environmental education programmes
M.A.D. (Make A Difference) for Wild Pigs
Text and photos by Vilma D'Rozario unless otherwise indicated.
The Eurasian wild pig or Sus scrofa vittatus is native to Singapore. They're precious to us. Cicada Tree Eco-Place held a free education programme on wild pigs on 26 August 2012 at Lower Peirce Reservoir Park and will hold another outdoor workshop on 7 October.

Eurasian Wild Pig in a mangrove habitat.
Eurasian Wild Pig family on the move. Photo by Marcus Chua.
We were so lucky, the weather was fine. Our walk started at 6.30pm after the kids got registered and received their wild pig notes and special wild pig button badge featuring mummy pig and stripey piglets, and wild piglet tee-shirts. Thank you, Uncle Kelvin for the cute wild piglet drawing found on our pig tees.

Our aim was to give kids and their families more information on wild pigs, where they live, what they eat, what may eat them, the dangers they face, and how we could live with them in our midst.


Kids were asked to look out for evidence that pigs were present in the area. Before long, the kids saw some pig diggings in the grassy area outside the forest.

After briefing the kids on respect for the forest and our forest friends by keeping quiet, taking nothing away but observations and wildlife notes, we started our walk on the boardwalk. Our first encounter with a wild pig was a piercing blood chilling call from inside the forest.

The kids wanted to see a wild pig. First, they saw two white-bellied sea eagles.
The kids soon got their wish as a few young wild pigs were foraging near the boardwalk. The pigs moved into the forest when they sensed our being there. What a thrill for the kids to see them! I was proud of the kids who kept dead silence and observed the pigs from a distance.
The reservoir looked beautiful in the twilight.
We made our way to the waters' edge for a picnic dinner. Whilst the kids ate, Unlce Andrew showed us photos of wild pigs from around the world--the Babirusa from Sulawesi, Indian Wild Pig, Bearded Pig from Sabah, a warthog from Botswana. And of course, our very own Eurasian Wild Pig and cute striped piglets from Chek Jawa on Pulau Ubin.
The evening ended with a walk on the dam to look for more wild pigs. We didn't see any here, but we saw a night jar instead. We ended off at 8pm. It was so nice to see kids and their families so positive about our wild pigs. We hope to hold as many wild pig outreach lessons as we can as our contribution to the conservation of wildlife in Singapore. Do join us next time!!

Thanks to our helpful volunteers, Sean and Selina, who helped us with logistics.
For registration/enquiries, please email Celine Low at .