The Malayan Water Monitor, a common reptile found in Sungei Buloh, is a great swimmer, both in freshwater and saline water, and can remain underwater for as long as 30 minutes. Monitor lizards are also able to move quickly on land and even climb trees! These Malayan Water Monitors are carnivorous reptiles that scavenge for food. Its diet consists of almost everything that it can swallow, including small mammals, snakes, lizards, young crocodiles, tortoises, birds and their eggs, fish, crabs and molluscs. However, it prefers decaying flesh of dead animals. The lizard hunts by pursuing its prey, rather than stalking or ambushing. It also regularly raids bird’s nests.

The Estuarine Crocodile, also known as the Saltwater Crocodile, is found naturally in the wild in Singapore. It is one of the largest species of crocodiles and can grow up to 5 metres long! They have long snouts and a broad, muscular tail. Saltwater crocodiles can lay up to 60 eggs at a time and live over 70 years. Although baby saltwater crocodiles may look adorable, they will grow up to have 66 razor sharp teeth on average and one of the strongest bite forces of any animal in the world.

This may come as a surprise to many, but the horseshoe crab, commonly found around the various mudflats of Sungei Buloh, is actually not a crab! They are marine arthropods that are more closely related to spiders and scorpions than to crabs and lobsters. They first appeared 450 million years ago! (The dinosaurs only lived 65 million years ago.) It swims upside down, using their gills as paddles. They can swim up to 354-547 metres per hour swimming this way. They have 10 eyes which are located on their bodies.

Mudskippers are a unique kind of fish that can spend part of their day on land. They can do so by breathing in air through its specialized skin and by gulping air into its mouth, which is lined with blood vessels very close to the surface. The pelvic fins of mudskippers (found on its underside) are fused together to form a suction cup, allowing them to cling onto surfaces and even climb! Mudskippers move about by propping itself up with its pelvic fins and then pulling itself forward with its pectoral fins. When needed, mudskippers can use their tail to curl and dig into the sand, allowing them to “skip” forward, hence its name! Mudskippers have eyes that bulge out from the top of their heads, which can move independently of each other and rotate 360 degrees. They can also see objects above and underwater at the same time! However, mudskippers have to roll their eyes back into their sockets to keep them moist, making them the only fish that can blink. Most mudskippers are carnivores and prey on worms, flies, beetles and small fish. However, it is difficult for them to eat on land as they do not have a tongue. To swallow food, mudskippers make use of water stored in their mouth and pushes it out of its mouth as it grabs its food, then it sucks everything back in and the water actually helps to transport the food into its stomach.

Tree-climbing crabs can be found around the mudflats of Sungei Buloh, often on the mangroves. As their names suggest, tree-climbing crabs can climb trees! They can often be seen climbing mangroves during high tide but remain just above the water level. However, they climb up to 6 metres and higher during the night. The Singapore vinegar crab (episesarma singaporense) is one such species of tree-climbing crabs found in Sungei Buloh, which can be easily identified by their red claws. The tree-climbing crabs or vinegar crabs found in Singapore are primarily leaf-eaters and usually grow to lengths of 4 to 5 cm. When out of water, these crabs often remain motionless to avoid being seen by predators such as monitor lizards, kingfishers and otters. Apart from the Singapore vinegar crab, there are 2 other species of tree-climbing crabs commonly found in Singapore, the Violet vinegar crab (episesarma versicolor) and Pink-fingered crab (episesarma chengtongense).

This snake gets its interesting name from its protruding eyes, which is unusual for snakes. The Dog-faced Water Snake is commonly found in mangroves but is seldom spotted as it camouflages into the mud. It is very shy and wary of humans, so it prefers to stay hidden in the day.

It is more active at night where it hunts for food; it is able to swallow its prey like fish larger than its head! The Dog-faced Water Snake is also unique as it gives birth to its young alive instead of laying eggs like other snakes. Look out for this interesting creature in the mangroves at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

This spider can be frequently seen around Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. Females can grow up to 20 cm, while the much-smaller males, grow to about 5 to 6 mm only. It gets its name from its web which appears golden when it reflects sunlight. In a web, the large spider which can be seen from afar is the female. The male, or several males, can be found in the same web near her.

Measuring up to 2.5 m, this striking-looking snake is one of the largest found in Singapore. It lives in the mangroves such as on Sungei Buloh and is nocturnal, resting on branches in the day and feeding at night. Being adept on both land and in water, it catches prey like frogs, bats and even other snakes found in the mangrove habitat.

Although beautiful, the Gold-ringed Cat Snake is venomous, so please observe it from a safe distance.

Kingfishers are small to medium sized birds and are easily recognized as they are brightly coloured. They not only hunt for fish but feed on a wide variety of prey, though they are most famous for hunting fish. Kingfishers have excellent vision and can adjust to refraction to see into water. Unlike most birds, kingfishers do not build nests but rather create burrows by digging into dirt banks, tree cavities or old termite mounds. There are 120 species of kingfishers around the world, 8 of which have been documented in Singapore. The largest kingfisher found in Singapore is the stork-billed kingfisher and it is easily recognisable by its distinctive grey head, red bill, blue upper body and orange belly. It can be found in Sungei Buloh, although it is rare to spot one.

Herons are freshwater and coastal birds and there are 64 species of them found in the world. They are medium to large size birds and the smallest species of heron measure 25 to 30cm in size while the largest species, the goliath heron, grows up to 152cm! Herons have distinctive S-shaped necks that are able to extend and retract during flight, unlike most birds and have long, harpoon-like bills. There are about 250 of Grey Herons in Singapore. It is likely that Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is the only nesting site for these birds here. Herons feed on a wide variety of aquatic animals, including fish, reptiles, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic insects. They hunt by standing motionlessly in shallow water, waiting for prey to come within range. When they spot a prey, they move their head from side to side so they can discern the position of the prey and account for refraction. They then spear the fish with their bill.

Sunbirds may look very similar to hummingbirds but they are actually very distantly related. However, just like hummingbirds, many species of sunbirds feed largely on nectar. Some species of sunbirds can also hover about like hummingbirds but they usually just perch to feed. Some flowers are long and narrow, preventing access to its nectar but that is no problem for sunbirds as they puncture a hole at the base of flowers and sip nectar from there. This is a copper-throated sunbird and as the name suggests, its throat is iridescent copper-red. It has a distinct iridescent green crown, shoulder patch and upper tail, purple flanks (part between ribs and hip) and blackish belly, making it a colourful and very pretty bird. Copper-throated sunbirds live among mangroves and can be found in Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (and also pulau ubin).