Pregnant wild boar killed in accident on BKE

Channel NewsAsia 22 Jun 18;

SINGAPORE: A pregnant wild boar was killed in an accident involving three cars on the Bukit Timah Expressway towards Woodlands on Thursday evening (Jun 21).

The accident, which took place near the Mandai Road exit, left the boar's insides exposed and its litter of unborn piglets on the road.

Channel NewsAsia understands that the three cars were travelling on the right-most lane when the wild boar crossed the expressway from left to right. Two of the cars ran over the wild boar, while the third car collided into the second car.

The police said they were alerted to the accident at 7.40pm and that investigations are ongoing.

Photos circulating on social media show a dead wild boar with its unborn piglets lying nearby after an accident on the Bukit Timah Expressway on Jun 21, 2018.

The incident comes after a wild sambar deer was euthanised after it suffered severe injuries in an accident along the same expressway last Sunday. Three vehicles were involved in the accident and a taxi driver was injured.

There were several other accidents involving wild boars on Singapore's roads last year.

In September, five people were injured in two separate accidents on Lentor Avenue and on the Ayer Rajah Expressway involving wild boars. In November, a wild boar was shot by police for endangering public safety at the Punggol West Flyover. A month after that incident, a wild boar caused an accident between two vehicles along the Pan Island Expressway.

The Ministry of National Development said in a written reply to a parliamentary question by MP Sun Xueling in November last year that it is working with stakeholders to "manage the wild boar issues" in Singapore.

The Government also said it will step up public education efforts on what to do if members of the public encounter animals such as wild boars.

Source: CNA/cy


Mandai area roadkill: Developer takes protective measures but wildlife experts call for more
Fann Sim Channel NewsAsia 22 Jun 18;

SINGAPORE: More can be done to prevent roadkill in the Mandai area, where an eco-tourism hub is being developed, wildlife experts told Channel NewsAsia.

A pregnant wild boar was killed in a traffic accident along Bukit Timah Expressway on Thursday (Jun 21), the fifth reported roadkill in the area since development on the project started last year. Last Sunday, a wild Sambar deer was killed along the same stretch of road.

The developer of the project, Mandai Park Development (MPD), said speed bumps were put in place along Mandai Lake Road in 2016. The process of installing hoardings started at the end of 2016 before development works started in the first quarter of 2017.

But wildlife experts said more can be done to prevent roadkill.

"They need to be far more efficient and urgent than they are doing now. At the area where a pangolin and leopard cat died, there are still no hoardings even till today," said veteran wildlife consultant Subaraj Rajathurai.

The hoardings, which prevent animals from getting onto the roads and guides them to a safer crossing, are still being installed in phases up to this year, said wildlife experts.

Channel NewsAsia understands that the hoardings are added in phases as the project progresses.

When Channel NewsAsia visited the area, the hoardings were largely limited to the Mandai Lake Road area and not along Mandai Road, which flanks the northern region of the reserve.

"Due to forest clearing as part of the development, wildlife which inhabit these areas will be forced to move around and are at risk of getting on adjacent busy roads or highways where hoardings are not present," said Ms Anbarasi Boopal, deputy chief executive of Animal Concerns Research and Education Society's (ACRES).

"More speed calming measures and complete barriers must be in the right places, not just with the development but the surrounding areas where the displaced animals could move to along the main roads to prevent animal crossings and roadkill," she added.

On slowing the traffic along Mandai Lake Road, Dr Lee Hui Mien, MPD's vice president of sustainable solutions, said that a series of speed reduction measures has been put in place.

The speed limit for most parts of the road has been reduced to 40kmh. This is further reduced to 20kmh at a stretch near the nature reserve that has been identified as a temporary crossing area for wildlife.

MPD said in January this year, an additional speed radar was installed and the number of speed humps and wildlife crossing signs increased. Road markings to indicate wildlife crossing areas were also added.

A rope bridge has also been installed along Mandai Lake Road to help arboreal animals such as squirrels and macaques move across safely, with another set currently underway, it added.

Drivers of vehicles such as taxis, private hire cars and buses that regularly ply the Mandai area have also been engaged to raise awareness on speed calming measures, said Dr Lee.

However, Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum's research associate Sivasothi N said that the hoardings and traffic calming plans have been up for "a very short time".

He noted that plans for the eco-tourism park were first announced in 2014 but work only started in 2017. "That is very soon for an entity unfamiliar with development next to protected forests and the entire process has been hasty. The mitigation I've observed is slow and inadequate," said Mr Sivasothi.

"The mitigations that are needed are not yet implemented," said the vice-chair of Nature Society's conservation committee, Mr Ho Hua Chew.

