- Registration OPEN!
on Toddycats!

The first Envirofest meeting
on the Envirofest Singapore blog

Peregrine Falcon mobs Western Marsh Harrier
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

In Little India, cow licks you
on the annotated budak blog

Seen on STOMP: Snake found in Yuan Ching Sec
on the Lazy Lizard's Tales blog and Water in canal turns bright blue.

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Stolen tortoises just the latest case of animal theft in Singapore

Estelle Low, Straits Times 8 Feb 09;

Someone, somewhere, may still be keeping the three tarantulas.

The eight-legged creatures, worth up to $200 each, were stolen from the Insect Kingdom Museum in Sentosa three years ago.

It was not an isolated case of animal theft in Singapore.

On Jan 31, 10 exotic tortoises, valued at $74,400, were taken from the Live Turtle and Tortoise Museum at the Chinese Garden in Jurong. Three men were charged in connection with the theft last Wednesday.

This was the third burglary in two years at the museum, which has at least 1,600 turtles and tortoises from North and South America, Africa and Asia.

The most recent theft was in November 2006, when 18 tortoises worth more than $80,000 were stolen. Fourteen of them were recovered, thanks to the efforts of the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority.

The culprit, who was jailed for six months, was also one of the three men charged on Wednesday.

In the tarantula incident, the culprits were never nabbed. A staff member did recall seeing a man with three children crowding around a tank of tarantulas. By the time he discovered that the 12cm-sized tarantulas were missing, the people had left.

'They were definitely not first-time visitors. They seemed to know how to steal the tarantulas and what equipment to bring in,' Mr S.J.Chiang, chief executive officer of Butterfly Park and Insect Kingdom Museum, told The Sunday Times.

Small animals are easy targets for theft, said Mr Biswajit Guha, assistant director of the Singapore Zoo. Tortoises, for example, are quiet and non-aggressive.

'Because of their rarity, they become aspirational possessions for hobbyists,' he said of some species.

Butterflies, many of which sport lovely patterns on their bodies, are also irresistible. Every month, about 10 are stolen from the Butterfly Park by tourists and local visitors.

'The tourists tend to be adults, but what can we do? Even if we give them a warning, they will make all sorts of excuses to take the butterflies away,' Mr Chiang said.

The most common excuse is that the butterflies were given to them by the park attendants.

He does not impose any fines or penalties, for fear of driving away business.

Currently, there are about 1,000 butterflies from 60 species. Their cost ranges from $2 to more than $10,000, such as those from Papua New Guinea.

But it is not just the docile creatures that are taken. Coveted too are snakes, chameleons and parrots, said Mr Guha, adding that they are cute and perceived as low-maintenance.

At Jurong BirdPark, someone tried to steal a hornbill two years ago but was caught and turned over to the police.

Mr Chiang is making it harder for animal snatchers. He plans to install six more security cameras next month, adding to the current 12.

Come November, the attraction he runs will be renamed Jungle Sentosa. 'My staff are going for training to provide guided tours to visitors so it's easier to monitor their behaviour,' he said.

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Binned recyclables sorted further

Straits Times 8 Feb 09;

We refer to last Sunday's letter, 'Waste firm dumps all items together', by Mr Soh Ah Yuen.

Although the National Environment Agency (NEA) has been educating the public on proper recycling, the items put into the recycling bins are not well segregated and need further sorting.

Some public waste collectors (PWCs) therefore collect recyclable wastes from the bins and put them into the same vehicle and send them to sorting facilities for sorting into paper, plastics, glass, metals, clothing and so on.

These are then sent to recycling facilities to be processed.

The NEA requires the PWCs to provide monthly returns on the amount of each type of recyclables collected, and also conducts random audit checks on the collection of recyclables.

We thank Mr Soh for his feedback. Where separate recycling bins are provided, we encourage the public to put their segregated recyclables into the appropriate bins. Meanwhile, we will also work with the PWCs to improve on their collection methods.

