At the Asian Marine Mammal Stranding Network symposium and workshop. Keynote by Lemnuel Aragones highlighted the increasing trend of marine mammal stranding in Asia. A high proportion (vs. world average; 5–15%) are live stranding—80% in 🇵🇭.

[New paper] A whale carcass found off Tanjong Pagar in September 2025 has been identified as an Omura’s whale—one of the world’s least-known baleen whales. This is Singapore’s first recorded stranding of the species. www.researchgate.net/publication/...

How did I miss this: Camera-trap survey confirms the melanistic leopard cat Prionailurus bengalensis in the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve by Jakher et al. (2025). What a pretty black and gold speckle! doi.org/10.1017/S003...

Sadly, this Javan pipistrelle found with a huge distended abdomen did not survive even after veterinary care. She was initially thought to be pregnant, but necropsy showed her abdomen was filled with fluid. Honored her life by preparing her as a dry specimen. RIP little bat.

First camera trap distance sampling study from Indonesia. Beno et al. estimated densities of tiger prey, and also compared species detections between random (for CTDS) and systematic grid camera trap placements. Random placement missed most carnivorans! doi.org/10.1002/wlb3...

Attended an exhibition by Drama Box: There is No Tiger in the Mountain. It’s about human-macaque interaction and co-existence on Pulau Ubin and uses the island as a canvas, with a mobile exhibit (Ubin taxi) and soft sculptures around a village house. www.dramabox.org/eng/events-t...

I don't usually post zoo science but here's a cool study finding long-term survival gains in big cats (lion, tiger, snow leopard, leopard, jaguar) under ex situ care since 1874. Authors looked at life expectancy, lifespan equality at birth, and 1st year survival. doi.org/10.1016/j.bi...

The oldest known wild Sunda clouded leopard is a 6.51-year-old female! Similar to the oldest known mainland leopard cat too. Pretty neat what long-term camera trap studies can tell us. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

How Singapore counts its population of world famous otters. Featuring Otterman @sivasothi.bsky.social and the Otter Working Group. www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/ot...

Lovely creative (and conservation focused) feature of horse-y wildlife in Singapore by Letitia Chen, Ang Qing and Lim Yong of the Straits Times for the Year of the🐎. Bonus points for the pun too. www.straitstimes.com/singapore/en...

Tribute to the largest poop I ever picked up on #NationalPoopDay It happened just this weekend, and belongs to a large wild odd-toed ungulate.

Installation art Ikan besar skali by Hu Qiren at the Esplanade until Jul 2026. It “reimagines the grandeur of historical whale displays, bridging natural history with contemporary art.” Metal-plated 3D printed resin. Neat.

NUS study calls for reduced boat speeds, limited entry near S’pore marine mammal hot spots Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins and dugongs have endured in Singapore’s waters despite massive land reclamation since the 1800s and its status as a shipping hub. www.straitstimes.com/singapore/en...

Lovely coverage of our research findings of mouse-deer population spike after African Swine Fever wild pig mortality in Singapore by @mongabay.com's Carolyn Cowan! news.mongabay.com/2025/12/refo...

Thanks Ang Qing for writing this news story on our research findings of mouse-deer population boom on Pulau Ubin after African Swine Fever all but wiped out wild pigs there. And kudos for getting Bill Laurance & Matt Luskin to comment on the findings. www.straitstimes.com/singapore/en...

[New paper] After the 2023 African Swine Fever outbreak, greater mouse-deer density on Pulau Ubin, Singapore surged to 293/km2—the highest known for the species. Likely drivers: >98% wild pig mortality, active reforestation and low predation pressure. doi.org/10.1016/j.bi...

RIP boots: 2015–2025 I didn’t expect we’d be such close friends again, protecting me through two big whale defleshing ops.

It’s been a month into the salvage of the roqual whale, with the days long and I’ve been onsite daily during workdays. So touched by my colleagues showing concern about my wellbeing, feeding and hydration. Still don’t know who the snacks are from but thanks!

The salvage of this dead baleen whale has been the main preoccupation of my waking hours since the start of September. www.straitstimes.com/singapore/en...

Back in Spain after two great weeks at the Lee Kong Chian and Thailand National Natural History Museums. Always a pleasure to catch up with friends, start new collabs and examine amazing specimens. Huge thanks to @marcuschua.bsky.social and the THNHM collections team for being such wonderful hosts!

The LKCNHM Public Research Symposium 2025 is underway! My colleagues and I will be sharing about specimens, science and stories from the museum with members of the public, and I will be giving a talk and moderating a panel discussion. Excited to share our science and research!

[New paper] How do 8 small wild cat species coexist in SE Asia? Do they avoid competition by carving out unique niches? Our study analyzed 465 museum skulls to see how their anatomy helps them share the space. 🧵 doi.org/10.1038/s415... /w @wildcru.bsky.social @ntlmuseumsscot.bsky.social

A story on the leopard cat in Singapore is featured in Our Wild Neighbours by Yap Seow Choong (in Chinese). Also honored to be featured as a wildlife researcher in it! Available in bookstores and online stores.

We often hear of humans feeding wildlife, but occasionally the tables are turned! Towers et al. reviews attempts by wild killer whales to provision people with food items. Fish, a whole seal, and even seaweed! I want to be fed by a killer whale! dx.doi.org/10.1037/com0...

Seeking nature in Singapore: guided walks, talks, workshops, etc by nature groups are listed at sg60naturecalendar.wordpress.com

It’s been a memorable month: Finally finished my mouse-deer dissertation and defense Qualified for the World Aquatics Masters Championships in SG 2025 Mayhem in Singapore Penang Really grateful for everyone who was part of this.

