Discovery @ NIE butterfly garden on 11 July 2006

Fifteenth Discovery Posting (and First Butterfly Posting!):

Was around the area of NTU yesterday due to some personal reasons, so with some friends, we decided to pop by the butterfly garden over at NIE (one of the first butterfly gardens i've 'discovered') for a short look.

Till date, i still have problems identifying the host and flowering plants which the butterflies are attracted to, so i will skip that topic for now until i get a better idea of those. =p

Anyway, first 'discovery' is a very commonly seen butterfly in the garden. The Blue Glassy Tiger (picture below).
Side Note:
All the information about the butterflies found here are from 'Hexaglider' website, you may refer to his website for more information and IDs of butterflies, click here to go to his website.

Discovery Note:
1. This species is common in Singapore, particularly in the coastal mangrove areas.
2 .The butterflies are also attracted to the partially dried plants of Heliotropium indicum, usually turning up within an hour or two after the plants are hung up in the forest reserves.

Second 'discovery' was a butterfly i've seen for the first time. I've seen its cousin (the Plain Tiger) quite a number of times already and but this is the first time i've seen the Common Tiger (picture below)!
Discovery Note:
1. The Common Tiger shares the same colouration as the Plain Tiger.
2. The butterfly is not commonly encountered in Singapore, but is often seen in the urban and sub-urban areas where it may find its host plant, the creeper-weed Raphistemma pulchellum, growing in a patch of undeveloped land.
3. The Common Tiger is attracted to the dried plants of Heliotropium indicum.

So which means that the plant, Heliotropium indicum can be found in the garden.

Third 'discovery' is a butterfly which was only sighted recently in the garden, a Blue Spotted Crow (picture below).
Discovery Note:
1. The Blue Spotted Crow is not common and is rarely seen, except at the occasional flowering tree.
2. However, it has also been observed outside the nature reserves in suburban housing estates in Singapore.

At the same time, i also saw a number of Chocolate Pansy-s flying around the garden, but alas i couldn't get a shot of any of them. And the White Cabbage butterfly which was sighted the last time i've visited the garden was MIA.

I wonder if butterflies have a 'timetable' for appearance. =p

Anyway, was quite lucky to get a few nice shots of the butterflies although only spending like 20 minutes at the garden. Like to thank my friends for the company =)

Discovery @ National Library on 7 July 2007

Fourteenth Discovery Posting:

(Entry @ 12 July 2007: Got the ID for the unknown butterfly and flower. Thanks to 'Hexagilder' for the ID of the butterfly and Ron, CH and JH for the ID of the flower)

On the day of the triple 7, (070707), my friend and i went to visit the National Central Library for a guided walk around its Gardens around the building.

Here are some facts which were given to us:
1. There are a total of 14 gardens found around the library.
2. 5 of them are skyline gardens.
3. Only 2 of the skyline gardens are opened to the public. They are located on the 5th and 10th floor.

For first part of the walk, we were brought to the skyline garden on the 10th floor.

One of the first few plants, first 'discovery', which was pointed out is this White Sky Vine (picture below).
A photo of the flowers of the white sky vine (picture below).
Discovery Note:
1. This is a creeping plant as you can observe from the photos above.
2. This plant is mostly planted for ornamental purposes.

The second 'discovery' of the walk was a lotus banana (picture below). Notice the banana like objects near the bottom of the picture below?
A close up shot of the flower of the lotus banana (picture below)
Discovery Note:
1. As seen, it got its common name because of the similar look of its flowers to the lotus flower.
2. This plant is native to Thailand.

Very near to the lotus banana was the blood banana (picture below). Third 'discovery' of the day.
Discovery Note:
1. This is a native plant from Sumatra.
2. This is also known as the red banana.
3. Red bananas are smaller in size than a common banana and the peel is a deep red or purple. It has a creamy white to pink flesh, with a slight raspberry-banana flavor. The overall taste is similar to a common yellow banana.

