On Friday, the 31st of July 2015, the NUS Civet Research Team and its team of volunteers headed down to the East Zone Science Carnival hosted by Victoria Junior College. We were there to share about the biodiversity of urban Singapore to many enthusiastic pupils from various primary and secondary schools across the island. Civet girl Xu Weiting was also invited to conduct a talk about the “Secret lifestyles and habits of Singapore’s last wild urban mammal”. We saw many students taking down notes about the common palm civet’s biology, diet, behaviour, and also some of the threats that a civet encounters on a daily basis. They definitely seemed intrigued by the existence of an animal – that they were being introduced to for the first time – in Singapore, and it showed when they came by our booth and were able to tell us all about what they had learnt about the civet! We were thoroughly impressed.

The team – all laughter and smiles – getting the booth ready and set up! Photo by Claudia Ang.

Civet intern Claudia and civet volunteers Max, Jocelyn, Delicia and Randolph keeping busy with the students that came in waves throughout the event. Photos by Xu Weiting and Claudia Ang.

We were pleased to have been able to interact with a crowd of approximately 100 students and we hope that our sharing of the knowledge that we have of Singapore’s urban biodiversity was able to inspire them and provide some food for thought about the awareness and conservation of these animals (many of them even asked about volunteering with us!).

We’d also like to extend our appreciation to Victoria Junior College. Thank you for having us be part of this event!