More details coming soon, but mark your calendars ... Breakout meeting for @systbiol.bsky.social‬ The Society of Systematic Biologists - will be Jan 9-11 in Baton Rouge! Topic is 'The Importance of Natural History Collections' @jembrown.bsky.social is primary host/organizer ssb2026.github.io

Super fascinating Han et al. (2025) found leopard cats occupied human settlements in China for 3,500 years before domestic cats in 600-900 CE. Evidence include ancient DNA and this super cute 168 BC painting of a supposed leopard cat. Also, a co-author's name is Miaomiao. doi.org/10.1101/2025...

I thought it'll be a uniquely Singapore thing, but someone else found leopard cats on reclaimed land—in South Korea! Lee et al. (2025) tracked leopard cats on grassland and rice fields but they seem to avoid areas of human use. Adapted 🛰️ maps by me. doi.org/10.1007/s133...

The top 10 flying insect clades rule the skies—but defy the rules. Weak or inverted latitudinal diversity gradients leave biogeographers puzzled. Entomologists? Mildly amused. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Tap and zoom. Whose teeth is this?

I’d like to thank this reviewer who completed their review of our manuscript in one day (!); even before the other invited reviewer responded. [just hoping it wasn’t a negative one 🤣] Also this tracking portal is like receiving an Amazon order.

Thanks Raj for telling the story of what goes on after we pick up a dead animal for science or education at the natural history museum! Kudos to the roadkill network in Singapore too. Watch out for the nerdy dad jokes. www.channelnewsasia.com/today/visual...

Looks like another albino or leucistic mouse-deer has been recorded, this time in Vu Quang National Park in Viet Nam. From the looks and location, it is likely what we recognise as the lesser mouse-deer (Tragulus kanchil). vnexpress.net/cheo-cheo-ba...

Google reminded me about this 1k citation milestone today. Carried so hard by my co-authors here. Glad for all the opportunities to do science together and add to the knowledge of this world we live in. scholar.google.com/citations?us...

[New paper] An albino Malayan greater bamboo bat—possibly the first record of albinism in this bamboo hollow-roosting group. Yes, he's very cute. Unfortunately, he was found in a shoe cabinet and didn't make it. Now a specimen in our museum's mammal collection. lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/u...

Cheap and old camera traps are the worst! Granted, only three models were tested, but it tells us what we don't want to hear. As with most tech, you get what you pay with camera traps. doi.org/10.1002/ece3...

Singapore Wildcat Action Group: "We would like to monitor the presence of leopard cats in the area near the construction of Singapore’s new airport terminal because of the high number of heavy vehicles in that area." www.straitstimes.com/singapore/en...

Just reviewed a revised manuscript for a mammal journal where it appears that I'm the only reviewer. I've submitted and reviewed for the journal before and there were always at least 2 reviewers. Is that the norm now, are reviewers so hard to find, are standards slipping, or all the above?

Made this Chinese horror-scope 12 years ago. After a full zodiac cycle, it’s relevant again. Context: In 2013 the government released plans that a new train line would cut across a nature reserve. Nature folks were concerned. Through engagement, the plans were made more sensitive to nature.

Good news for tiger conservation in Thailand. Though Channel News Asia's map of tiger's historic range left out much of Asia. This Sanderson et al. map shows when and where tigers live, are locally extinct and reintroduced. www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/tigers-... doi.org/10.1111/ddi....

On the last day of 2024 I am processing camera trap distance sampling data. Loving this workflow of Camelot for image management, distance calibration reference video, and data spreadsheet. 9,764 out of 15,536 pictures done. 2,300 snapshots (min. 80 required). Can’t say I don’t have enough data!

This paper was based on the effort of one camera trap at one site, albeit over 1,447 trap nights. Don't let any one tell you n=1 isn't enough. Also cool they found that "leopards... will occupy modified landscapes made available when humans are absent." www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

A nature and sustainability series for the public hosted by the National Library in Singapore. Wildlife in Singapore should really be a series on its own😀 so just a few highlights in this on Zoom next Tuesday; library users can sign up at tinyurl.com/ss-03dec2024

Story of the Malayan tapir on Pulau Ubin, Singapore by Straits Times journalist, Ang Qing. Thank you for highlighting the threats the Endangered Malayan tapir face in the wild, and the conservation efforts and value of Pulau Ubin. www.straitstimes.com/singapore/en...

[New paper] A Malayan tapir in Singapore? Yes, on Ubin Island! Malayan tapirs are not considered part of the resident fauna in Singapore, but this one appeared from May to Aug 2024. The first paper from my mouse-deer fieldwork is on a much bigger ungulate... (1/3) lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/u...

Nisi et al. mapped whale movement of 4 species in relation to shipping activity. "Shipping occurs across 92% of whale ranges". The northern horn of Sumatra is of high risk for sperm whales; consistent with our data that the LKCNHM sperm whale likely got hit by a ship there. doi.org/10.1126/scie...

[New paper] 🚨 The Critically Endangered Sunda pangolin faces threats in Singapore from habitat loss and road traffic. We georeferenced 482 pangolin sightings, rescues, and roadkill incidents from 1996–2021, revealing a rise in all three categories. doi.org/10.1017/S003...

Hello @bsky.app, I am a mammal researcher from Singapore most interested in learning about their life history and how to conserve them. Hoping to learn about that here from others, and share my own research. Also a home ice cream maker and enthusiast, while trying to swim off all those calories.