Up next, our guide pointed out a torch ginger. The plant wasn't really distinguishable amongst the other plants due to its size, so our guide showed us a flower bud of the plant instead (picture below). Fourth 'discovery' looks like...

Clue? Some food we eat.
A photo of its very beautiful flower taken in Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve back in 2006 (picture below).Discovery Note:
1. The torch ginger is believed native to Sulawesi and Java, Indonesia.
2. The plant is now grown in many tropical locations both for the extravagant 'flowers' and for food. In Malaysia, it is called kantan.
3. It is one of the ingredients in Rojak!

Fifth 'discovery' looked very familiar, I've seen this somewhere before. Oh yes, Sentosa! This is the infamous Tongkat Ali! Discovery Note:
1. Do you know that 'Tongkat' means walking stick in English? Which makes the name of this plant to be the walking stick of Ali. :p
2. Anyway, historically, it has been used by the folk medicine in its countries of origin as a libido enhancer and to treat various sexual dysfunctions.
3. In simple terms, it makes a man more man.
4. It has been discovered that Tongkat Ali extract increases muscle mass. Thanks to this discovery, a growing number of Asian athletes and body builders now use tongkat ali extract as an androgen, to improve muscle size and strength, and to enhance sports performance.

What's that on the Tongkat Ali? A Butterfly~! (picture below) Sixth 'discovery'! Note:
Till date, i have not been able to ID this butterfly. Its wing shape, span and pattern looks very like the Common Jay. But this butterfly had a yellowish macular band instead of a pale bluish macular band found on Common Jays.
Could anyone enlighten me on the ID of this butterfly. Thanks! Cause i've also been seeing this butterfly around our urban areas and housing estates, although not a common sight.

(Entry @ 12 July 2007: The ID of this butterfly is the Lime Butterfly, it's is a common butterfly in Singapore, and can be found as often around urban areas as well as parks, gardens and on the fringes of the nature areas.)

Seventh 'discovery' was a Oyster Plant! Hey, the shape really looks like an Oyster (picture below).

Another photo of the Oyster Plant (picture below)Discovery Note (information from Wikipedia):
1. This plant is also called the "Moses in the cradle".
2. The root is noted for tasting of oysters, from which the plant derives its name of Oyster Plant; young roots can be grated for use in salads, but older roots are better cooked, and they are usually used in soups or stews.
3. A latex derived from the root can be used as a chewing gum.
4. The flowering shoots can be used like asparagus, either raw or cooked, and the flowers can be added to salad, while the sprouted seeds can be used in salads or sandwiches.

A upward shot of the skyline garden (picture below).Holes on the leaf? Is it due to caterpillars or insects? Oh, this is the Swiss Cheese Plant. Eighth 'discovery'. Discovery Note:
1. This is a tropical ornamental plant.
2. An adaption that this plant has to prevent insect attacks is that its leaves have holes on them, so as to fool insects to thinking that its leaves have already been 'invaded' by insects.
3. It has aerial roots growing downwards out of the stem and take root when they reach the ground.
4. Its fruit is high in vitamin C and potassium.

Ninth 'discovery' was the curry plant. Here's a shot of its flowers (picture below).
Note:
Question: Why is it called the curry plant?
Answer: Rub its leaves with your fingers for a while and smell your fingers afterwards. You'll know why. =)

Then after, we were ushered to the ground level of the library to take a look at the flora planted around its compounds.

Here's the tenth 'discovery', a tree fern' (picture below). Discovery Note:
1. In general, any fern that grows with a trunk elevating the fronds (leaves) above ground level can be called a tree fern.
2. Unlike flowering plants, tree ferns do not form new woody tissue in their trunk as they grow. Rather, the trunk is supported by a fibrous mass of roots that expands as the tree fern grows.

