Bukit Timah Nature Reserve -

Year of Declaration:  2011
Area (hectares): 163
Area and Location:

Covers 163 hectares and located in the center of Singapore.

 

Description:

Includes Bukit Timah Hill, the country’s highest at 163 meters; established as one of the first forest reserves in 1884, the hill was protected as far back as the 1840s for climatic reasons. Many visited the cool summit of Bukit Timah to escape from the sweltering heat in the lowlands.

 

Habitat Types:

Hill dipterocarp primary  tropical forest;  lowland dipterocarp primary tropical forest, as well as tall and low secondary forest; some pockets of fringing scrub; natural streams; valleys.

 

Unique Flora:

Seraya (Shorea curtisii);  S. macrotera, S. leprosula, S. ovalis, and S. Parvifolia); rare mosses which include Pyrrhobryum spiniforme, Trismegistia lancifolia; white globba (Globba leucantha); kerinting (Rhopaloblaste singaporensis); red meranti; keruing; large jelutong;  six-stemmed sonerila (Sonerila heterostemon);  Magnolia candolii var. singaporensis; new  rediscoveries, such as Geocharis aurantica and Memecylon pubescens. 

 

Unique Fauna:

Rare forestpraying mantis (Theopropus elegans); moth Dysphania glaucescens; giant forest ant (Camponotus gigas); forest dependent Singapore freshwater crab (Johora singaporensis); and blue Malayan coral snake (Calliophis bivirgatus); horned frog (Megophrys nasuta);  Saint Andrew’s Cross toadlet (Pelophryne signata) and thorny treefrog (Theloderma horridum); bicoloured roundleaf bat (Hipposideros bicolor), naked bulldog bat (Cheiromeles torquatus), narrow-winged pipistrelle (Pipistrellus stenopterus), and red-cheeked flying squirrel (Hylopetes spadiceus); smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale peropiciliata); firefly (Pteroptyx valida).

 

Ecotourism Destination and Activities:

Bukit Timah Hill; mountaing biking trail; visitor center; resting huts; guided walks/thematic tours; participation in Nature Keeper’s Programme, Plant a Tree Programme and Kids’ for Nature; the robust volunteer programme which involves free guided tours, roadshows and exhibitions.

 

Biological Richness: • 900 species of vascular plants
• 124 species of birds
• 26 species of mammals
• 58 species of reptiles
• 17 species of amphibians
• 15 species of freshwater fish
• 70 species of dragonflies
•  200 species of butterflies