Wildlife of Singapore

Singapore Wildlife Guide

Who's who among the snakes, mammals, lizards, bats and birds that share Singapore with us: how to recognise them, where they live, what they eat and how dangerous they really are.

Singapore is a small, densely built island, yet wild animals live all around us. About 75 native snake species live here, from the tiny Brahminy blind snake in flowerpots to the reticulated python, the world's longest snake, in canals and drains.

Two kinds of wild monkey share the island: the long-tailed macaque and the rare Raffles' banded langur, of which about 80 remain. Smooth-coated otters raise their families in city canals. The Sumatran palm civet (Paradoxurus musangus) travels along roofs and cables at night, and about 25 species of bat hunt and feed over housing estates and forest.

This guide sticks to the facts for each animal: what it looks like, where it lives in Singapore, what it eats, how it behaves and raises its young, and how dangerous it is.

How dangerous is it?

DANGEROUS· 10 m+
Venomous, or big enough to cause serious injury. Keep 10 m or more away.
KEEP CLEAR· 5 m
Can bite or scratch, especially when startled or guarding young. Keep 5 m away.
GIVE SPACE· 3 m
Rarely a danger to people, but may bite or strike if cornered, handled or defending a nest. Give it 3 m.
HARMLESS· Leave it be
Does not attack people. Leave it be.

Snakes of Singapore

Singapore has 75 native snake species and 2 introduced ones. Only a handful are dangerously venomous. Here they are grouped by danger level.

DANGEROUS· 10 m+

Black equatorial spitting cobra rearing up with its hood spread on a roadside kerb

Equatorial spitting cobra

Naja sumatrana

Olive-brown king cobra with pale throat and large head shields, body showing narrow pale bands

King cobra

Ophiophagus bungarus

Adult female Wagler's pit viper, black with yellow bands and green flecks, coiled on a mossy branch

Wagler's pit viper

Tropidolaemus wagleri

Purplish-brown shore pit viper with dark blotches and a pale side stripe, coiled on mangrove roots

Shore pit viper

Trimeresurus purpureomaculatus

Bungarus fasciatus

Banded krait

Bungarus fasciatus

Slender banded Malayan coral snake on leaf litter, brown with a red-orange back stripe, red tail and black and white banded underside

Banded Malayan coral snake

Calliophis intestinalis

GIVE SPACE· 3 m

Reticulated python on a mossy path, with a gold, black and grey net pattern, orange eye and dark line through the eye

Reticulated python

Malayopython reticulatus

Dog-faced water snake on mangrove mud, grey-brown with a black stripe through the eye and a pale yellowish belly

Dog-faced water snake

Cerberus schneiderii

Paradise tree snake on a branch, black with bright green-yellow scale centres, a row of red spots and a barred head

Paradise tree snake

Chrysopelea paradisi

Oriental whip snake among twigs, bright green and very thin, with a long pointed snout and horizontal pupil

Oriental whip snake

Ahaetulla prasina

Painted bronzeback in a hedge, slim with a bronze back, cream side stripe edged in black and a black stripe through the eye

Painted bronzeback

Dendrelaphis pictus

Striped bronzeback on a branch, brown with bold black side stripes, a plain bronze head and pale yellow lips

Striped bronzeback

Dendrelaphis caudolineatus

Common wolf snake on a concrete ledge at night, dark brown with fine pale speckles and a pale collar behind the head

Common wolf snake

Lycodon capucinus

HARMLESS· Leave it be

Brahminy blind snake on dark soil, a tiny shiny dark snake with a rounded head and dot-like eyes

Brahminy blind snake

Indotyphlops braminus

Mammals of Singapore

Two wild monkeys, a comeback otter, one of Singapore's largest wild mammals and a fruit-eating civet that lives among homes.

A wild boar standing on the grassy edge of a forest path, showing its bristly dark grey coat, long snout and upright ears

Wild boar

Sus scrofa

An adult long-tailed macaque sitting on a metal railing beside a Singapore housing estate, showing its grey-brown fur, pale whiskers and very long tail

Long-tailed macaque

Macaca fascicularis

Two smooth-coated otters on the grassy bank of an urban canal in Singapore, showing their sleek brown fur, rounded heads and thick tails

Smooth-coated otter

Lutrogale perspicillata

A Sumatran palm civet resting on a roof beam at night, showing its black face mask, white cheek patches, dark legs and long dark tail

Sumatran palm civet

Paradoxurus musangus

A Raffles' banded langur perched on a forest branch eating leaves, showing its black fur, white belly band and very long tail

Raffles' banded langur

Presbytis femoralis

Lizards of Singapore

Singapore has three monitor lizard species. Here are the two you are most likely to meet, plus the spiky garden lizard seen on fences everywhere.

Illustration of a Malayan water monitor with a dark body and small pale spots walking on grass beside a canal, forked tongue out

Malayan water monitor

Varanus salvator

Illustration of a grey-brown clouded monitor with fine yellow speckles climbing a tree trunk

Clouded monitor

Varanus nebulosus

Illustration of a male changeable lizard with an orange-red head, black throat patch and spiky crest perched on a wire fence

Changeable lizard

Calotes versicolor

Bats of Singapore

Singapore has about 25 bat species. Fruit bats feed on fruit and nectar, while insect bats hunt in the dark by echolocation.

Lesser dog-faced fruit bat hanging from a palm frond, showing its white-edged ears, pale wing bones and orange collar

Lesser dog-faced fruit bat

Cynopterus brachyotis

Grey-brown cave nectar bat with its long tongue out, feeding at a cluster of creamy durian flowers at night

Cave nectar bat

Eonycteris spelaea

Lesser Asiatic yellow house bat clinging to a wooden roof beam, showing its brown back, yellowish belly and pointed ears

Lesser Asiatic yellow house bat

Scotophilus kuhlii

Two black-bearded tomb bats resting on a concrete wall, one showing the dark beard under its chin

Black-bearded tomb bat

Taphozous melanopogon

Birds of Singapore

Four of the most familiar birds of Singapore's housing estates and hawker centres.

Illustration of a house crow with glossy black face and crown and a grey collar perched on the rim of a bin at a hawker centre

House crow

Corvus splendens

Illustration of a row of blue-grey feral pigeons with green and purple neck sheen and black wing bars perched on a concrete building ledge

Feral pigeon

Columba livia

Illustration of a Javan myna with dark plumage, forehead tuft, pale eyes, yellow bill and legs and a white wing patch perched on a hawker centre chair

Javan myna

Acridotheres javanicus

Illustration of a common myna with brown body, black head, yellow eye patch, yellow bill and legs standing on a grass verge

Common myna

Acridotheres tristis

Cover of the ESC Snakes booklet

Free guides · ESC Wildlife Series

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Start with No. 1, Snakes in Singapore. More animals are on the way.

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