that position is another failsafe protection against insects and animal predators, but actually makes it easier for poachers to capture them. Pangolins walk on their hind legs, typically hunkering about with their shorter front paws under their bodies, like worried little armored bipedal cats, with long snouts. After they give birth about once each year, the pangopups ride on their mother’s backs and stay with them for up to two years. The life expectancy of a pangolin in the wild is about 20 years, during which time, they eat approximately 70 million ants. As the most widely poached animal in the entire world, pangolins are likely to be extinct in the wild within the next few years if there is no effective program against trafficking. In Singapore, the Pangolin Working Group, a coalition formed through cooperation amongst ACRES (animal rescue), NParks and the Singapore
Zoo, is tracking pangolin numbers and performing regular rescues. PWG is raising awareness of the rampant trafficking problem. In addition, they prioritize providing connected forested areas to avoid pangolins having to cross roads in order to pursue their foraging. It is a daunting task, with so much development even in previously more forested areas of the island. If you wish to support the effort to preserve these ecological pest-control creatures, please consider donating to WWF at support.wildlife.org, or to ACRES at acres.org.sg.
Since moving from Philadelphia in 2018, Helena has been active with AWA's Walking with Women, Writers' Group and International Choir as well as with Urban Sketchers of Singapore.
You're Not Alone ... Really Coping With The Ups And Downs Of Being An Expat
by Andrea McKenna Brankin
From Wild to Rewild in Our Hearts and Minds With Covid, we all worry openly that a new wave of As We Move Forward with Covid, Perhaps It’s Time for Some “Rewilding” Let’s get back to normal! Everyone is saying it, but it’s not exactly so easy as just ripping off your mask outside your door. Like the theme of this issue—Wild Summer – Covid literally ran wild in our lives here in the Lion City and knocked us down a few pegs mentally. Fear, uncertainty, anger, frustration and depression set in. We ate too much, drank too much, worked too much, and we were just hanging on until we could see the next step in Covid Life evolution. And here we are, a few months into more freedom here in Singapore. Now, as restrictions are easing, we have a chance to let life get back to a natural flow. And that’s exactly what “Rewilding” means. In nature, rewilding means letting nature take over, presumably, again, after a long time. On my balcony, for example, I see rewilding as shamrocks started to grow in my palm tree pot after the lockdown in 2020. Some green thumbs might cringe, but I love it. You might also have noticed that bees came back to fields. I know this because my daughter got stung twice at a recent rugby tournament. (At least we found out she’s not allergic!) Indeed, Singapore’s beloved otter tribes are taking over the local waterways, though there are some concerns that their presence is negative if left unchecked.
the virus will come back and kick us to the curb, and again, we’d be masked up and locked up. This is a real fear, as we see it happening in our own corner of the world. But what are we really afraid of? Losing control? If Covid has taught us anything in this world, it’s that nature rules and we can’t always control our surroundings. I believe it gives us a chance to reconnect with the world in new ways. As painful as that change may be, it moves us all forward, both in nature and in our homes. Our hearts and our minds have to heal a little bit after our long seclusion behind masks and under plastic and hand sanitizer. I invite you to ‘Rewild’ yourself as you re-enter the “World With Covid.’ Don’t be afraid to get outside, whether it’s in nature at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, MacRitchie and East Coast Park or by booking that flight to Cambodia or Dubai or Peru. And for sure, take a look at all the great new IN-PERSON offerings the AWA has in the coming months—coffees, walks, lunches, sports…and maybe even a Holiday Party! Clearly, you’re not alone to be a little worried. But, as we all say at AWA Listen Ladies, “We’ll get through this together.” Rewild away! Andrea runs the AWA Listen Ladies Group, providing confidential support for members at regular meetings. listenladies@awasingapore.org AWA Magazine July/August 2022
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