Bukit Timah Nature Reserve
The Bukit Timah Nature Reserve is a nature reserve near the geographic centre of Singapore, located on the slopes of Bukit Timah Hill, the country's highest natural peak standing at a height of approximately, and parts of the surrounding area, located actually in Bukit Panjang. The nature reserve is about from the Downtown Core, Singapore's central business district.
Together with the neighbouring Central Catchment Nature Reserve in close proximity, it houses over 840 species of flowering plants and over 500 species of fauna. Today, it is one of the largest patches of primary rainforest left in Singapore. The forest reserve was formally declared as an ASEAN Heritage Park on 18 October 2011.
Etymology
The name Bukit Timah is borrowed from the tallest hill found in the area of the same name, which is also the tallest geographical location in all of Singapore. Bukit means hill in the Malay language, while Timah means tin. It is directly translated to English as "Tin Hill".The hill served as a granite quarry for many years, but since the mid-1900s, all quarrying operations have been abandoned and the area converted into recreational and even filming locations.
History
In 1882, Nathaniel Cantley, the Superintendent of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, was tasked with assessing the forests of the Straits Settlements. His recommendations led to the creation of several forest reserves, including Bukit Timah in 1883. While most reserves were exploited for timber, Bukit Timah was preserved. By 1937, many reserves were depleted due to development pressures, but Bukit Timah and two other areas remained protected for their flora and fauna. In 1951, the Nature Reserves Ordinance established formal protection for these areas, which were then managed by the Nature Reserves Board. Today, under the National Parks Act and managed by the National Parks Board, these nature reserves continue to safeguard Singapore's indigenous flora and fauna.Activities
The primary activities at Bukit Timah are strolling, running and hiking. There are also smaller groups of people who rock-climb and abseil at the Dairy Farm quarry as well as mountain biking. There are specially-allocated mountain-bike trails around the area and is located within the Reserve. The 6.5 km MTB trail loop around Bukit Timah Hill and stretched between Hinhinde Park and Dairy Farm Road. The trail represents a tropical rocky terrain with extended technical climbs and difficult descents at short intervals. For MTB Map trail rating, it is largely made up of black diamond sections with intermittent blue square sections. There are also short alternative double black diamond sections.The Reserve is popular among athletes training for mountain-climbing. There are a number of hiking trails. The blue trail is rated as "easy" and is long, ending overlooking Hindhede Quarry. The red trail is also rated as "easy" and is long. The green trail is rated as "moderate to difficult" and is long. The yellow trail is rated as "difficult" and is long. The red, green and yellow trails all end at the hut at the summit of Bukit Timah hill.
The park has been designated with the code 9V-0007 by the international Parks On The Air award program, and so is regularly 'activated' by Amateur Radio operators using portable equipment.
Wildlife
Flora
Some of the common plants there are the rattan, figs, and macaranga. Two meninjau trees stand near the visitor center. 18 different species of dipterocarps live in the reserve, including the seraya and Dipterocarpus caudatus. Fan palms, leaf litter plants thorny rattan and ferns are also common. Fern species include staghorn fern and bird's nest fern. Lichens and fungus, such as bracket fungus are also found.Fauna
Insects and arachnids
Insects found within the reserve include millipedes, carpenter bees, and many different types of bird, insects and spiders. Common insect species include cicadas and giant forest ants. Common spider species include the golden orb-web spider and the St Andrew's Cross spider.Arthropods
The Singapore freshwater crab is indigenous to Bukit Timah.Reptiles
Reptiles in the reserve include the reticulated python, the paradise tree snake and the common sun skink.Mammals
The crab-eating macaque, a species of monkey, is common in the reserve. The monkeys also enter the area surrounding the park and are common enough that there are concerns that interactions with people will alter their behaviour. Feeding the monkeys is prohibited, and visitors are urged to avoid staring at, baring teeth at or otherwise disturbing or threatening the monkeys. Monkeys are not the only mammals in the park. Other mammals include the Malayan pangolin, Malayan colugo, plantain squirrel and slender squirrel. The colugos, which are generally nocturnal, can sometimes be seen clinging to trees during the day. Bukit Timah is the only place in Singapore where the red-cheeked flying squirrel is found.Raffles' banded langur monkey was once found in Bukit Timah but the last individual from the Bukit Timah population died in 1987. The government hopes that the Eco-Link@BKE will allow the Raffles' banded langur to repopulate Bukit Timah from Central Catchment once the vegetation matures.