PLANNED ANIMAL OVERPASS SHOULD HAVE BEEN BUILT BEFORE CONSTRUCTION STARTED

Mr Ho was referring to a planned Eco-Link wildlife bridge to help animals living in the forested areas of Mandai cross roads without danger, similar to the existing Eco-Link@BKE crossing built between Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. Experts said that the bridge, which will only be ready by the end of 2019 ahead of other components of the project, could have helped prevent roadkill incidents.

Mr Subaraj, who provided consultancy on the Mandai project, said various local wildlife groups had submitted recommendations to mitigate its impact on the local fauna.

"None of the mitigation measures recommended, including wildlife crossings ... to proper hoardings, everything was not in place when the developer started developing the area which shouldn't be the case. It should all have been in place then you start the development," said Mr Subaraj.

"That's the normal procedure for anywhere where there is nature even more so when there is a nature reserve. That's really unfortunate," he added.

While the Eco-Link bridge is a "great solution" and can be used by most animals, Mr Subaraj added that installing more rope bridges will help arboreal animals that live in the rainforest tree canopy move across.

National University of Singapore's wildlife biologist Joanna Coleman said that the most effective strategy of mitigating wildlife affected by building works are overpasses.

"Signage is probably the most common and cheapest mitigation measure implemented worldwide," said Dr Joanna Coleman. But a recent study showed they are ineffective, the wildlife biologist at the National University of Singapore added.

"If drivers in Singapore are generally more cautious or more likely than drivers elsewhere to obey road signs, then perhaps signage could work better here than elsewhere," Dr Coleman added.

DANGEROUS NOT JUST FOR ANIMALS, BUT ALSO FOR HUMANS

"When a large mammal strays onto a road, there's always a chance that it will cause a collision, resulting in human injury or death," Dr Coleman said.

Three cars were involved in the accident with the pregnant wild boar. Last Sunday's incident where a wild Sambar deer had to be euthanised involved a taxi, motorcycle and a car as they tried to avoid the deer. The taxi driver suffered cuts and was taken to hospital.

In May, a Malaysian motorcyclist took the Land Transport Authority and National Parks Board to court for negligence after a wild boar roadkill accident.

Mr Vicknesh Morthy suffered serious head injuries resulting in permanent disability after crashing into the carcass of a wild boar that was left along the BKE, near Eco-Link@BKE.

Apart from Sambar deer and wild boars, the reserve is also home to pangolins, Banded Leaf Monkeys, Common Palm Civets and leopard cats.

"I think we will definitely see more encounters of this nature but what is scary is that ... if you're not very careful, it could lead to a fatality of a person on the roads. If a car hits a big Sambar deer at full pace, someone could get killed," Mr Subaraj said.

"We need more wildlife crossings. We need speeds to be slowed down on certain roads especially along Mandai Road and Upper Thomson Road. And we need to have better understanding among the public that you are moving adjacent to a nature area and there is always a possibility of wildlife being around so let's be a little bit considerate and alert," he added.

Source: CNA/fs


Pregnant wild boar killed after accident on BKE near Mandai Road
Straits Times 22 Jun 18;

SINGAPORE - A pregnant wild boar was killed in an accident on the Bukit Timah Expressway near the Mandai Road exit on Thursday night (June 21).

In response to queries, the police said three cars were involved in the accident. There were no injuries reported.

The Straits Times understands that the wild boar was run over by two cars travelling on the right-most lane of the expressway. A third car then collided with the second car that had run over the animal.

Facebook user Alex Soo posted photos of the aftermath which showed the dead animal lying on the road.

The bodies of several of its babies were also seen nearby.

This is the second accident in a week along the same stretch of expressway near Mandai Road that has seen a wild animal end up as roadkill.

On Sunday, a rare sambar deer that wandered onto the BKE caused a three-vehicle accident. A taxi driver was injured and taken to hospital.

The deer was later put down as its injuries were found to be too severe.

Due to the large size of the deer, the Wildlife Reserves Singapore was alerted and a team was able to safely contain the injured animal at about 7.30am, on June 17, 2018.
Related Story
Wild sambar deer put down due to severe injuries after 3-vehicle accident on BKE
The last reported accident involving a wild boar was in December last year, when one of the animals caused a two-vehicle accident on the Pan Island Expressway.

ST reported in March of several cases of rare animals ending up as roadkill in Mandai since development for the Mandai hub of five wildlife parks began in January last year.

Works are ongoing to clear secondary forests in the area near the Singapore Zoo, Night Safari and River Safari to accommodate two more parks - the relocated Bird Park, and new Rainforest Park.