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"Wild City" features Sin Ming Ave chickens as endangered Red Junglefowl

Published

8 years ago

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Produced by MediaCorp’s Channel News Asia, using the latest filmmaking techniques and narrated by natural history legend Sir David Attenborough, the TV series, “Wild City”, presents wildlife of various species existing in the urban areas of Singapore.
In one of the two-part series, Sir David states that these chickens found at Sin Ming Avenue as the species of Red Junglefowl, the ancestors to the domesticated chickens. It also showed footage that the chickens had grey legs and that they can fly, something which Straits Times contested against.

To view the full clip, visit Toggle here.
Earlier this week, it has been reported that “chickens” which had been roaming freely around Thomson View and Blocks 452 to 454 Sin Ming Avenue, have been put down by Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) as there were 20 complaints lodged against their presence.
Many members of the public voiced out against the culling and noted that the chickens were of endangered species.
One of such vocal critics, Jayce Sl wrote that these were endangered wild jungle fowls and they were even featured in the said documentary, “Wild City”.
Jayce further commented, “Most residents living here in Sin Ming are extremely proud to have them around and it is indeed heartbreaking to see them being culled. To differentiate between normal chickens and wild jungle fowls, just take a look at their cheeks, they have one white spot at each side, and that’s the ENDANGERED wild jungle fowls. Normal chickens do not have white dot on their cheeks.
Those that were being culled at Sin Ming ARE the Endangered Red Jungle Fowls! And this is really upsetting as the news kept reporting that they are the free ranging chickens which they are not! There are only 100 left in the wild and AVA just slaughtered more than 20% of them at Sin Ming…”
AVA then gave a non-answer as to whether the culled chickens were Red Junglefowls by stating to the press that the free-ranging chickens that are sometimes seen on mainland Singapore are not red junglefowl — an endangered species — though some may resemble them.
Andrew Scott, director of Wild City in response to the news of the culling commented, “I directed the episode of the TV programme “Wild City”, and we featured those very birds. I have very fond memories of the week we spent filming on Sin Ming Ave. We filmed all over the island for that show, but that street always stuck in my mind as the most charming and characterful place we visited. I would dispute the assertion that they are “chickens, not jungle fowl” – They are exactly the same species (only genetic testing would be able to differentiate wild type fowl from domesticated birds, and even then the difference is debatable).
Pointing that the killing of the Red Junglefowls just seems like another example of Singapore’s bipolar attitude to its nature: it’s all good so long as it gets in the way.
He added, “Nature isn’t a garden, you don’t get to pick the best bits and expect it all to hang together. It’s ecological vandalism. What next for other birds we don’t like the sound of? Do we kill all the calling Koels?” wrote Andrew and lamented, “I’m impressed that Singaporeans can filter out the constant noise of traffic and construction, but are driven to distraction by a few crowing chickens. It’s a total shame.”

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Animals

House fire in Penang claims lives of 14 pet dogs, owner devastated

A house fire in Penang claimed the lives of 14 pet dogs, leaving the owner in deep grief. A viral TikTok video captured the tragedy, as the owner shared the emotional and financial toll of the incident, with the cause of the fire still under investigation.

Published

2 weeks ago

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20 September 2024

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PENANG, MALAYSIA: A tragic house fire in Tanjung Bungah, Penang has claimed the lives of 14 pet dogs, leaving the owner mourning the loss of his beloved animals.

A viral TikTok video captured the heart-wrenching aftermath, showing the owner’s grief as he recounted the devastating incident.