Ong Seng Eng
Director
Resource Conservation Department
National Environment Agency

Waste firm dumps all items together
Straits Times 1 Feb 09;

Waste recycling is here to stay, both as a means of preventing the depletion of natural resources and to arrest global warming.

To this end, I feel that the authorities here have done quite a lot.

To encourage our population to recycle, bins of at least two colours are provided in places like petrol kiosks, shopping malls and the heartlands.

As a result of this, I have been religiously separating my discarded items before depositing them into the relevant bins placed in the open field fronting my block.

But I am now beginning to wonder if I am wasting my effort because, a few days ago, I saw workers from the waste collection company putting all the recyclable waste from the two bins into the same compaction wagon.

I hope the authorities can comment if the above practice is the approved method. If so, action should be taken to remove the extra bins. This will make our landscape and streetscape less congested.

Moreover, it is an eyesore to have so many bins all over our island. It will also help the operators to save money.

Soh Ah Yuen

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Energy audits in 121 buildings result in $30m savings

Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia 7 Feb 09;

SINGAPORE: As of December last year, the government spent $3.2 million subsidising energy audits in 121 buildings in Singapore. This resulted in energy savings of close to $30 million a year.

At Singapore Post (SingPost), changes to the air conditioning system alone saved the organisation $1.2 million in electricity bills a year.

To reduce friction and therefore lower energy consumption, renovations were made so that straight pipes instead of crooked ones pumped water in the chiller units.

SingPost also used a smart motor in its air-con cooling tower, so that it moves slower when it is less hot.

Most buildings have motors that move at one standard speed.

SingPost's senior vice president for property management, Tan Swee Guan, said: "The energy audit is co-sponsored by NEA. They co-sponsored 50 per cent. It cost us about $50,000. And the project cost us a total of $1.9 million."

To encourage others to implement similar changes, the National Environment Agency (NEA) will co-fund 50 per cent of the cost of energy-efficient technologies, capped at $2 million per project.

Besides retrofitting older buildings, the government also wants to encourage more efficient energy use in new buildings.

Hence the NEA will co-fund 80 per cent or $600,000, or whichever is lower, of an energy-use-design workshop before the building process.

- CNA/ir

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Heritage board website revamped to reach out to more youngsters

Kristine Lam, Channel NewsAsia 7 Feb 09;

SINGAPORE: National Heritage Board's three-year-old web portal (http://yesterday.sg/) has undergone a major transformation to become a full-fledged social media platform - one that mimics popular social sites like YouTube and Facebook.

With an easy to navigate YouTube platform, the board hopes contributors will start sharing videos online. The site also has a photo gallery, blog sites and forums for users to learn about the country's heritage and museum offerings.

Before the revamp, the portal got some 30,000 page views per month, with many of its users being youngsters.

"We hope to reach out to more of the younger generation, get them interested in heritage and nostalgia and (get them) to access it (web portal) in a way that they're most comfortable with. Most of them spend a lot of time online, on Facebook, YouTube, Flicker," said Walter Lim, National Heritage Board's director for corporate communications.

- CNA/ir

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A Garden of Eden in Kepong

Elizabeth John, New Straits Times 8 Feb 09;

The national heritage status that FRIM is set to receive is a recognition of its importance, writes ELIZABETH JOHN.

IT'S a Garden of Eden and a leader in research, but the real jewel in the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia's crown is its impending national heritage status.

The 80-year-old forest-garden and its institute would be gazetted a national heritage by midyear, said its director-general Datuk Dr Abdul Latif Mohmod. The listing will give this 15 million-tree swathe of green not only recognition but also protection against the growing pressure of development.

The institute's grounds sprawl across 486ha in Kepong, on what was once mining land. Work to turn it into a centre for research on forestry began when the scrub and brush were cleared and the first saplings were planted in 1924.

Decades later, this man-made forest has matured into one of the world's oldest and boasts a vast collection of trees and plants, some rarely seen outside its shady grounds.

