R: What is that one thing that Singaporeans don't know about your work?
A: One thing would be hard to say... A lot of Singaporeans may not know that there are people out there who are genuinely concerned and passionate about doing wildlife conservation. Because the field for conservation is pretty small and limited in Singapore, students like myself don’t have the opportunities to carry out such work. You’ll be actually surprised to see that a lot of Singaporeans are interested in wildlife.
The usual monkeys they see is the macaques or the little brown one which is very naughty, a lot of conflict going on. But there is another, the banded leaf monkey which is the bigger one, the black colour, very shy, it’s not as aggressive like what they would imagine a monkey would be and there are a lot of interesting things they
you need to know about this species because it is a native species of Singapore
and a part of our biodiversity heritage. So it is good that Singaporeans know and understand about our own species.
Andie Ang
Young Primatologist
R: Would you like to discuss your work by meeting and interacting with
the general public?
A: I am not just studying this species but also conserving it and creating awareness about this species. (I am) bringing together the knowledge about this species and the general public. So I am definitely interested in sharing whatever information I have about the monkey, what needs to be done, what’s interesting about this species. Whatever questions they have- maybe they are interested in seeing this monkey. Where to see it? In a way I hope to be able to gather more information in order to be able to share with them which is why I have been giving presentations and talks, writing papers not just in journals but magazines.
Click here to see her personal website and more about her work.
R: Who reads these magazine articles that you write?
A: People who are interested in nature, conservation, science, but I also think it is important to get to those people who may not be interested in biodiversity and nature. Sometimes they may not know that there are resources there which are available to them to learn more or they have this stereotypic perception- Oh, it might be difficult to understand about biodiversity.
I have friends who say I want to know more but it might be difficult to get access
to, terms might be too technical. So if there is a medium that caters to people who have no prior background or knowledge, they may want to keep an open mind, go out and see what students are doing for conservation..
R: How would it help if Singaporeans knew about your work?
A: It will be good if we have more volunteers to observe the monkeys and we can generate more interest for research in that area. From primate research it can go on to other mammal research. It will also help in getting funds and resources for other students who want these sort of opportunities. So in turn help in conserving the species.
R: What role do the banded leaf monkeys play in maintaining the balance in CCNR?
A: That’s a really big question! Ecology, interaction between species and the environment. They used to be numerous in CCNR and then the population declined and not a lot of people are studying them so it is difficult to know about their ecology and interactions with their envirnmnet. Not just species interaction with env but also species-species interaction for example their interaction with the long tailed macaque how do they share the space what food do they eat? Is CCNR sufficient to support the BLM? What plant species are available over there? This needs more research. My work is preliminary for example.
It’s not just the size of the habitat that matters but also what is in the habitat. If the food resources are enough.
R: What change can Singaporeans bring to help in conserving the wildlife in Singapore and to what extent?
A: It is important for people to understand the ... interactions between nature and people. It cannot be seen as people competing with nature or nature competing with people. There needs to be a blanace because they are sharing the habitat. We have limited space in Singapore the interfaces between humans and wildlife is increasing...
What do Singaporeans want? Do they want to see Singapore having parts of nature left like the forests we have (only 5% of the island is forested) Do we want it to be increased or do we want it to be destroyed...
This interview was taken on January 14, 2013. The interviewer is Radhika Gupta and the interviewee, Andy Ang.
Copyright Conversation Conservation, Singapore. 2013. No flying lemurs were hurt while making this website.