Latest news with #NParks
Straits Times
7 days ago
- Straits Times
Rare sambar deer put down after getting badly injured in Mandai Road accident
Find out what's new on ST website and app. The sambar deer is considered to be at high risk of extinction in the wild. SINGAPORE - A rare sambar deer was put to sleep after it got severely injured in a road accident in Mandai Road. A National Parks Board (NParks) spokesman, responding to Straits Times queries, said the board was alerted to an accident involving a car and a sambar deer at about 5.15pm on July 24. NParks immediately asked Mandai Wildlife Group for veterinary assistance because its offices are located in Mandai Lake Road, near the accident spot. NParks group director of wildlife management How Choon Beng said: 'As the deer's injuries were assessed to be severe, it was jointly agreed by NParks and Mandai to humanely euthanise it on site on welfare grounds.' The driver of the car and a passenger were unharmed, he added. In a video circulating on social media platform TikTok, the injured sambar deer can be seen on the road, and nearby is a car with its front bumper damaged, likely from the impact of the accident. Mr How said motorists should drive within the speed limit, and be alert to animals crossing when driving on roads flanked by forested areas, especially where there are signs to indicate animal crossings. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore SMRT to pay lower fine of $2.4m for EWL disruption; must invest at least $600k to boost reliability Singapore MRT service changes needed to modify 3 East-West Line stations on Changi Airport stretch: LTA Asia Live: Thailand-Cambodia border clashes continue for second day Singapore Etomidate found in blood of 2 people involved in fatal Punggol Road accident in May: HSA Singapore Vape disposal bins at 23 CCs for users to surrender e-vaporisers, without facing penalties Singapore Tipsy Collective sues former directors, HR head; alleges $14m lost from misconduct, poor decisions Sport Training sessions at World Aquatics Masters Championships cancelled due to Sentosa's water quality issues Singapore Kopi, care and conversation: How this 20-year-old helps improve the well-being of the elderly People should not handle injured wild animals on their own, he added. For wildlife in need of urgent rescue, people can contact the NParks 24-hour Animal Response Centre on 1800-476-1600, he said. NParks added that it receives an average of three reports a year involving vehicular-related incidents with sambar deer, including cases of non-fatal accidents in which the deer escapes into the forest. The number does not take into account unreported accidents, it said. In December 2024, a sambar deer died after an accident involving a lorry and a motorcycle in Mandai Road. And in July 2024, another sambar deer died in an accident involving a taxi. An NParks study carried out in 2021 estimated that there were about 15 wild sambar deer in Singapore. Another study in 2023 found that sambar deer were making a comeback after several animals escaped from public and private local zoos in the 1970s. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature website, sambar deer are believed to be at high risk of extinction in the wild. The deer's natural habitat includes forested areas and grasslands, but a tendency to roam and wander, especially during mating season, often brings it to the roads and in contact with motor vehicles.
Straits Times
7 days ago
- General
- Straits Times
Singapore's first recorded turtle hatchlings for 2025 released off Sisters' Islands
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Seventy-six babies set off on their journey to adulthood on July 25 after NParks measured them for research purposes. SINGAPORE – Hatchlings from the first recorded hawksbill turtle nest of 2025 in Singapore took their earliest dip in the sea off Sisters' Islands on July 25 morning. Announcing their release, Minister of State for National Development Alvin Tan said on Facebook that the clutch of 123 eggs belonging to the critically endangered hawksbill turtle were uncovered by the National Parks Board (NParks) at East Coast Park in early June. Their location meant that the odds of survival would have been slim, said Mr Tan, as turtle eggs take about two months to hatch, during which they would have been threatened by high human traffic and predators, and risk being inundated by high tides. To protect the turtles, the eggs were retrieved by NParks staff and moved to the Sisters' Islands Marine Park Turtle Hatchery, another popular nesting spot for marine turtles. Of these, 76 babies set off on their journey to adulthood on July 25 after Nparks measured them for research purposes. Hawksbill turtles, named after their powerful beak-like mouth, typically visit Singapore's shores between May and October to lay their eggs. Emerging from the nest is just the start of a hatchling's test of endurance as they grapple with many challenges on their journey to the sea, including predators like shorebirds, and the risk of disorientation caused by artificial light sources. