Last Sunday morning my family decided to take a stroll along the kallang riverside around the Dakota area. as with most group outings, since i had my camera i got left behind like always.
But first we had breakfast! at a large and crowded hawker centre nearby. i went to get food, but when i returned to my seat i found it was already occupied..
“I’m in your seat, taking up buttspace”
Salticids, or jumping spiders, are really, in my opnion, the cutest spiders around, with their two big beady anterior median eyes, they kinda look like teddy bears (not many would agree though i presume). and i’ve mentioned their inquisitive eyes before!
A contemplative salticid. I assume he was thinking curious thoughts.
though not as brightly coloured or beatiful as some oether members of its family, this guy (being apltly named the common housefly catcher) kept flies at bay! so we could feast in peace (:
Thanks dude.
“no problem. yay me!”
At the table next to ours, a horde of Javan mynas were scaveging. the mynas we usually see are these guys, and are actually aliens (i.e. invasive species), speculated to have been introduced a long time ago by virtue of singapore being a port city. over the years they have outcompeted and are slowly replacing the Common Mynas (now not so common) which are ironically also invasive species.
i was walking aloing the sidewalk when i noticed this. the poor lizard mustve been cemented over 😦
along the entire stretch from dakota to stadium station, the pavements were crowded with Giant African Land Snails (crushed and uncrushed), which i will henceforth refer to as GALS for punny convinience.
gals , like the javan mynas are also invasive alien species, stemming from well, Africa. they’re also listed as one of the worst invasive species on the planet, ending up all over the world and almost completely replacing all other native snails.
they are also very often crushed, due to their large size that makes them more likely to be stepped on as you foot would have a higher chance of landing on them, out of all spaces on the sidewalk (though you’d think their large size would also make them more visible and thus more avoidable. but in singapore, only people with low self esteem, people who are in love with their shoes or bugfans like me would bother looking down when walking).
one of em gals sitting right smack in the middle of a busy foot/bike path, she avoided getting wheeled by 3 seperate bikes cos i was kowtowing in front of it to get the shot.
face of evil!
Nature in a Concrete Jungle 