An endangered Malayan tapir was spotted in Punggol Park Connector over the weekend, capturing the attention of nature enthusiasts and authorities alike.
At least two park visitors were able to lay eyes on the rare animal. One of them even managed to capture photos and a video.
Source: Singapore Wildlife Sightings on Facebook
Not long after, the National Parks Board (NParks) and Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) became aware of the tapir.
Since then, ACRES has stated that the elusive creature has re-entered the sea and hopefully found a suitable habitat.
News of the tapir sighting first made the rounds on Facebook when a member of the Singapore Wildlife Sightings group posted about it last Saturday (22 Jul) at 11.21am.
Richard Seah, the OP, told fellow members that he had seen a tapir the size of a “large pig” on the Punggol Park Connector opposite Coney Island.
He added that the tapir was very shy and ran off at a fast speed. As a result, he could not take any photos.
Though Mr Seah also tried to take a video of it using his GoPro, the footage was blurry.
Later that day, fellow member MC Wai shared a photo he had taken of the tapir in a comment below Richard’s post.
Source: Singapore Wildlife Sightings on Facebook
He also uploaded a video in which the animal could be seen much more clearly.
Source: Singapore Wildlife Sightings on Facebook
The one-minute clip showed the tapir trotting down a path before it seemingly noticed the OP and walked off to the side where it kept going under the cover of trees.
Wai went on to say that he had reported the tapir to NParks at 1am that day.
It’s likely the tapir was wandering in the park during the wee hours of the morning.
Speaking to The Straits Times (ST), ACRES co-CEO Kalai Vanan Balakrishnan said that the organisation hopes the tapir will find its way back.
They believe that the tapir, which belongs to the Malayan species, swam from Malaysia to Singapore.
He shared his hope that the tapir would either find his way back or would be repatriated back to Malaysia if caught.
He also confirmed that the ACRES wildlife rescue team received a call alerting them to the tapir sighting.
Since then, they have learned that the tapir has apparently re-entered the sea.
It is ACRES’s hope that it will find a “suitable habitat in its native range”.
Tapir sightings are rare in Singapore, with the last reported incident dating back to 2016.
At the time, ST reported that a tapir had been spotted in Changi on a Friday (24 Jun) morning.
The report included a photo taken by a passerby that while blurry, unmistakably showed a tapir trotting next to a metal fence.
Source: Straits Times (ST), from Lianhe Zaobao
By the time ACRES received a call about the sighting, the animal was no longer “in view”.
Similar to last weekend’s sighting, authorities also believed the tapir had swum over from Malaysia, specifically southern Johor.
Prior to that, a tapir had not been spotted in Singapore since 1986 on Pulau Ubin.
The 1986 incident was the first time anyone had seen a tapir in Singapore.
We hope the tapir did eventually find its way to safety and back to its herd in Malaysia.
Members of the public are encouraged to report wild animal sightings to ACRES through their hotline at 9783 7782 or send an email here.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image courtesy of Singapore Wildlife Sightings on Facebook.
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