Eleventh 'discovery' is a plant (picture below) which ID that i have forgotten to take down. I'm not really a plant person. Could someone help?Discovery Note:
1. I do remember that this plant is pollinated by birds. So the greatest amount of species of this can be found in Singapore is in the Jurong Bird Park!

(Entry @ 12 July 2007: ID of this flower is Heliconia!, and by the way, a common name for this is the false birds of paradise, due to their similar look.)

Twelfth 'discovery' was a certain species of the Jasmine. Memory was really loaded at this point, so i can't really remember the exact common name of this species of Jasmine but here are its beautiful flowers (picture below). This was also a subject of a private 'smile' for my friend and i.

Reason? Hey, i said it was private, right? =p
Discovery Note (General Notes on Jasmines):
1. Jasmines are widely cultivated for their flowers, enjoyed in the garden, as house plants, and as cut flowers.
2. They are often strongly and sweetly scented.
3. The flowers are worn by women in their hair in southern and Southeast Asia.
4. Some claim that the daily consumption of Jasmine tea is effective in preventing certain cancers

So after about an hour and pointing out many flora found around the library, the guided walk ended back at the lobby where we started off. Would like to thank the guide (i'm sorry that i forgot your name, must really work on my memory soon) for pointing out some many flora which i didn't know and telling short stories about some of them, and of course my friend who accompanied me along this walk.

Side Note:
This is a free guided walk conducted in either English or Mandarin on every 1st & 3rd Saturday of the month.
Time: 4pm to about 530pm
Place: National Library (known as Central Library or the library in between the MRT stations of City Hall and Bugis)

Discovery @ Big Sister's Island on 30 June 2007

Thirteenth Discovery Posting:

Time: 420am
Place (picture below): Marina South Ferry Terminal
Destination: Big Sister's Island
Purpose: Exploration
Quite a number of first-s on this trip (read on to discover why), my first trip to Big Sister's Island, so even though i had to forgo my sleep for the night, i had to go.

The cool breezes, a full moon and reflections of moonlight against the water along the way to our destination ensured that sleep never had a chance to crawl upon me.

Reaching the island, our first stop was the small lagoon as we wanted to check if there were any common sea stars around. But the first 'discovery' of the 'morning' was a land hermit crab (picture below). My first time seeing this!
Discovery Note:
1. Land Hermit Crabs need dry land to survive, unlike their very similar cousins the sea hermit crabs.
2. Sea Hermit Crabs will die in taken out of water for too long while a Land Hermit Crab will die if left in water for too long.
3. But like the sea hermit crabs, as it grows bigger, it will have to move out of its shell and move into a bigger one.
4. So please don’t not remove any shells from the shores as they may be potential homes for either land or sea hermit crabs.

As we explored on, someone spotted two anemone shrimps on a carpet anemone (picture below)! Second 'discovery'!
Discovery Note:
1. Difficult to spot due to its translucent appearance (can you spot the anemone shrimps in the picture above?)
2. They are able to live in or with anemones just like clown fishes.
3. The anemone shrimp and the anemone share a symbiotic relationship of mutualism; the shrimp attracts prey to the anemone for food while the anemone provides the shrimp with a shelter.

When you are exploring our shores during low tides, you might hear clicks and if you ever wondered what made them. Here's the answer, a snapping shrimp (picture below). Third 'discovery' of the morning.
Discovery Note:
1. One of their pincers is greatly enlarged. Sometimes, the enlarged pincer can be as long as its entire body.
2. The enlarged pincer has one movable ‘finger’ held apart with a catch. When the catch is released, an explosive sound occurs.
3. When colonies of the shrimp snap their claws, the cacophony is so intense that submarines can take advantage of it to hide from sonar.

Fourth 'discovery' was a brown egg crab (picture below).
Discovery Note:
1. The Brown egg crab is listed among the threatened animals of Singapore due to habitat lost.
2. Egg crabs are highly poisonous and contain toxins which are not destroyed by cooking.
3. Since other animals don't particularly want to eat this crab as it is poisonous, it is slow moving and doesn't really bother to hide.

