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26/07/04
07:34 Good Morning! Of course it MUST be a lovely balmy morning with
blue skies and lovely white puffy clouds...when I have to go to work
:-( Hopefully the fine weather holds for a quick lunchtime outing
to somewhere interesting...haven't decided where yet. |
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26/07/04
12:39 MacRitchie Reservoir Park #1: Today, Abigail and Yvonne have
invited me to join them for their lunch break at the Park.... |
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26/07/04
12:41 MacRitchie Reservoir Park #2: The Park is very scenic and serene.
The flats overlooking it must have a grand view every day. |
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26/07/04
12:43 MacRitchie Reservoir Park #3: Not really wildlife, but the owner
had the hardest time getting this little fluff ball to sit down for
a photo... |
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26/07/04
12:44 MacRitchie Reservoir Park #4: Finally, I get lunch to Abigail...
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26/07/04 12:46 MacRitchie Reservoir Park #5:...and Yvonne... |
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26/07/04
12:47 MacRitchie Reservoir Park #6: We all get lady-like field stools
to sit down and eat our lunch properly. These field researchers sure
know how to do it in style :-)
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26/07/04
12:58 MacRitchie Reservoir Park and Turtle Study #7: And here's the
reason why the ladies are at the Park. Abigail is doing a study on
introduced turtles in our reservoir. These are some that she caught
in the morning.
yman Posted on 27/07/04 22:24
I think the man still don't get it. Why do some ladies tell
others not to release animals into our nature habitats when
they do so in the name of "a study"? Unless I got the facts
wrong here, were the turtles indigenous to Macritchie reservoir?
Or were they introduced from somewhere else?
A few months back, on a Vesak holiday, a group of people from
the Nature Society stationed themselves around various popular
nature spots where animals were often released into the wild.
They tried to persuade the devotees from releasing the animals,
which was supposedly an act of compassion for the devotees.
The message the Nature Society people tried to convey was the
dire consequences that these non-indigenous animals will suffer
in the wild. So it was a good cause indeed, and true empathy
and compassion it was for the animals.
But the so called "turtle study" will certainly irk some people,
like me for instance. Isn't it ethically wrong to subject the
turtles to undue stress, and even death (as it was suggested).
I am sure the researchers would have read Research Ethics 101,
and hopefully will give the turtles or other animals the benefit
of ethical doubts in future "studies".
I hope I am not starting a gender issue here :). I hope only
to reflect on the issue of research ethics. Perhaps people reading
this may want to add their comments too. ( :> Yman)
This posting
has been re-posted as a blog entry:
should we release animals into our wild places? |
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26/07/04
12:59 MacRitchie Reservoir Park and Turtle Study #8: She puts a notch
in their shell so as to uniquely identify them. The turtles are released
and if she catches them again, she will get some data about how they
live their lives. |
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26/07/04
13:00 MacRitchie Reservoir Park and Turtle Study #9: Here is some
of the Manly Gear they get to use. I'm so jealous. I love Manly Gear
:-) But these are very clean...obviously not yet used for the day...aha.
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26/07/04
13:02 MacRitchie Reservoir Park and Turtle Study #10: The ladies leave
traps like these at locations in the reservoir and check the traps
regularly. On a good day, Abigail can get about 40 introduced turtles!
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26/07/04
13:03 MacRitchie Reservoir Park and Turtle Study #11: This large and
well equipped boat takes them out to their study sites. |
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26/07/04
13:04 MacRitchie Reservoir Park and Turtle Study #12: Oops, I guess
I shouldn't be in here taking photos... |
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26/07/04
13:06 MacRitchie Reservoir Park and Turtle Study #13: While these
turtles look cute, releasing them into our waters results in one of
two things: the turtles may die a horrible death; OR they do very
well and thus affect our native turtles. There is competition for
food and probably breeding and egg-laying sites. This is why we should
NEVER release any animals (turtles, birds, frogs, whatever) into our
Nature Reserves. Abigail's study will help us better understand the
situation and thus educate others on the dangers of this practice.
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26/07/04
13:07 MacRitchie Reservoir Park and Turtle Study #14: The turtles
that are collected are weighed and measured... |
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26/07/04
13:10 MacRitchie Reservoir Park and Turtle Study #15: Labels are used
on collecting pails so Abigail can note down where they are collected.
She says although they are all released at the same location, many
of them somehow find their way back to the place where they were collected.
Which could be very far away in another part of the Reservoir. |
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26/07/04
13:25 MacRitchie Reservoir Park and Turtle Study #16: Lunch break
is over and the ladies have to get back to work... |
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26/07/04
13:27 MacRitchie Reservoir Park and Turtle Study #17: As Abigail waves
goodbye, I reluctantly head back to the office...sigh. Aircon and
computer screen. I would trade it all for blue skies and open waters...
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26/07/04
13:33 MacRitchie Reservoir Park and Turtle Study #18: On the way back,
a last look at the bandstand platform over the water....and what do
I see in the water...
nawah Posted on 26/07/04 18:48
Great job with the MMS! Really brings nature closer!
Ria Posted on 27/07/04 10:53
Thanks Nawah. It's be a great joy for me. With the mss, somehow,
I feel less alone in my wanderings as I can share with all of
you the wonders of these beautiful places :-) |
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26/07/04
13:33 MacRitchie Reservoir Park and Turtle Study #19 (last): ...two
introduced turtles swimming about. I'm sure Abigail's study will help
in the control of introduced turtles. So that instead of these, we
can see our native turtles swimming about in our waters... |
wildsingapore
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