@maheswaranmuthiah

The worst tragedy in my life. My house burnt to ashes. 😭😭😭. Everything gone within an hour. I lost about 20k cash, training materials, banners, 2 professional dslr camera and equipments, commercial cooking equipments, commercial makeup learning equipments, canopy, mannequins, TV, blueray player, 2 hp, 3 laptops, my son’s ipad Pro 10, 1 pc, about 6 hardisks, 10 thumb drives, memory cards, 1 coffee machine, 1 coffee maker, letrik piano, exercise equipment, almost thousands of new and preloved novels, self development books, recipe books, IT Books, Law & Legal Books, skills development related to photography, makeup, tattoo, cooking, massage, entrepreneurship and etc books, 2 industrial fan, chiller, freezer, about 100+ academic/ appreciation certificates, reference letters, evaluation, recognition, modeling clothes, costumes, lingerie, 10 coat/ blazers, bags of ties, my business stocks like bliese perfume, air fresher, skincare product, toys, souvenirs, F&B, all my personal photo albums and belongings including all our clothes, puzzles, furnitures, book shelf, son’s toys and belongings, meditation/ yoga mate, crystals, rudraksha, grass cutting machine, water pressure pump, air purifier, water purifier, some jewelry, public gold coins and lots more…. But the worst of all is the lost of my 14 furrykids. My most precious children. All that I mentioned above is something I could rebuilt and recover. That I have to do for my 1 and only human son. But his siblings, my 14 children that perish in this unfortunate incident will not come back. This is an unbearable and unforgettable pain that will remain till the end of my life. 😭😭😭😭😭. An endless suffering in silent pain for me. 😭😭😭😭. #maheswaran #maheswaranmuthiah #furrykids #penang #malaysia #tragedy #crowdfund #pmx #chiefminister #chowkonyeow

♬ original sound – maheswaran – maheswaran

The fire allegedly occurred while the family was out for dinner, with no one present at home to rescue the pets.

The owner in response to concerning TikToker questions, speculated that the fire may have been caused by an electrical short circuit, but authorities have yet to confirm the exact cause, which remains under investigation.

In addition to the emotional toll, the fire also resulted in significant financial losses, with over RM20,000 (approximately US4,777) in cash and valuables destroyed.

“Everything was burnt to ashes within an hour,” the owner lamented.

While the dogs were not confined in cages, they were trapped inside the house, and despite neighbors being nearby, they were unable to intervene.

Firefighters on the scene advised bystanders to stay clear due to the risk of explosions.

The viral TikTok video has garnered widespread attention, with many netizens expressing their condolences and shock over the tragedy.

Comments on the post were filled with support, with some users reflecting on the irreplaceable loss of the pets and offering words of comfort.

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Animals

Panda knocks down zookeeper in Chongqing zoo, both unharmed

A panda named Ding Ding knocked down a zookeeper at Chongqing Zoo on 19 September, sparking concern after a video surfaced online. Both the caretaker and the panda were unharmed, and the zoo has continued normal operations.

Published

2 weeks ago

on

20 September 2024

By

CHINA: On Thursday (19 September), a social media user shared a video showing a giant panda named Ding Ding (丁丁) knocking down a zookeeper at Chongqing Zoo.

In response to inquiries, zoo staff confirmed that both the zookeeper and the 9-year-old panda were unharmed and that Ding Ding continues to be exhibited as usual.

The video, circulated on Chinese social media platform Weibo, shows a zookeeper noticing that Ding Ding was attempting to escape through a partially open gate. The zookeeper rushed to close the gate, which produced a loud noise.

However, the gate wasn’t fully secured, and Ding Ding can be seen trying to open it again.

Visitors alerted the zookeeper, who rushed back to shut the gate.

This action seemingly agitated the panda, who then turned its attention toward the zookeeper.

During a brief chase, Ding Ding knocked down the zookeeper.

In the footage, some visitors can be heard advising others to stay calm and avoid shouting.

This is not the first such incident at the zoo.

In April 2024, another panda knocked over another zookeeper.

The zoo’s management reported that on 23 April, at around 2:00 PM, a zookeeper was guiding two pandas, Yu Ke (渝可) and Yu Ai (渝爱), to a feeding area when they chased and knocked the zookeeper down.

Fortunately, neither the zookeeper nor the pandas were injured.

Following that event, the zoo held a safety meeting and implemented stricter feeding protocols to prevent similar incidents.

Chongqing Zoo is home to 23 giant pandas.

According to Chongqing Daily, the panda enclosure, which has undergone three rounds of expansion and renovation, now covers nearly 20,000 square meters and is one of the earliest panda breeding centers in China.

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