As i stood taking photos of the crab, it seem to feeding on shrimps found nearby itself (picture below). Fifth 'discovery'!
Note:
Could anyone help me ID this shrimp? Thanks!

Alas but as further exploration yielded no sights of the common sea star, we decided to move towards the big lagoon and along the way was another first encounter for me. A blue spotted stingray (picture below) spotted by Ron. Sixth 'discovery'!
Discovery Note:
1. The position of the eyes allows the blue spot stingray to see almost behind it.
2. The gills and mouth are found on the underside of the body.
3. The blue spot stingray doesn't really have teeth—instead, the mouth is outfitted with two food-crushing plates.
4. Rays dart away when they sense trouble approaching. When caught off guard, these fish fend off predators with a flick of the tail, which is equipped with two venomous spines. Since its tail is so long, the blue spot stingray can even strike at animals directly in front of it.
5. The large tail spine of the blue spot stingray is dangerous and even deadly. The barbs in the tail are so large; people have bled to death from a sting.

Helen soon exclaimed that something was very beautiful as i was photographing some corals. Thinking of it to be another coral, i slowly approached the 'site' of 'sight' only to find out that it was a grapsus crab (picture below). Seventh 'discovery' and another first encounter!
Discovery Note:
1. Adults are quite variable in colour. Some are muted brownish-red, some mottled or spotted brown, pink, or yellow.
2. It feeds on algae primarily, sometimes sampling plant matter and dead animals. It is a quick-moving and agile crab, and hard to catch, but not considered very edible by humans.

And as we walked on, Ron spotted a carpet eel blenny on a omelette leathery soft coral (picture below). Another first encounter plus it's the eighth 'discovery'.
Discovery Note:
1. They are not eels, but eel look alike fish.
2. These well-camouflaged, eel-shaped fishes lurk among the coral rubble and snatch at other smaller fishes that may pass by.

Ninth 'discovery' was a brittle star that Helen spotted (picture below) in the big lagoon, it's about 25cm in diameter by the way.
Discovery Note:
1. Related to and like the sea stars, they have five arms and a central disc.
2. As the name suggests, the arms of the brittle stars are rather liable to break. This is actually an escape mechanism. They can regenerate their arms, but slowly.
3. Brittle stars use their arms for locomotion. They do not, like sea stars, depend on tube feet.
4. Brittle stars move fairly rapidly by wriggling their arms which are highly flexible and enable the animals to make either snake-like or rowing movements.
5. Brittle stars can reproduce asexually by self-division.

As i scanned the rocks and corals hoping to find flatworms, nudibranchs or any other interesting stuff, a fast moving small creature darted across my sight. A closer look reveal it to be a marine spider (picture below). Tenth 'discovery'.
Discovery Note:
1. The marine spider can live in the sea. During high tides, it waits in air pockets among the submerged rocks or coral rubble. And when it’s low tide, it comes out to hunt.
2. As its furry feet are able to repel water, it can actually 'walk' on water!
3. Do you know that this is a threaten species? Yes, it is!

Eleventh 'discovery' was an unknown sea cucumber (picture below). Looks a bit like the unknown sea cucumber Luan Keng discovered at Semakau recently.

Question:
Discoverers , can you remember or do you knowwho sea cucumbers are related to? =)

Answer:
The sea stars!

Helen then pointed out a toadfish she spotted (picture below). Twelfth 'discovery'.Discovery Note:
1. Toadfish are well known for their ability to "sing", males in particular using the swim bladder as a sound-production device used to attract mates.
2. Instead of scales, toadfishes have skin which is covered with a thick layer of slimy mucus.
3. Its teeth are large and blunt; and it has two short spines at the upper angle of each gill cover, hidden however, in the thick skin.

"Basket!" Chay Hoon yelled.

