Massive family fun at Chek Jawa!

We have a huge gathering of families and kids for the last Naked Hermit Crab tour for the year!

We also had an interesting encounter with Mama Wild Boar, other cool critters and the guides celebrated with a massive Pepper Crab lunch.

Do you know where your litter is?

A great poster that makes us think about the litter we left behind on the shore!

More about the poster on the NAMEPA website.

This poster is part of the efforts of the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA). They encourage you to use the poster, you can even add your own logo to it.

Tiny Ctenophores!

I stumbled upon information about these odd long 'strings' that I've been seeing on our leathery soft corals. It turns out they are tentacles produced by almost invisible ctenophores (pronounced 'ten-nah-fours' sound clip). This lump that closely resembles the soft coral which I accidentally photographed is possibly the ctenaphore.

Thanks to Hannah Shult and Nicholas Yap, I learnt that they are NOT cnidarians. Nick put together some awesome information about these beasts and kindly allowed me to reproduce it here. Thank you Nick!

"Tiny but Mighty: Beccarrii" - a rare seagrass in Singapore

Singapore's own Halophila beccarii, among the rarest seagrasses in the world is featured in the latest Seagrass-Watch Issue 44 Nov 2011. Siti has dubbed it 'Tiger seagrass' because the leaves are often banded.

Recently, a few of us saw vast areas of this Critically Endangered Beccari's seagrass (Halophila beccarii) on our northern shores: at Kranji Nature Trail and at Mandai Mangroves!

The latest issue of Seagrass Watch magazine is also full of sea turtles!

10 Dec (Sat): Talk on "Forests of the Sea" by Siti M. Yaakub

Seagrass meadows are one of the most productive ecosystems on earth, but no one knows what they are! Are they algae? Are they seaweed? Can they be eaten? Is it true you can find mermaids frolicking in seagrass meadows?

Marine biologist Siti M. Yaakub will teach us about these underwater forests, what makes them tick and why everyone should hug a seagrass today!

14 Dec (Wed): Free screening of "A Fall from Freedom" by ACRES

Whales and dolphins have captured the imagination of people all over the world. They have come to symbolize not only an alien form of intelligence, but a sense of ultimate freedom in their marine environment and a camaraderie among their herd mates that we envy and admire.

A Fall From Freedom trailer from OdyseeTV on Vimeo.

A Fall from Freedom is the first film to expose the long and sordid history of the captive whale and dolphin business: a history that continues to this day. The illegal capture and transport of killer whales, the thousands of dolphins that are killed in order to provide marine parks and aquariums with replacement animals, and the ability of these facilities to miseducate the public about these animals.

These, and many other issues, are covered in graphic detail in this 80-minute film.

Volunteer Appreciation and NatGeo talk

Once a year, NParks' Conservation Division celebrates the volunteers with an appreciation event. As always, it's a great opportunity to catch up with old and new friends, and enjoy the company of fellow volunteers!

Photo taken by Lim Wei Ling.

Later in the afternoon, I had a great time giving a public talk about our shores organised by Debby Ng of the Hantu Bloggers and hosted by the National Geographic Store.