A Malayan tapir that was spotted at the Punggol Park Connector most likely swam to Singapore from Malaysia, said the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres).
On Saturday morning, Richard Seah posted on the Singapore Wildlife Sightings Facebook group that he had just seen a tapir “the size of a large pig” on the Punggol Park Connector opposite Coney Island.
“It was very shy and ran off,” he said, adding that he did not manage to take any photos as it was too quick, and that video footage from his GoPro camera was blur.
Another member of the group, MC Wai, shared a photo and video of a tapir in the comment section of Seah’s post, and said he had reported the sighting to the National Parks Board.
In the video, the rear end of the tapir can be seen as it trots along the path, occasionally weaving towards either side.
It appears to notice the person filming and veers off to the right of the path into the vegetation.
It continues forward beneath the cover of darkness, illuminated every few metres by the glow of street lamps.
In 2016, a Malayan tapir was sighted in Changi, where the endangered animal was seen at about 4.30am trotting alongside a metal fence. — The Straits Times/ANN