The push for national heritage status came following the institute's acquisition of its grounds from the state government in August 2007.

FRIM's lush gardens and forests have long been overshadowed by the spectre of development.

Ownership, at the cost of RM9 million premium payment, would provide it greater security, said Abdul Latif.

It will also mean that its botanical garden, scheduled to be officially opened at year-end, is here to stay.

The Kepong Botanical Garden has taken shape on a fallow plot within FRIM's grounds over the past few years.

Seeds were collected from forests in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak and germinated in FRIM before being planted in the garden.

By year-end, the garden is expected to feature some 9,200 trees, ginger, bamboo and orchid gardens and an ornamental garden, among others.

A disabled-friendly educational forest trail, called the Razak Walk, is already in place within the garden.

It houses a vast collection of unique and varied plants sourced from the jungles of the lowlands and highlands.


Significance of heritage status

WHEN Malaysia celebrated its 50th Independence two years ago, 50 subjects were chosen as national heritage under the National Heritage Act 2005.
The then Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry drew up a list of 18 buildings, 20 objects and 12 cultural practices.

Among them were Parliament House, the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, the National Palace, the hibiscus flower, the national anthem, lion dance and wayang kulit.

They were chosen for their significance, especially in relation to the country's independence and also for their uniqueness.

The declaration creates public awareness of a need to preserve and conserve national heritage, whether in its tangible, intangible or natural form.

A natural heritage is a site or precisely delineated natural area of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science, conservation or natural beauty.

Examples include the Mulu National Park in Sarawak, Kinabalu National Park in Sabah, Batu Caves in Selangor, as well as marine parks, wetlands, forest reserves and Orang Asli reserves.

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Whale sharks in Batangas fresh waters

Alcuin Papa, Philippine Daily Inquirer 8 Feb 09;

MANILA, Philippines—For the first time, the gentle whale sharks, locally known as “butanding” are venturing into the fresh waters of the Batangas province.

Paolo Pagaduan, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) project manager for a coastal management undertaking in Nasugbu, Batangas, said increased environmental awareness and vigilant efforts against dynamite fishing and overfishing are encouraging the proliferation of whale sharks and other marine species in the area.

Pagaduan told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that a 15-foot whale shark was spotted feeding in the estuaries of the Calayo River in Nasugbu last November. Estuaries are areas where fresh water meet seawater.

Pagaduan said the gentle sharks are feeding on krill (alamang) in the mouth of the river which is part of the Hamilo Coast.

“The presence of large filter feeders such as whale sharks and manta rays could indicate the return of a strong food base. The creatures are probably attracted to the swarms of krill or plankton that feed on the nutrient-rich runoff from nearby Calayo River,” Pagaduan said.

For years, fisherfolk living on the coasts of Nasugbu have spotted the butandings in the area. But this is the first time the gentle butanding (Rhincodon typus), the world’s largest fish capable of growing to over 40-feet long, are moving into freshwaters.

“This is highly unusual. Whale sharks do not normally feed in shallow estuaries,” Pagaduan told the Inquirer.

Whale sharks have been known to aggregate in Donsol, Sorsogon. But Pagaduan said more and more sightings of the animal are being reported in Nasugbu and Anilao in Batangas.

At present, sightings of manta rays and the Oliver Ridley sea turtles are increasing, he said.

“Usually, these species never stay more than a few days. But it seems they are staying longer,” Pagaduan said.

He credits the increased presence of the marine animals to thriving numbers of krill in the area which feed on plankton.

The proliferation of the krill and plankton, Pagaduan said, are largely due to the cessation of dynamic fishing in the area, the increased awareness of fisherfolk living on the coast and the partnership between local residents, local government officials, the private sector and nongovernment organizations to protect the coastlines.

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Injured bears rescued from bile farms in China

Ken Teh, Associated Press Yahoo News 7 Feb 09;

CHENGDU, China – A dozen Asiatic black bears, malnourished and diseased from years spent on abusive bile-harvesting farms in southwest China, were recovering Saturday after being handed over to an animal charity group.

