Best of our wild blogs: 22 Jun 19


Special shells at Cyrene
wild shores of singapore


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Crocodile spotted in drain in Sungei Kadut caught, transferred to farm: NParks

Channel NewsAsia 21 Jun 19;

SINGAPORE: A crocodile that was seen in a drain at Sungei Kadut Drive on Friday (Jun 21) has been caught and transported to a crocodile farm, said National Parks Board (NParks).

“NParks officers worked with our trained contractors to secure the crocodile. It has since been translocated to a crocodile farm,” it said in response to CNA's queries.

NParks was alerted to the sighting of the Estuarine crocodile at 8.20am, it said.

The crocodile was spotted by employees at concrete company Star Ready Mix.


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84-year-old woman dies from dengue in 5th fatal case this year

Channel NewsAsia 20 Jun 19;

SINGAPORE: An 84-year-old woman died from dengue last week, marking the fifth such death in Singapore this year, according to a joint statement by the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday (Jun 20).

The woman, who died last Friday, lived within an active dengue cluster at Lorong 6 Geylang.

As of Monday, 108 dengue cases have been reported in the cluster at Geylang Road, said NEA and MOH.

Since it was notified of the cluster on Apr 26, NEA said it had detected and destroyed 64 mosquito breeding habitats.


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Malaysia: Johor rules out Sg Kim Kim repeat following Pasir Gudang air pollution incident

mohd farhaan shah The Star 21 Jun 19;

PASIR GUDANG: The Johor government has ruled out a repeat of the Sungai Kim Kim incident after 15 individuals, including 13 students, were admitted to hospital following breathing and vomiting difficulties.

State Health, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar said the authorities have opened an operation centre at the Pasir Gudang Indoor Stadium, following the latest incident on Thursday (June 20).

“This incident has nothing to do with Sungai Kim Kim because the school is located some 6km away and so far, the Department of Environment (DOE) has found no illegal dumping here.

“The Fire and Rescue Department and DOE will lead the operation team, where they would inspect air quality within a 2km radius around the affected area,” he told a press conference at the operation centre here Friday (June 21).


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Indonesia to face drier dry season this year

Antara 21 Jun 19;

"NTB and NTT are harvesting rainwater for farming, hence they need to be supported by irrigation water," he said.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Forecasting that this year's dry season will be drier as compared to that of the previous year, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has reminded the regional authorities to intensify vigilance over possible forest fires and droughts.

"Regions which were affected by droughts during the June, July and August period of last year, should be vigilant this year," Adi Ripalsi, head of the agency's climate information analysis sub-unit, said here on Friday, adding, "Last year, the precipitation during the dry season was less than 20 millimeters a month, and this year, it can go lower."


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Indonesia: Flooding inundates 40 hectares of rice fields in Mukomuko, Bengkulu

Antara 20 Jun 19;

Mukomuko, Bengkulu (ANTARA) - Flooding caused by continuous torrential rains resulted in a local river overflowing its bank and inundating some 40 hectares of rice fields in Pondok Baru Village, Selagan Raya Sub-district, Mukomuko District, Bengkulu Province.

In spite of the flooding, two-month-old paddy plants in the affected rice fields were not destroyed, Sugiyanto, an official of the Mukomuko agriculture office, confirmed here on Thursday.


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Indonesia's two new biosphere reserves recognized by UNESCO

Antara 21 Jun 19;

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's Tojo Una-Una Togean, Central Sulawesi, and Saleh-Moyo-Tambora (Samota), West Nusa Tenggara, were two new biosphere reserves recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the Paris congregation, France, June 19.

At the 31st Session of the International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Program (ICC-MAB), Tojo Una-Una and Saleh-Moyo-Tambora Togean were the 15th and 16th biosphere reserves in Indonesia to be added to UNESCO's list.

"The Togean Tojo Una-Una Biosphere Reserve spans an area of 2,187,632 hectares in the heart of the Coral Triangle that has the highest coral diversity in the world as well as mangrove forests and small island ecosystems," IESCO-MAB UNESCO President Enny Sudarmonowati, also deputy for life sciences at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), noted in a written statement received in Jakarta on Friday.


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Thailand's $13 Billion Plan Could Woo 65 Million Tourists Yearly

Natnicha Chuwiruch Bloomberg 21 Jun 19;

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Thailand is already struggling to cope with the environmental impact of a tourism boom that’s expected to lure 40 million visitors this year. The influx is on course to hit 65 million a decade from now, signaling an even bigger challenge ahead.

Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy plans to pour about $13 billion into expanding airport capacity and connecting major terminals with high-speed railways. As a result, foreign tourist numbers could jump more than 60% by 2029 to about the size of the U.K. population, projections from The World Travel & Tourism Council show.


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Canada becomes first G7 country to ban shark fin imports

Leyland Cecco The Guardian 21 Jun 19;

It was on a family visit to Hong Kong that Kristyn Wong-Tam noticed her uncle – a well-regarded chef – was the only person at the table not touching a bowl of shark fin soup.

When he explained how fins are hacked from struggling sharks, before their bodies are tossed back into the water, the rest of the family soon lost their appetite.

“We didn’t understand how the food came to the table,” recalled Wong-Tam. “But it made me think about whether I wanted to eat it, if my uncle – who was actually preparing the food – didn’t want to.”

The experience became a pivotal moment for Wong-Tam: as a Toronto city councillor, she went on to lead efforts to stamp out the sale of shark fins in Canada.


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