Other Wildlife
Last Updated on 8 September 2025
Little did we know that our tiny tropical island of Singapore—famous for its skyscrapers and air-conditioned malls—is also secretly a thriving, green hideout for some truly exotic wildlife.
Lurking within our parks and reserves are mysterious creatures of legend—many of whom we’ve yet to have the honour of bumping into. Among our top “must-meet” list: the elusive Sambar Deer, the adorably armored Sunda Pangolin, the delightfully miniature Greater Mouse-deer, and a host of other furred, feathered, and possibly fanged residents.
Until the day comes when we can proudly say we’ve exchanged meaningful eye contact with a pangolin or shared a moment with a deer or two under the moonlight, we’ll keep trekking. In the meantime, here are some of the more sociable wildlife characters we’ve been lucky enough to cross paths with during our hikes—those who didn’t mind making a cameo in front of our cameras.
Family Mustelidae (weasels, otters and relatives)
Smooth-coated Otter (Lutrogale perspicillata)
Sighted: Bishan Park, Coney Island, Gardens By The Bay, Jurong Lake Gardens, Lakeside Garden, MacRitchie Reservoir Park, Pasir Ris Park
Family Cercopithecidae (old world monkeys)
Long-tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis)
Sighted: Nature Reserves
Raffles Banded Langur (Presbytis femoralis)
Sighted: Thomson Nature Park
Family Cynocephalidae (colugo)
Malayan Colugo (Galeopterus variegatus)
Sighted: Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Lower Peirce Reservoir
Family Suidae (pigs, hogs and boars)
Wild Boar (Sus scrofa)
Sighted: Dairy Farm Nature Park, Lower Peirce Reservoir
Family Sciuridae (squirrels)
Plantain Squirrel (Callosciurus notatus)
Sighted: Everywhere
Slender Squirrel (Sundasciurus tenuis)
Sighted: Bukit Batok Nature Park, Dairy Farm Nature Park, Upper Seletar Reservoir Park
Finlayson’s Squirrel (Callosciurus finlaysonii)
Sighted: Bidadari Park
Family Viverridae (civets)
Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus)
Sighted: Alexandra Park Connector
Family Tupaiidae (treeshrews)
Common Treeshrew (Tupaia glis)
Sighted: Botanic Gardens, Bukit Batok Nature Park
Family Tragulidae (mousedeer)
Lesser Mouse-deer (Tragulus kanchil)
Sighted: Chestnut Nature Park, Lower Peirce Reservoir, Thomson Nature Park
Family Pteropodidae (old world fruit bats)
Lesser Dog-faced Fruit Bat (Cynopterus brachyotis)
Sighted: Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
Large Flying Fox (Pteropus vampyrus)
Sighted: Hampstead Wetlands
Family Crocodylidae (crocodiles)
Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)
Sighted: Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
Family Varanidae (monitor lizards)
Southeast Asian Water Monitor (Varanus salvator)
Sighted: Bishan Park, Jurong Lake Gardens, Lower Peirce Reservoir, Serangoon Reservoir, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
Clouded Monitor (Varanus nebulosus)
Sighted: Parks and nature reserves
Family Scincidae (skinks)
Common Sun Skink (Eutropis multifasciata)
Sighted: Chestnut Nature Park, Fisherman’s Trail, Little Guilin
Banded Lipinia (Lipinia vittigera)
Sighted: Jelutong Tower
Family Agamidae (agamids)
Green Crested Lizard (Bronchocela cristatella)
Sighted: Sentosa
Changeable Lizard (Calotes versicolor)
Sighted: Bidadari Park, Jurong Lake Gardens, MacRitchie Reservoir Park, Tampines Eco Green
Sumatran Flying Dragon (Draco sumatranus)
Sighted: Jelutong Tower
Family Dactyloidae (anoles)
Brown Anole (Norops sagrei)
Sighted: Gardens By The Bay
Family Gekkonidae (common geckos)
