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Channel NewsAsia 6 Sep 19; SINGAPORE: National water agency PUB has released "tens of thousands" of fish into Pandan Reservoir, the latest measure employed to try to control the midge pupae population, it said on Friday (Sep 6). The release of the guppies, mollies and swordtails into the reservoir was done in a controlled manner that does not affect its ecosystem, PUB said in a Facebook post. Midges, which are commonly mistaken for mosquitoes, are small insects which exist in and near water bodies. "While these midges do not bite or spread diseases, they can be a nuisance when present in large numbers," said PUB. Residents and businesses at Teban Gardens have been affected as swarms of the insects have infested the neighbourhood. PUB biologist Tricia Poh releasing fish into Pandan Reservoir to help control the midge pupae population. (Photo: Facebook/PUB) PUB said insect nets have also been installed at bus stops along Penjuru Road and West Coast Road. The nets are...

Clement Yong Straits Times 5 Sep 19; SINGAPORE - An accident with a wild boar and a separate chain collision involving four vehicles caused a major jam along Mandai Road on Thursday morning (Sept 5). The accidents happened one after the other along the same stretch of Mandai Road towards the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) at 6.50am, causing traffic to slow for more than an hour during the peak period. Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao reported that the wild boar had been killed by an oncoming vehicle, and the motorist left the scene after the accident. Shortly after the accident with the boar, a chain collision occurred involving four vehicles. The Singapore Civil Defence Force said a 20-year-old man was taken conscious to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. When Lianhe Wanbao arrived at the scene at 8.30am, the dead boar had been moved to the central divider but traffic was still congested. Officers later removed the body of the animal in a bag.

Roy Goh New Straits Times 5 Sep 19; KOTA KINABALU: Elephants in Sabah are evolving to lose their tusks to survive, a phenomenon that is also happening in other parts of the world. Sightings of such tusk-less bull Bornean pygmy elephants are getting more common and a senior veterinarian believes more research needs to be done on the phenomenon and its implications. Sabah Wildlife department assistant director Dr Sen Nathan said it used to be rare, seeing a tusk-less male, but these days it's becoming common. "I have been involved in trans-locating elephants for more than 20 years and other senior colleagues dealt with the animal longer, more than 30 years, and now, we see this phenomenon becoming more common. "Seeing elephants with tusks measuring close to two metres was common before but not these days. "Heavy poaching pressure seems to have caused the Bornean elephants to lose their tusks," Sen said. "This is something we would like to analyse further and...

TESSA OH Today Online 2 Sep 19; SINGAPORE � Residents living around the Pandan Reservoir said that the recent outbreak of midges in the area is like being �in a horror movie�, Member of Parliament (MP) Foo Mee Har said on Monday (Sept 2). Describing it as the �most severe� outbreak that residents have witnessed, Ms Foo, MP for the West Coast Group Representative Constituency (GRC), added that the midges stick to clothes and hair, and residents have found swarms of them in corridors, lifts, bus stops and in their homes. Responding to questions from three MPs, including Ms Foo, Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli said that the sudden spike in midge activity can be attributed to the recent spell of unusually hot weather, which has hastened the growth process of the midges. �With climate change, we will experience more extreme weather, which will have a corresponding response from nature,� he said. Mr Masagos noted that the midges do not bite or spread disease. Outbr...

Rizal Harahap The Jakarta Post 28 Aug 19; A 36-year-old man was mauled to death by a Sumatran tiger in a concession area in Gaung subdistrict in Indragiri Hilir regency, Riau. Indragiri Hilir Police chief Adj. Comr. Sr. Christian Rony confirmed the incident, saying the victim, identified as Darmawan aka Nang, was attacked while taking a bath near a well in a PT Bhara Induk concession area at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. �The well is located about 30 meters from a hut where the victim and his colleague, Andika, lived,� Christian told reporters on Tuesday. Only a few minutes after Darmawan left the hut, Andika heard his friend screaming. When he went to the well, Andika found Darmawan wrestling with a tiger. Andika immediately went to look for help in nearby Sinar Danau hamlet in Tanjung Simpang village, where he found two local residents and Sinar Danau neighborhood unit (RT) head Rayo at around 7 p.m. After a discussion, Andika and the villagers decided to look for Darmawan the next morning. ...

Antara 25 Aug 19; Indonesia, home to the Sumatran tiger, joined celebrations on International Tiger Day, observed on July 25, to raise support for the conservation of tigers. The Sumatran tiger is the only surviving tiger in the country, and the smallest of the five tiger subspecies in the world. In the 1970s, the number of Sumatran tigers had reached some 1,000, though the figure decreased to 800 by the 1980s. Currently, the population is believed to be between 400 and 600 tigers. In earlier days, Indonesia was home to three tiger species, including the Bali tiger, which became extinct in 1940, and the Java tiger, declared extinct in the 1980s. While environmentalists, experts and officials campaigned during Global Tiger Day, still, the few remaining Sumatran tigers have to struggle to survive, as Sumatra Island has been ravaged by hundreds of hotspots, similar to forest fires, since July 2019. Riau Province on Sumatra Island has been the most affected by forest fires. Wildfires also...

Mohd Rafi Mamat New Straits Times 21 Aug 19; PEKAN: A herd of elephants including a young calf were rescued after getting trapped in an abandoned mud pit at the Ibam forest reserve near Runchang, here, yesterday. Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) rangers took about four hours to dig a path and chase the elephants to climb out of a steep mud pit which is believed to be an abandoned gold mining site. State Perhilitan director Rozidan Md Yasin said the Orang Asli community who lived nearby had stumbled upon the animals stuck in the pit at about noon and immediately alerted the department. He said four rangers were deployed to the scene and they sought help from a mining company operator in the vicinity to help bring the animals out. "An excavator was brought to help dig out a path to form a ramp to allow the animals to climb out of the pit. It took some four hours to complete the task. "Once completed, the elephants managed to climb out of the pit before walki...

The Star 21 Aug 19; GUA MUSANG: A family of seven Orang Asli were in fear of a wild elephant that kept walking around their house in Kampung Aring 5, here. Fortunately for the family, the animal left without incident an hour after first arriving early yesterday morning. It was seen entering the nearby jungle. Villager Hussin Selik, 51, said this was the second such incident in two weeks. The elephant, he said, entered the village at 3am yesterday. Hussin said he started to worry for his family when the elephant circled his house before leaving. We heard a loud roar and saw the elephant outside our window but luckily it left, he said. Hussin said the animal had destroyed 50 banana trees that was planted by his neighbours and him. Kampung Aring 5 Community Management Council chairman Asrul Hussin, 31, said the wild elephants threat in the village was not new and had occurred several times this year. He said the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) was aware but had yet...