Oh, if you're wondering, she was not scolding anyone or stung by anything. She was shouting "basket" because she found a basket star (picture below). Another first encounter and this is the thirteenth 'discovery'! Discovery Note:
1. Basket Stars are one of the stranger cousins of starfish. These creatures look very plant-like and are a specialized type of brittle stars.
2. They usually attach themselves to a coral head or sea fan or rocks.
3. During the day it coils itself into a knotted ball, but at night it stretches out all of its legs into a basket-like shape, fishing for plankton and other microscopic critters.
4. This animal does not usually inhabit the inter-tidal zone.

Side Note:
1. This was also the first basket star that most of us encounter on the inter-tidal zone. So naturally most of us were excited about it.
2. Further checking revealed that the last sighting of basket sea stars in Singapore was back in 1896! That's exactly 111 years ago!

Corals found so near our urban land scape. Yes, it 's possible. Here's a photo (picture below), check out our CBD in the background.

Our nature reserves and the beautiful corals found along some of shorelines and the southern islands are living proves that Singapore is not just about air-conditioned shopping malls and land scape gardens.

From the garden city to "City in a garden" is a wonderful step, but please not let these gardens be just man made, land-scape gardens but also nature gardens of tree and coral forests.Turning my attention back to the lagoon pools, a bohol nudibranch was found! Fourteenth 'discovery'.Discovery Note:
1. In scientific terms, this nudibranch is called the 'Discodoris-boholiensis'.

Note:
Wondering why was there a 'disco' in its name? Did it like to party? =p

Anyway, that about warps everything up for the morning. And here's something to prove that we were on Big Sister's Island (pictures below).
So here's a 'bye' to the Big Sister's Island and thanks to Ria for planning this trip and all others for spotting all the interesting things and animals. =)

Semakau Inter-Tidal Walk on 16 June 2007

Twelfth Discovery Posting:

Oh dear, looks like i'm the last person to blog about the public walk we had yesterday.

Anyway, this was my first official time being a lead guide (assigned to the group: Mudskippers). Joining the group was five members of the public and five girls from St. Nicholas. Also not forgetting Siyang, who was on OJT, was assigned to be my 'lovely' assistant. =)

Arriving at a early timing at Semakau do has its advantages and disadvantages.

The disadvantage was that the NEA staff had not reached the island yet, so we had to forgo the four wheeler transport and depended on our very own two legged, self-powered 'transport'.

The advantage was that everyone gets enjoy the wind and take in the sights around the island. Here's some 'mudskippers' along the walk (picture below).
After walking through the forest trail, we reached the shores and immediately headed out to the inter-tidal zone and for the first 'discovery' we have a flat worm (picture below).
Discovery Note:
1. Flatworms are hermaphroditic which means they have both the male and female reproductive organs.
2. Their bodies have only a single opening, which serves as both a mouth and an anus.
3. They do not have eyes but has a cluster or clusters of light-sensitive cells make up which are called eyespot/s.

And just next to the flatworm, our keen-eyed hunter seekers had found a sandfish sea cucumber (picture below). Second 'discovery' of the day.
Discovery Note:
1. Being related to the sea stars, sea cucumbers have a soft, wormlike body and range from a few centimeters to 90 centimeters in length.
2. Unlike the sea star, however, they have no arms but use a cluster of tube-like feet around their mouth to gather food.
3. To repel predators or when stressed, a sea cucumber might expel their innards or ‘vomit’. And if too much of their innards are expelled, they might die off as a result.
4. The sandfish sea cucumber is the species of sea cucumber which people consume. But they contain toxins, so it must be properly prepared before consumption.

Third 'discovery' was a pair of hairy crabs was spotted (picture below). I wonder if they are a couple. =p. anyway,
Discovery Note:
1. The hairs of the hairy crab traps sediment so it blends 'almost' perfectly with its surroundings.
2. We also call this crab the ‘teddy bear crab’. =)
3. The hairy crab eats seaweeds and poisonous zoanthids, which makes the crab mildly poisonous too!