Flat-tailed House Gecko (Norops sagrei)
Sighted: Lorong Halus Wetland
Family Colubridae (colubrids)
Oriental Whipsnake (Ahaetulla prasina)
Sighted: Pasir Ris Park
Red-tailed racer (Gonyosoma oxycephalum)
Sighted: Windsor Nature Park
Paradise Tree Snake (Chrysopelea paradisi)
Sighted: Berlayer Creek
Gold-ringed Cat Snake (Boiga melanota)
Sighted: Windsor Nature Park
Family Viperidae (vipers)
Wagler’s Pit Viper (Tropidolaemus wagleri)
Sighted: Dairy Farm Nature Park, Thomson Nature Park
Family Elapidae (cobras, coral snakes, kraits, sea snakes)
Blue Malayan Coral Snake (Calliophis bivirgatus)
Sighted: Chestnut Nature Park
Family Emydidae (American terrapins)
Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)
Sighted: Alexandra Park Connector, Botanic Gardens, Bukit Batok Nature Park, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Jurong Lake Gardens, Little Guilin, Tampines Eco Green
Family Geoemydidae (Asian terrapins)
Malayan Box Terrapin (Cuora amboinensis)
Sighted: Windsor Nature Park
Family Trionychidae (softshell and flapshell turtles)
Southeast Asian Softshell Turtle (Amyda cartilaginea)
Sighted: MacRitchie Reservoir Park
Family Oxudercidae (mudskippers)
Giant Mudskipper (Periophthalmodon schlosseri)
Sighted: Pasir Ris Park, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
Family Ranidae (true frogs)
Copper-cheeked Frog (Chalcorana labialis)
Sighted: Nee Soon Swamp
Günther’s Frog (Sylvirana guentheri)
Sighted: Botanic Gardens
Family Rhacophoridae (shrub frogs)
Four-lined Tree Frog (Polypedates leucomystax)
Sighted: Dairy Farm Nature Park
Family Bufonidae (toads)
Asian Common Toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus)
Sighted: Sentosa
Family Sesarmidae (sesarmine crabs, vinegar crabs, etc)
All-pink Fingered Vinegar Crab (Episesarma chentongense)
Sighted: Pasir Ris Park
Family Catostylidae (small jellyfish)
River Jelly (Acromitus flagellatus)
Sighted: Pasir Ris Park
Family Potamotrygonidae (river stingrays)
Peacock River Stingray (Potamotrygon motoro)
Sighted: MacRitchie Reservoir Park
Family Nephilidae (goldern orb-weavers)
Giant Golden Orbweaver (Nephila pilipes)
Sighted: Sentosa
Asian Hermit Spider (Nephilengys malabarensis)
Sighted: Dairy Farm Nature Park
Family Araneidae (orbweavers)
Spiny Orb-Weaver Spider (Gasteracantha diadesmia)
Sighted: Lornie Nature Corridor
Family Oxyopidae (lynx spiders)
Oxyopes sp.
Sighted: Upper Seletar Reservoir Park
Family Salticidae (jumping spiders)
Parabathippus sp.
Sighted: MacRitchie Reservoir Park
Family Ariophantidae (land snails and semi-slugs)
Sarika resplendens
Sighted: Windsor Nature Park
Family Pyrrhocoridae (red bugs, cotton stainers and relatives)
Cotton Stainer Bug (Dysdercus decussatus)
Sighted: Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
Family Cicindelidae (tiger beetles)
Golden-spotted Tiger Beetle (Cosmodela aurulenta)
Sighted: Rifle Range Link
Family Chrysomelidae (leaf beetles)
Cucurbit Beetle (Aulacophora indica)
Sighted: Lornie Nature Corridor
Family Endomychidae (handsome fungus beetles)
Stenotarsus pardalis
Sighted: Dairy Farm Nature Park
Family Reduviidae
Yellow Assassin Bug (Velinus nigrigenu)
Sighted: Chestnut Nature Park, Thomson Nature Park
Family Alydidae (broad-headed bugs)
Paddy Bug (Leptocorisa acuta)
Sighted: Pasir Ris Park
Family Aphrophoridae (spittlebugs)
Clovia conifera
Sighted: Lornie Nature Corridor
Family Ricaniidae (Ricaniid planthoppers)
Pochazia sinuata
Sighted: Dairy Farm Nature Park, Upper Seletar Reservoir Park
Ricanoptera fenestrata
Sighted: MacRitchie Reservoir Park
Ricanula sp.
