Singapore is a ‘City in Nature’ but do Singaporeans know how to live with wildlife?

SINGAPORE – Days after Punggol resident Gordon Hoo moved into his landed home in Ponggol Twenty-Fourth Avenue in November 2023, a troop of monkeys showed up and climbed up and down his fence and trees.

In the months afterwards, the long-tailed macaques would damage plants, steal bread and clothes, and were a general nuisance.

“I had to close all the windows and doors all the time, and, even then, they still come and sit on the balcony or our trees,” said the 62-year-old business coach.

Mr Hoo’s complaints echo those of residents at a nearby Build-To-Order project in Northshore Drive.

In September, The Straits Times reported that residents there were alarmed after seeing the monkeys at park connectors and climbing up Housing Board blocks.

Their concerns are not unusual, and could arguably just be part and parcel of Singapore’s vision of being a “City in Nature”, what with forests and parks so close to urban areas.

It is not the first time residents and wildlife have come into conflict. Other animals including otters and wild boars have also made the headlines for destroying property or injuring people.

From 2020 to 2023, the National Parks Board (NParks) received an average of about 8,400 wildlife-related reports each year. Many of these reports involved animals such as monkeys, snakes, bats, civets and monitor lizards.

Such complaints will likely grow more common as Singapore continues to develop, and its green spaces are cleared for housing and other developments.

The latest outcry over

the macaques in Punggol

then raises a timely question – do we know how to live among wildlife?

The recent incidents showed that several of the monkey sightings were a result of human behaviour.

Monkeys were spotted eating pineapples and food left at void decks.

Over at Ponggol Twenty-Fourth Avenue, residents said beachgoers at Punggol Beach would often leave behind leftover food, attracting the animals.

The macaques were also seen climbing up the high-rise blocks – experts said they were doing so to look for food.

The feeding of the monkeys, whether intentional or not, has altered their natural foraging behaviour, said experts.

“People may give monkeys food intentionally out of pity, or unintentionally by leaving leftover food unattended.

“Both present easy access for animals to get food, and they are the main reason why macaques enter residential areas,” said primatologist Andie Ang.

Dr Ang, who heads Mandai Nature’s primate conservation and Singapore programmes, said the monkeys are already facing pressure from habitat loss.

Forests in the Punggol area have been cleared for residential projects, pushing the animals out to areas where they sense food.

This was why monkeys are scaling HDB blocks, said Ms Anbarasi Boopal, co-chief executive of wildlife rescue group Animal Concerns Research and Education Society.

“It is a risky task for them, as a fall could be fatal,” she said, adding that they are driven to do so because of food.

NParks has urged the public not to feed the macaques as it habituates them to relying on humans as an easy source of food.

The macaques are forest fringe creatures that move between forest patches in search of food and territory, and have been observed to travel through Lorong Halus Wetland, Coney Island Park and the remaining forest patches around the Punggol area, said NParks.

It has put in place measures to minimise human-animal conflicts, including monkey guarding – conditioning macaques away from homes and towards forested areas, and removing fruit trees from areas frequented by humans.

It is also working to carry out sterilisation as a long-term population control measure.

In other words, put a stop to easily accessible food and the animals will leave the area, but experts caution that it takes just one incident of feeding, or one packet of food left out in the open, to set back those efforts.

Some residents have suggested relocating the macaques, but experts say this is not a viable solution as another troop of monkeys can come and take their place.

“The root of the problem is not addressed, which is habitat loss and intolerant or ignorant humans,” said Dr Ngo Kang Min, vice-president of Nature Society (Singapore).

Ultimately, the key to living with wildlife is to be more conscious about the impact humans have on the environment around them.

Dr Ang said it is vital to educate members of the public on what constitutes negative behaviour, such as feeding, and encourage them to report it to NParks so that action can be taken swiftly.

Dr Ngo said exposing children to nature from a young age can improve attitudes and tolerance towards wildlife, adding that the Nature Society has been trying to do this with its educational programmes in schools since 2018.

“It’s a small step, but it would go a long way to cultivate a society where we can truly live in harmony with wildlife,” she added.

After all, not all wild animals are a bother.

Mr Hoo pointed out that the “beautiful owls” near his home help keep the rat population under control.

“We have to take it with a positive mindset and try to live harmoniously with wildlife. This was their natural habitat after all,” he said.

NParks advisory