I’ve lived in Singapore since 2019. I know it’s roughly on the equator, and the tropics are well-known for snakes, but I didn’t really expect to see too many here due to Singapore being quite populated and built-up. It doesn’t have the incredible running trails and hills you find in Hong Kong. But I’ve been pleasantly surprised. So far, as at Feb 2021, I’ve seen 7 snakes in Singapore, usually during my regular runs near MacRitchie.
I’ve seen snakes in the following locations in Singapore.
- Malayan Blue Coral Snake – 1:
- 1 on the Pipeline Route between Rifle Range road and Zhong Hua park. An absolute beauty of a snake
- Black (or Equatorial) Spitting Cobra – 1:
- 1 in Ang Mo Kio Park, would you believe it, cross the path towards the stream. A park frequented by families and small kids
- Paradise Tree Snake – 3:
- 1 in MacRitche
- 1 at Upper Selatar Reservoir, sunning himself on the back of a bench. After spotting me he leapt from the bench (yeah I know, how did he do that without legs) and raced up the nearest tree, gone within a couple of seconds
- 1 on Pulau Ubin, near the walkway
- Reticulated Python – 2:
- 2 both times in the stream running next to the Venus Loop near MacRitchie
Malayan Blue Coral Snake
It had been raining and the trail along the Pipeline route was muddy and wet. I saw the most beautiful snake crossing the path, with a bright red head and tail and a luminous blue stripe down the side. She was moving slowly, in no hurry, so I followed her for about 5 minutes until she made it to the treeline and slowly moved into the leaf litter. I feel so privileged to see something this spectacular. Highly venomous, but docile. Unfortunately I had no camera with me – the photo below isn’t mine.
michael's hong kong 