The Hong Kong-based Animals Asia Foundation took in the bears from state-approved farms in Sichuan province where holes were cut in their abdomens so that their bile could drip out to be harvested and used in Chinese traditional medicine.

Such bear farming is legal in China but the bears came from farms that violated regulations by mistreating the animals, the group says. Thirteen bears were handed over by the Sichuan Forestry Protection Department Friday but one was put to death because it was so ill, apparently from late-stage liver cancer.

China started allowing bear bile farming in the 1980s, saying it would protect wild Asiatic black bears by satisfying the market for bile with farmed products, according to Animals Asia. But the lack of reliable population data on black bears makes it difficult to evaluate whether it has been successful, the group said.

Wild bears are still poached because wild bile is believed to be better than farmed bile, it said.

Asiatic black bears are also known as moon bears because of a crescent shaped marking on their chests.

An estimated 7,000 bears are kept in China's 247 bile-harvesting farms, according to government estimates, but Animals Asia believes the number could be as high as 10,000.

The approved means of bile collection in China is through a permanent hole put in a bear's abdomen — a process known as the "free drip" method.

Animals Asia says this still causes pain and the slow death of bears. But more painful methods ranging from inserting metal catheters and rubber tubes into the bears' abdomens, which have been banned by the government, are still believed to be used in China.

The latest bears were handed over to Animals Asia under an agreement made in 2000 with the government to receive sick bears from state and illegal farms. The bears were sent to the foundation's Moon Bear Rescue Center outside Chengdu, which has handled 260 freed bears since the agreement was signed.

The group said it was not informed of what specific regulations the offending farms violated but that usually they are cited for having cages that are too small or for not giving bears space to regularly walk around.

The bears freed Friday had a host of illnesses from blindness to liver tumors, the group said. Some had ringworm around their faces and rocked from side to side biting their cage bars.

"Most of the bears that arrived today had scars and wounds on their heads as a result of repetitive bar-rubbing during their years on the farm. In short, they are cage-crazy," said Jill Robinson, founder and chief executive of Animals Asia.

The bears were given fruit mash before being taken away for a months-long rehabilitation program, which includes health checks, medical treatment and living in recovery cages under quarantine. Of the 260 bears the center has treated, 77 have died.

Phones rang unanswered Saturday at the Sichuan Forestry Protection Department.

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China drought deprives millions of drinking water

Andrew Torchia, Reuters 7 Feb 09;

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Millions of people and cattle in north China face shortages of drinking water because of a severe drought, the government said on Saturday, promising to speed up disbursement of billions of dollars of subsidies to farmers.

State television quoted disaster relief officials as saying 4.4 million people and 2.1 million cattle lacked adequate drinking water. Official media have described the drought as north China's worst in half a century.

The Ministry of Finance said it would accelerate disbursement of 86.7 billion yuan ($12.7 billion) of annual subsidies for farmers to assist grain production and minimize the impact of the drought on rural incomes.

The government is particularly anxious to avoid a drop in rural incomes because of the threat of social unrest as millions of migrant workers, laid off from urban jobs during China's economic slump, return to the countryside.

Instead of distributing the farm subsidies evenly over this year as it did in the past, the finance ministry said it was immediately disbursing the entire 15.1 billion yuan earmarked to supplement the incomes of grain farmers.

It is also immediately disbursing part of a 71.6 billion yuan sum earmarked to aid capital spending by farmers. The ministry called on provincial governments to deliver that money into the hands of farmers in the worst-hit areas within a month.

However, meteorological officials said there were signs that better rainfall in coming weeks would ease the crisis. Rainfall is forecast for the next 10 days, the official Xinhua news agency quoted the China Meteorological Administration as saying.

Xiao Ziniu, director of China's National Climate Center, was quoted as saying most of north China's wheat belt was expected to receive slightly less than or nearly normal rainfall in March.

Xiao said earlier in the week that losses in China's winter wheat fields could be limited to just 2.5 percent if farmers moved quickly enough to irrigate their fields.

