Poor Monkey with Broken and Twisted Right Hand at Sungei Buloh

Today, I went to Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve with a few Deutsche Bank volunteers for a walk. Towards the end of our trip, we spotted a monkey on the roof of the Nparks office.


It was a lonely Long-tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis). Also known as the Crab-eating Macaque, this monkey sometimes catches and feeds on crabs in the mangrove. It also feeds on fruits and other small animals. As I was snapping photos of it, I suddenly noticed that its right hand looked a bit deformed.


When it climbed lower, I managed to take a better look at it. Part of its right hand was gone, and the remaining arm looked somewhat twisted! I wondered what had happened to this poor animal. Did its arm got caught or entangled in something, and eventually broke or rot away? Or was the injury caused by an attack from another animal? It managed to climb around using the remaining limbs though. Hope it will be able to survive well despite its handicap...


Apart from the monkey, we saw a number of other animals too, including 2 Dog-faced Water Snakes (Cerberus rynchops) at the Mangrove Boardwalk. These snakes feed on fishes, and sometimes, crabs too.


We saw lots of Shield Bugs (Calliphara nobilis) today on a Barat Barat, a sea hibiscus and a bakau.


This was the Barat Barat (Cassine viburnifolia) on which I saw the Shield Bugs. Thought it was rather interesting that the fruits develop with the flower petals still attached to the plant.


One of the many Mangrove Cannonball Trees (Xylocarpus granatum) was fruiting! This tree can assists in the removal of the dangerous metal boron used in the metal industry!


Nearby, I spotted another species of Mangrove Cannonball - Xylocarpus moluccensis. The blur me had never noticed this tree in Sungei Buloh before...


We also came across this huge patch of Kalak Kambing (Finlaysonia obovata). The leaves lack the little drip tips which I had seen in other specimens, so initially I was a bit doubtful, especially without the fruit or flower. Thanks to John for helping to confirm the ID. Apparently, leaf development can be affected by sun-shade impact.

After the walk, we initially intended to walk to the Aeroponics farm but the rain got heavier, and so decided to drop the plan.

Fortunately the rain wasn't too heavy during our walk around the reserve, and thus we still managed to have a very enjoyable walk! :)