Ubin

Picture above. The elusive Greater Mousedeer photographed at Tabin Wildlife Reserve.

With the last official sighting 80 years go, its great news to learn that Greater mousedeers were sighted on Ubin.

Mousedeers are called Pelandok in Malay or Kancil in Bahasa Indonesia. Some Ubin villagers have seen them, but they have also spotted sun bears and gibbons in Ubin so its hard to believe what they saw. There are even reports of tiger being sighted spooking everyone. I once saw an old boar with strange gait that I almost thought I saw an orang-utan.

The reduction of people residing in Ubin has brought some unexpected benefits. The enlargement of Outward Bound School perimeter occupying nearly the whole Western side of Ubin also help create a “no man’s land” where animals have space to themselves. I am hoping to find squirrels which used to be common in Ubin many years ago.

But opposing Yin Yang forces are still at play. Contractors are indiscriminately fogging some places in Ubin killing mosquitoes, butterflies and other insects alike. They pour chemicals to kill mosquitoes larvae when there are pond fishes already feeding on them. There are huge land development going in Johore just 5 km north of Chek Jawa, potentially cutting off migrating animals like wild boars who are able to swim across to Ubin. The creation of an anti smuggling fence sealed Ubin further. There is a family of otters in Ubin itself which may not survive as a breeding population.

Pollution is problematic with tanker washings going on at Johore side, discharging oil and tar. The rivers of Johore are choked with rubbish landing on Ubin shores that some visitors declared Noordin beach as the dirtiest beach they ever saw.