Given that the tide was coming in, i decided to forgo some finds that our hunter seekers have found near the seagrass lagoon and headed out towards the coral rubble area. I thought maybe we could look at those when we were on the way back but then... (read on to find out why)

What awaited us at the coral rubble area was of course loads of corals. Here's one of the leathery soft corals (picture below). Fourth 'discovery'~
Discovery Note:
1. Leathery soft corals are made up of a colony of animals.
2. These animals are called polyp. They look like a very tiny sea anemone with a long body topped with tentacles.

Another interesting animal usually found around the coral rubble area are nudibranches. Fifth 'discovery' was one species, the bohol nudibranch (picture below)
Discovery Note:
1. 'Nudibranch' means 'naked gills'. The name comes from the flower-like gills found on the back of many nudibranchs. These nudibranchs use the gills to breathe.
2. Nudibranchs are related to snails. Little baby nudibranchs are born with shells, but they lose them when they become adults.
3. Most nudibranchs are carnivores, they eat immobile or small, slow-moving prey. Examples are sponges, ascidians, hard corals, soft corals, sea anemones etc.

Sixth 'discovery' was something i've seen for the first time at Semakau, a spider crab (picture below)!
Discovery Note:
1. Spider crabs, which have thick, rather rounded bodies and long, spindly legs, are generally slow-moving and sluggish.
2. Harmless to humans and not particularly aggressive in general, the spider crab's main defence against predators is camouflage: the hook-like hairs on the crab's shell (carapace) hold algae and other small debris in place.
3. Most spider crabs are known to be scavengers.

And here's the iconic star of Semakau, the knobbly sea star (picture below). Seventh 'discovery'.
Discovery Note:
1. Can you believe that this is larger than your face? It’s about 30cm across!
2. They get their name from the knobs they have.
3. Although most of them are mostly red or orange in colour, beige or brown coloured knobbly sea stars have been spotted before also.

But where was the 'traditional' group photo with the sea star? Alas, it wasn't possible due to the rain that immediately hit us after i've taken some shots for my group members with the knobbly.

Although the walk was then aborted and everyone had to clear the inter-tidal area due to lighting warning, spirits remained high.

Sidenote:
I couldn't really document that as my camera was not waterproof. But you may read other blogs to find out other sights and happenings on the same day.
1. The tidechaser (Ron's camera was waterproof and managed to capture some of the enjoyment under the rain)
2. Manta's blog (He spotted a clownfish in Semakau!)
3. Siyang's Urban forest (look out for a picture of another kind of sea cucumber)
4. Mountain and Sea blog (TC's camera was also waterproof and he has some other interesting things which i didn't saw)
5. Juan's blog (she had the most 'advanced' waterproof equipment amongst all and she has a video on the Spider Conch!)

Pretty short entry this time round, but nevertheless i guessed most of us enjoyed the day due to the rain. Would like to thank all 'mudskippers' (too bad this time i couldn't get a whole group photo but i do hope you have a memorable morning). And also Siyang for being such a great 'lovely' assistant! =p

Lastly i hope it would be a Sunny Semakau, the next we come back. =)

Fun with Bats on 9 June 2007

Eleventh Discovery Posting:

(Entry@15 June 2007 : Gotten a photo of the Wuyang Kulit and inserted it in)

Bats in Singapore? Is that possible? Yes.

Kent Ridge Park was the place where about 50 kids gathered with their parents to learn more about and look at bats. Here's them trying to organise themselves into groups before beginning the event (picture below).
And at the other side were four girls from Cedar Girls with their 'director' rehearsing for the Wayang Kulit show on bats to be shown later to the kids after the sun sets (picture below).
The first activity lined up was that kids had to draw a picture of what they thought a bat would look like. Their completed drawings were then hanged up for display. Here are some of them (pictures below).


