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Drivers, beware that wild boar on NTU roads
By Goh Kai Shi & Lim Yi Han
Road signs warning motorists to look out for animals, such as this one near the Jalan Bahar entrance (left), are put up at NTU, as many animals like wild boars (above) and even pangolins roam the campus freely. -- PHOTOS: NURIA LING AND CHARMAINE YIP
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WILD boars are a common sight at Nanyang Technological University (NTU). As are snakes - and even endangered pangolins.
Hostel residents often come upon these wild animals roaming free and unmolested on the sprawling grounds of the university in Jurong.
So much so that NTU has recently put up signs warning drivers to be wary of animals crossing the street within the campus' network of roads.
At least two 'Caution! Animals Crossing' signs have been put up - both of them at the Jalan Bahar side entrance, where sightings are most common.
Mr Chan Keng Luck, acting chief building and infrastructure officer at NTU, said: 'As the greenest campus in Singapore, NTU is home to a rich biodiversity of flora and fauna. These signs are meant to alert road users to be careful.'
To wildlife enthusiast Ben Lee, 49, the signs are a necessity. He remembers picking up a dead pangolin from Jalan Bahar in 2008 to prevent it from being repeatedly run over. The pangolin is classified as a critically endangered animal in Singapore.
Mr Lee, who founded Nature Trekker Singapore - a non-profit nature organisation - in 2000, would like to see more of such signs around urban Singapore.
'These signs will go some way towards ensuring that future generations will get to see endangered animals like the pangolin,' he said.
Student hostelites along Nanyang Crescent said they have seen small herds of three or four wild boars from their windows.
The animals have even become something of a draw. University shuttle buses have stopped for those on board to admire them, said mari-time studies student Zhang Tianzhe, 22.
Ms Charmaine Yip, 20, an exchange student from Canada who has been at the hostel for three months, has had several sightings.
'The first time I saw them I was quite scared, but after that, I realised they are quite harmless,' she said.
School of Biological Sciences student Corinna Tan, 23, agreed: 'The wild boars seem quite docile and I don't think they pose any threat to us.'
'Wild boars are generally docile by nature, but can become aggressive when they are cornered,' said Mr Tony O'Dempsey, chairman of the Vertebrate Study Group of the Nature Society Singapore.
'The best thing to do when you come face-to-face with them is to avoid them, as with all wild animals,' he added.
It is not too much to ask of wildlife-loving NTU students.
By Goh Kai Shi & Lim Yi Han
Road signs warning motorists to look out for animals, such as this one near the Jalan Bahar entrance (left), are put up at NTU, as many animals like wild boars (above) and even pangolins roam the campus freely. -- PHOTOS: NURIA LING AND CHARMAINE YIP
View more photos
WILD boars are a common sight at Nanyang Technological University (NTU). As are snakes - and even endangered pangolins.
Hostel residents often come upon these wild animals roaming free and unmolested on the sprawling grounds of the university in Jurong.
So much so that NTU has recently put up signs warning drivers to be wary of animals crossing the street within the campus' network of roads.
At least two 'Caution! Animals Crossing' signs have been put up - both of them at the Jalan Bahar side entrance, where sightings are most common.
Mr Chan Keng Luck, acting chief building and infrastructure officer at NTU, said: 'As the greenest campus in Singapore, NTU is home to a rich biodiversity of flora and fauna. These signs are meant to alert road users to be careful.'
To wildlife enthusiast Ben Lee, 49, the signs are a necessity. He remembers picking up a dead pangolin from Jalan Bahar in 2008 to prevent it from being repeatedly run over. The pangolin is classified as a critically endangered animal in Singapore.
Mr Lee, who founded Nature Trekker Singapore - a non-profit nature organisation - in 2000, would like to see more of such signs around urban Singapore.
'These signs will go some way towards ensuring that future generations will get to see endangered animals like the pangolin,' he said.
Student hostelites along Nanyang Crescent said they have seen small herds of three or four wild boars from their windows.
The animals have even become something of a draw. University shuttle buses have stopped for those on board to admire them, said mari-time studies student Zhang Tianzhe, 22.
Ms Charmaine Yip, 20, an exchange student from Canada who has been at the hostel for three months, has had several sightings.
'The first time I saw them I was quite scared, but after that, I realised they are quite harmless,' she said.
School of Biological Sciences student Corinna Tan, 23, agreed: 'The wild boars seem quite docile and I don't think they pose any threat to us.'
'Wild boars are generally docile by nature, but can become aggressive when they are cornered,' said Mr Tony O'Dempsey, chairman of the Vertebrate Study Group of the Nature Society Singapore.
'The best thing to do when you come face-to-face with them is to avoid them, as with all wild animals,' he added.
It is not too much to ask of wildlife-loving NTU students.
