There wasn’t any climbing to do this time around, but plenty of walking. Walking – let me rephrase that – with your bag on your back since there weren’t any lockers to stuff them into. And I haven’t unpacked my schoolbag since the March holidays. You get the idea.
Take the mudskippers. Sure, they weren’t skipping around in the mud as much as they were swimming in the water, but there were a lot more than I had expected to see. They really are amazing creatures (mudskippers, not hobbits). As part of the group who did the presentation on mudskippers I was looking forward to identifying the, um, googly eyes of the giant mudskipper. We did manage to spot it using its pectoral fins to steer itself around, although we didn’t catch any of the marks it makes while walking along the mud. Turns out we didn’t get as close to them as I would have liked, but it was an interesting experience all the same, seeing as the only skippers I’ve ever seen are the Captains of the destroyers at the Navy Open House.
Fiddler crabs were in more abundance than you would find Republicans at a Tea Party meeting. The entire mangrove was swamped (excuse the pun) with them. I honestly hadn’t expected to see any critters, judging from the dismal turnout during our last trip. And I think that the most cynical part of me had doubted that such strange crabs actually existed. The wonders of Photoshop, I think, are pretty well known nowadays. But they turned out to be true enough, although why any crab would want a huge claw is beyond me, as is why females are attracted to large claws. And I haven’t figured out how the fiddler crab balances itself when it crawls. If I were walking around with myself on my arm I don’t think I would have lasted more than three seconds upright.
The mangroves were a whole other thing. For once I appreciated how sturdy they were – strong, rooted deeply into the mud. I’d known for a while how mangroves supposedly protect people from tsunamis – let’s just say the people of Pasir Ris have nothing to fear from any major wave coming to Singapore in the near future. They were huge and almost in a way majestic. After my, ah, enlightening experience I went back and did a bit of research. Besides providing protection from various natural disasters (storms, hurricanes, typhoons) mangroves also stabilize and prevent shifting of the coastline. Which is just as well, seeing as Singapore doesn’t need another change in its coastline. Mangroves are also an integral part of the marine communities, seeing as they provide food via a detritus food chain starting from fallen mangrove leaves. They also provide a habitat for animals like prawns, crabs and fish at critical phases of their life cycle by functioning as a feeding ground for the young.
I’ve said this in the previous blog post – that Bukit Timah was tainted by the human visitors – and I’ll say this again for Pasir Ris Park. Although this was worse. There were cans, bottles, even a pink shampoo bottle strewn all over the place. It was as if someone had hosted a ‘have a picnic in your local mangrove’ day.