Other Wildlife
Last Updated on 25 April 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
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)
Malayan Water Monitor (Varanus salvator)
Sighted: 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
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)
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: 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 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)
Vinegar Crab (Episesarma spp.)
Sighted: Pasir Ris Park
Family Catostylidae (small jellyfish)
River Jelly (Acromitus flagellatus)
Sighted: Pasir Ris Park
Family Nephilidae (goldern orb-weavers)
Giant Golden Orbweaver (Nephila pilipes)
Sighted: Sentosa
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 Reduviidae (true bugs)
Yellow Assassin Bug (Cosmolestes picticeps)
Sighted: Chestnut Nature Park
Family Acrididae (grasshoppers)
Javanese Grasshopper (Valanga nigricornis)
Sighted: Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
Rufous-legged Grasshopper (Xenocatantops humilis)
Sighted: Bidadari Park
Family Coreidae (leaf-footed bugs)
Leaf-footed Bug (Mictis longicornis)
Sighted: Pulau Ubin
Notobitus meleagris
Sighted: Botanic Gardens
Family Gryllidae (true crickets)
Slender Silent Bush Cricket (Aphonoides sp.)
Sighted: Chestnut Nature Park
Family Tettigoniidae (katydids)
Black-kneed Meadow Katydid (Conocephalus melaenus)
Sighted: Bidadari Park
Family Cicadidae (typical cicadas)
Cicada (Purana usnani)
Sighted: Botanic Gardens
Family Dolichopodidae (long-legged flies)
Long-legged Fly (Chrysosoma globiferum)
Sighted: Botanic Gardens
Family Tachinidae (tachinid flies)
Tachinid Fly (Blepharipa sp.)
Sighted: Dairy Farm Nature Park
Family Bombyliidae (bee flies)
Bee Fly (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
Family Vespidae (wasps)
Lesser Banded Hornet (Vespa affinis)
Sighted: Lorong Halus
Family Gerridae (water striders)
Water Strider (Limnometra sp.)
Sighted: Dairy Farm Nature Park
Family Formicidae (ants)
Spiny Ant (Polyrhachis sp.)
Sighted: Rifle Range Link