The drought is hitting eight provinces which contain about half of China's wheat-growing areas. As of Friday, 10.7 million hectares of wheat-growing fields had been affected in those provinces, the Ministry of Agriculture said.

Of that area, 4.5 million hectares were seriously damaged and 420,000 hectares suffered destruction of wheat shoots, the ministry said. Just over half of the total affected area had been irrigated so far.

($1 = 6.83 yuan)

(Additional reporting by Edmund Klamann; Editing by Sugita Katyal)

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Bushfires rage in Australia, 25 dead

Michael Perry, Reuters 7 Feb 09;

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Bushfires continued to rage across Australia's southeast on Sunday as the death toll from one major blaze rose to 25, with fears that as many as 40 people have been killed, said police.

Many of those killed were trapped in cars trying to flee a huge inferno north of Melbourne, while survivors on Sunday described "walls of flames" destroying homes and engulfing entire towns.

Wildfires are a natural annual event in Australia, but this year a combination of scorching weather, drought and tinder-dry bush has created prime conditions for blazes to take hold.

Australia's worst bushfires occurred in 1983 when 75 people were killed in Victoria.

The fires are around towns about 80 km (50 miles) north of Melbourne, Australia's second largest city.

Fourteen people were killed on Saturday night -- six at Kinglake, four at Wandong, three at Strathewen and one in Clonbinane. Police have not said where the other 11 died.

Kinglake resident Gemima Richards said her husband, his brother and their parents dived into a reservoir on their property to escape the inferno.

"They drove through the fire to get down to the dam and take refuge with their parents," Richards told Australia's Sky television. "The fireball fell from the sky and hit their car, but luckily it bounced off their car."

The main Victorian bushfire had burned some 3,000 hectares of mainly national park on Saturday. Within hours, the fire had burned some 30,000 hectares after the wind changed direction, fire officials said.

"We got in the car to have a look and I drove to the end of our road. There was just a wall of flame," Kinglake resident Peter Mitchell told local radio on Sunday.

DEVASTATION

A Strathewen resident said the town had been devastated.

"There's a lot of families in Strathewen that we haven't been able to account for," said Georgina, a caller on local radio.

"The school's gone, the hall's gone ... some people left it too late. We've lost friends, and we're just waiting for more (deaths to be confirmed) -- children, loved ones."

Local media reported the death toll could reach 40 and police say the death toll could rise.

The town of Marysville was also virtually destroyed.

Victoria fire official Greg Esnouf said: "This latest report says Marysville possibly one building left standing -- that's just shocking."

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, sending his thoughts and prayers to the families and communities hit, said: "This is an appalling loss of life, an appalling loss of property."

With more heatwave conditions and strong winds forecast for Sunday, tens of thousands of firefighters battled more than 60 blazes in Victoria and New South Wales states.

Firefighters said fires continued to burn right across Victoria state, destroying 100,000 hectares and more than 100 homes, and would takes days to control.

"We still have about eight major fires that are burning across the state," said Darren Grevis-James, a spokesman for southern Victoria state's Country Fire Authority which has deployed about 3,000 firefighters to battle the blazes.

Authorities said a final death toll would take days to confirm as emergency officials moved into burned out areas.

"The property loss, the houses and even people missing can take days (to determine) because the focus at the moment is putting out the fires," said Grevis-James, adding that the fires had raced through both suburban areas and farmland.

On Saturday, temperatures in Melbourne soared to 46.4 degrees Celsius (115.5 Fahrenheit), the highest on record, but temperatures eased on Sunday.

"We've had a sprinkling of rain but it's not enough to do anything," Grevis-James said.

Nearly 60 fires were also burning in New South Wales state, reported local media, with firefighters preparing for 40 degrees Celsius plus temperatures and strong winds on Sunday.

"The prospects of containing these fires is remote at best," said Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons.

(Additional reporting by Mark Bendeich; Editing by Alison Williams)

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