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore SMRT to pay lower fine of $2.4m for EWL disruption; must invest at least $600k to boost reliability Singapore MRT service changes needed to modify 3 East-West Line stations on Changi Airport stretch: LTA Asia Live: Thailand-Cambodia border clashes continue for second day Singapore Etomidate found in blood of 2 people involved in fatal Punggol Road accident in May: HSA Singapore Vape disposal bins at 23 CCs for users to surrender e-vaporisers, without facing penalties Singapore Tipsy Collective sues former directors, HR head; alleges $14m lost from misconduct, poor decisions Sport Training sessions at World Aquatics Masters Championships cancelled due to Sentosa's water quality issues Singapore Kopi, care and conversation: How this 20-year-old helps improve the well-being of the elderly They then face other risks in the open sea, such as accidental entanglement with rubbish and illegal poachers. Acknowledging the difficulties, Mr Tan said the chance of these hatchlings surviving to adulthood is less than 0.1 per cent, but he hopes that they will return one day. Hawksbill turtles take roughly two decades to mature, and only females return to nest on beaches near where they hatched. While collaborative work to help Singapore's sea turtles has been ongoing for nearly two decades, NParks initiated aprogramme in 2016 to conserve the two native turtle species, both of which are at high risk of extinction. The other species, the green turtle, is endangered and much less encountered. Dr Karenne Tun, group director of the National Biodiversity Centre, told The Straits Times that Nparks has recorded about 170 hawksbill turtle sightings in Singapore between 2020 and June 2025. They include nests and turtle tracks. Hawksbill turtles take roughly two decades to mature, and only females return to nest on beaches near where they hatched. PHOTO: ALVIN TAN/FACEBOOK There were only 66 turtle sightings from 2005 to 2016, the year its programme was launched. As part of the programme, NParks conducts biodiversity beach patrols during nesting season at dawn between 5am and 7am to look for nesting turtles, laid nests and hatchlings. Dr Tun advises members of the public who encounter a nesting turtle on the beach to keep their distance from the turtle and the eggs. This is because touching a turtle can scare or provoke it, and handling the eggs may result in damage or the introduction of bacteria into the nest. Instead, they can contact the NParks helpline on 1800-471-7300 to report their sighting. Dr Tun said: 'They should talk softly and stay out of sight, and not shine lights at the turtle or use flash photography. 'Light and noise may scare the turtle and cause it to leave without laying any eggs.' The public should also keep clear of tracks left by the turtles as researchers use the tracks to identify the species of the turtle and to locate the nest. Those who are interested in participating in NParks' efforts to monitor sea turtle populations in Singapore can join NParks' Biodiversity Beach Patrol through its website .
Independent Singapore
23-07-2025
- Independent Singapore
Man caught smuggling over 2,500 red-eared slider turtles from SG to Bengaluru
SINGAPORE: A man was apprehended at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru with 2,547 red-eared slider turtles from Singapore in his possession on July 12. Unfortunately, 517 of the animals were already dead when they were found in his check-in baggage. The man was identified in an article in The Hindu as 26-year-old Adiakkalasamy Vadivel from Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. He is said to be involved in global animal smuggling operations. Vadivel was caught by customs department officials at the airport as soon as his plane landed in Bengaluru. When questioned, he claimed that he had been instructed to hand over the bag to someone else outside the airport. The Hindu reported the Indian authorities were looking into how Vadivel got the animals past customs officers in Singapore. Importing live animals into India is against the country's Export-Import (EXIM) Policy and punishable under India's Customs Act. According to The Hindu, the Indian authorities said the dead animals would be disposed of according to standard procedures and the rest of the animals were being sent back to Singapore. See also Actor Rui En punished for careless driving Later reports said, however, that when the turtles were sent back to Singapore, the National Park Board's (NParks) Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation found them to be infected with salmonella. The remaining turtles were then put down. In a July 22 (Wednesday) report, Mothership quoted NParks — the lead agency responsible for greenery, biodiversity conservation, and wildlife and animal welfare in Singapore — as saying that while Vadivel possessed an export permit for the turtles, he did not meet the