American Bullfrog

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American Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana)
Upper Seletar Reservoir Park, 5th May 2017

Black-headed Collared Snake (Sibynophis melanocephalus)
Upper Seletar Reservoir, 6th May 2016

Pin-striped Tit-babbler (Mixornis gularis)
Upper Seletar Reservoir, 25th July 2015

Daphne Maia Loo, knowing about my morbid fascination with dead animals, posted a photo on my personal Facebook feed, alerting me to a dead bird she had found.

Recognising it as a Pin-striped Tit-babbler, I alerted another friend of mine, David Tan, who not only retrieves bird carcasses for research purposes, but also happens to study this species. He was able to rush down to the location that same evening, and was succesful in locating and collecting the carcass.

It’s interesting whenever social networks intersect due to encounters with wildlife (or in this case, carcasses); ordinary members of the public do have a vital role to play in documenting such encounters and alerting naturalists and researchers. Such an example was seen with the Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) carcass found off Jurong Island.

In this instance, this Pin-striped Tit-babbler carcass might provide clues as to the cause of death, while gut contents, genetic material, and other samples can give us a better picture of this animal’s life, such as its diet, or whether habitat fragmentation is leading to inbreeding in bird species confined within our forest patches. There’s still so little that we know about Southeast Asian wildlife, and carcasses provide a wealth of data that could be used in future to better protect these species and their habitats.

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Miko, sub alpha male from Mandai B13 troop died this morning after being knocked down by a car. Heartbreaking to see a Long-tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis) you are very familiar with gone just like that. Could only dispose of his body which was lying in the middle lane. Thankful that vehicles slowed down instead of running over him again. I find myself constantly driving at the edge of my seat whenever i’m on Mandai Road. There are so much disturbances going on in Mandai with construction etc. I worry for all the native wildlife living there. They have been tolerating so much but it is taking its toll. RIP big boy.

Source: Sabrina Jabbar Facebook [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus)
Mandai, 3rd February 2014

This White-breasted Waterhen carcass had clearly been run over several times by passing traffic.

Long-tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis)
Mandai Road Track 7, 11th June 2013

This photo of a decomposing Long-tailed Macaque carcass was shared by Ng Wen Qing on Instagram.

Find out how you can contribute to Monday Morgue too.