After that, Dr Vilma then gave an introduction on what were bats by showing the children pictures and photos of bats. Luan Keng also brought a bat skeleton and a bird wing skeleton to show the difference between a bat's wing and a bird's wing.
Discovery Note (General Information on Bats):
1. Bats are mammals with a body that are very similar to our own.
2. Their most distinguishing feature is that their forelimbs (arms and hands) are developed as wings, making them the only mammals in the world naturally capable of flight.
3. It is estimated that there are about 1,100 species of bats worldwide, which accounts for about 20% of all mammal species on earth!

Later, the children gathered back into their groups and started to work on the activity, "Bats and me", where they were required to compare one of the group members with a certain species of bat found in Singapore. Here are some photos showing them working in progress with the help of HSBC volunteers (pictures below).
Discovery Note (Types of bats):
1. There are basically two main suborders (groups) of bats, they are megabats and microbats.
2. Megabats eat fruit, nectar or pollen from flowers while microbats eat insects, small mammals and fish, relying on echolocation for navigation and finding prey.

"Bats and me" not only helped the kids to learn more about bats. It also gave them a chance to work together as a group as the individual groups had to present their findings to everyone else after they had completed their work. Here's one group during their presentation (picture below).
Discovery Note (Truth behind the Myths of Bats):
1. Bats are not blind. In fact, they can see better than humans at night. However, echolocation is the most important sense for microbats when hunting for food.
2. Bats are not dirty. They actually spend a lot of time grooming and cleaning themselves and those in their colony. It is important to them that they stay clean and free of parasites.
3. Not all bats suck blood. There are only 3 known species of vampire bats and they can only be found in the Central and South America. And these vampire bats only need about two tablespoons of blood per day to survive, so they never consume enough to kill their prey, which is generally limited to large animals such as cows.

Never was there a moment of dullness for the kids, as they proceeded on to making bat masks straight after their presentations. Future artists in work progress (pictures below).

Discovery Note (Bats are useful to us):

• Insectivorous bats (bats which eat insects) are far and wide the best bug-killers on the planet. Some species are known to be able to catch and eat as many as 600 mosquitoes in one hour.
• They also feed on insects that destroy crops, providing an invaluable service to farmers.

• Nectarivorous bats (bats which feed on nectar) gather pollen on their bodies as they feed on the nectar from flowers.
• When they fly away, they spread the pollen, helping the plant disperse its seed.
• Did you know that these bats help to pollinate plants such as the banana, figs, mangoes and even durians!

A group photo of every kid with their completed bat masks (picture below). Say 'Bat'!
Soon, it was picnic time as everyone enjoyed the view of the sunset (picture below) before we began on the second part of the event program.
For the second part of the event, kids were taught how to play the "Bat and Moth" game, where everyone had great fun as we waited for night fall.

As it turned darked, bats began to appear and as some groups walked deeper into the park to find more bats. The rest were treated to the wonderful Wuyang Kulit show put up by the girls from Cedar Girls. I couldn't take any photos as my hands were full holding the torches required to project shadows on the screen for the show.

(Entry@15 June 2007: A photo of the Wuyang Kulit in progress (picture below). Would like to thank one of the parents for providing this photo.)
Discovery Note:
1. Bats are threatened due to habitat lost and human activities.
2. And as most bat species gives birth to only one baby per year, so they multiply at a relatively slow pace.

As the second run of the Wuyang Kulit show ended and the second batch of kids returning from their sight 'hunting' of bats, the successful event came to an end.

Would like to thank Dr Vilma for letting me help in the event, Luan Keng for bring the interesting specimens, the HSBC volunteers for their assistance, the Cedar girls for the wonderful Wuyang Kulit they've put up, everyone who helped and all the children who attended this event!

Remember that,
If we can help Bats,
they can help us too!

Note:
For more information on bats, you may click here.