requirements to import them to India. The report also quoted NParks as saying that because salmonella is 'a bacterium of public health and biosecurity concern', the animals were 'humanely put down and disposed of to prevent the potential spread of disease.' In a related incident in April, a Singapore permanent resident was said to have exported red-eared slider turtles to India without a licence. Forty-one-year-old Rafique Syed Hariza Ali Hussain reportedly placed thousands of turtles in his baggage, getting paid S$500 for each successful delivery in India of the animals. Mothership reported at the time that red-eared slider turtles are considered an invasive species in India, and therefore their importation is restricted. It added that they were sold in India for around S$7.75 to S$12.40 per turtle. /TISG Read also: 'Heartbreaking goodbye' — Turtle Museum closing its doors by March 1 due to nearby construction projects
New Paper
22-07-2025
- Health
- New Paper
Over 2,500 turtles seized in India sent back to S'pore, put down
More than 2,500 turtles found in the luggage of a man travelling to India were sent back to Singapore and put down by the authorities after they were found to be infected with the salmonella bacterium. The man, identified as 26-year-old Adiakkalasamy Vadivel, is believed to be part of an international animal smuggling ring, and was on his way to the southern Indian city of Bengaluru in Karnataka state, Indian daily The Hindu reported on July 13. Customs officials in Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport caught the man and found the turtles in his check-in baggage on July 12, the report added. It also said the man had said he was asked to hand over the turtles to someone waiting outside the airport. In response to queries, Singapore's National Parks Board (NParks) said: "Indian authorities deported the red-eared sliders back to Singapore and more than 300 of the over 2,500 red-eared sliders that were retrieved did not survive." The turtles were then sent to the NParks Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation, where a veterinarian assessed them and found they were infected with pathogenic salmonella. In humans, the bacterium can lead to an acute onset of fever, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, nausea and, sometimes, vomiting. Symptoms are usually mild, but in children and elderly patients, the associated dehydration can become severe and life-threatening, said the World Health Organisation on its website. NParks said the bacterium poses a public health and biosecurity concern and that is why the turtles were "humanely put down and disposed of to prevent the potential spread of disease". The red-eared slider is a semi-aquatic turtle native to North America, and is considered an invasive species in many parts of the world. In Singapore, it is illegal to release red-eared sliders into ponds and reservoirs.
The Star
22-07-2025
- Health
- The Star
2,500 turtles seized in India and sent back to Singapore, put down humanely after salmonella detected
Red-eared sliders are considered an invasive species. - ST file SINGAPORE: More than 2,500 turtles found in the luggage of a man travelling to India were sent back to Singapore and put down by the authorities after they were found to be infected with the salmonella bacterium. The man, identified as 26-year-old Adiakkalasamy Vadivel, is believed to be part of an international animal smuggling ring, and was on his way to the southern Indian city of Bengaluru in Karnataka state, Indian daily The Hindu reported on July 13. Customs officials in Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport caught the man and found the turtles in his check-in baggage on July 12, the report added. It also said the man had said he was asked to hand over the turtles to someone waiting outside the airport. In response to queries, Singapore's National Parks Board (NParks) said: 'Indian authorities deported the red-eared sliders back to Singapore and more than 300 of the over 2,500 red-eared sliders that were retrieved did not survive.' The turtles were then sent to the NParks Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation, where a veterinarian assessed them and found they were infected with pathogenic salmonella. In humans, the bacterium can lead to an acute onset of fever, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, nausea and, sometimes, vomiting. Symptoms are usually mild, but in children and elderly patients, the associated dehydration can become severe and life-threatening, said the World Health Organisation on its website. NParks said the bacterium poses a public health and biosecurity concern and that is why the turtles were 'humanely put down and disposed of to prevent the potential spread of disease'. The red-eared slider is a semi-aquatic turtle native to North America, and is considered an invasive species in many parts of the world. In Singapore, it is illegal to release red-eared sliders into ponds and reservoirs. - The Straits Times/ANN