Sighted: MacRitchie Reservoir Park
Dictyopharina sp.
Sighted: Lornie Nature Corridor
Family Flatidae (flatid planthoppers)
Colobesthes falcata
Sighted: Upper Seletar Reservoir Park
Family Cicadellidae (leafhoppers)
Orange Sharpshooter (Bothrogonia addita)
Sighted: Lornie Nature Corridor
Tartessus ferrugineus
Sighted: Lornie Nature Corridor
Family Coreidae (leaf-footed bugs)
Leaf-footed Bug (Mictis longicornis)
Sighted: Pulau Ubin
Notobitus meleagris
Sighted: Botanic Gardens
Family Miridae (plant bugs)
Pachypeltis anadyomene
Sighted: Windsor Nature Park
Family Acrididae (grasshoppers)
Javanese Grasshopper (Valanga nigricornis)
Sighted: Bishan Park, Kent Ridge Park, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
Rufous-legged Grasshopper (Xenocatantops humilis)
Sighted: Bidadari Park, Thomson Nature Park
Traulia azureipennis
Sighted: MacRitchie Reservoir Park
Family Chorotypidae (leaflike grasshoppers)
Monkey Grasshopper (Erianthus guttatus)
Sighted: Lornie Nature Corridor
Family Gryllidae (true crickets)
Aphonoides sp.
Sighted: Chestnut Nature Park
Nisitrus malaya
Sighted: Dairy Farm Nature Park, Thomson Nature Park
Family Tettigoniidae (katydids)
Black-kneed Meadow Katydid (Conocephalus melaenus)
Sighted: Bidadari Park
Family Cicadidae (typical cicadas)
Purana usnani
Sighted: Botanic Gardens
Family Syrphidae (hover flies)
Milesia fuscicosta
Sighted: MacRitchie Reservoir Park
Monoceromyia javana
Sighted: Lornie Nature Corridor
Asarkina porcina
Sighted: Lornie Nature Corridor
Mesembrius bengalensis
Sighted: Upper Seletar Reservoir Park
Family Micropezidae (stilt-legged flies)
Mimegralla albimana
Sighted: MacRitchie Reservoir Park
Family Dolichopodidae (long-legged flies)
Chrysosoma globiferum
Sighted: Botanic Gardens
Family Stratiomyidae (soldier flies)
Ptecticus aurifer
Sighted: Lornie Nature Corridor
Family Tachinidae (tachinid flies)
Blepharipa sp.
Sighted: Dairy Farm Nature Park
Family Asilidae (robber flies)
Orthogonis sp.
Sighted: MacRitchie Reservoir Park
Family Calliphoridae (blow flies)
Hypopygiopsis sp.
Sighted: Dairy Farm Nature Park
Family Bombyliidae (bee flies)
Ligyra sp.
Sighted: Changi Bay Point
Family Apidae (bees)
White-cheeked Carpenter (Xylocopa aestuans)
Sighted: Bishan Park
Asian Honey Bee (Apis cerana)
Sighted: Bishan Park
Sunda Blue-banded Digger (Amegilla andrewsi)
Sighted: Bishan Park
Himalayan Cloak-and-dagger Bee (Thyreus himalayensis)
Sighted: Kent Ridge Park
Black-sided Small Carpenter (Ceratina nigrolateralis)
Sighted: Kent Ridge Park
Family Sphecidae (thread-waisted wasps)
Silky Digger Wasp (Sphex sericeus)
Sighted: Kent Ridge Park
Family Vespidae (hornets, paper wasps, potter wasps, and allies )
Lesser Banded Hornet (Vespa affinis)
Sighted: Lorong Halus
Hover Wasp (Eustenogaster micans)
Sighted: Upper Seletar Reservoir Park
Family Scoliidae (scoliid wasps)
Ornamented Scoliid Wasp (Phalerimeris phalerata)
Sighted: Rifle Range Link
Family Gerridae (water striders)
Limnometra sp.
Sighted: Dairy Farm Nature Park
Family Formicidae (ants)
Spiny Ant (Polyrhachis sp.)
Sighted: Rifle Range Link
