‘Wild City: Singapore’ Recap – ‘Hidden Wild’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

As BBC America’s ‘Wild Summer’ continues along, I’ve been noticing a recurring theme that permeates the shows that have been hitting the airwaves, in that, mankind isn’t quite as cognizant as they should be of the wild world that is thriving beneath our collective noses and there’s a lot of truth to that. Because while we go about daily lives and worry about the usual things that keep us up at night, the animal kingdom continues to go about its daily, and genuinely tough, fight for survival, and while it seems as though the message present in this summer saga, was for us to take a moment and appreciate the wild world that surrounds us, it turns out there is a deeper meaning present in everything the network has presented us with thus far.
​
In essence, the lesson is that not only do we need to be aware of the thriving animal kingdom that surrounds us, we also need to respect it and help it continue to thrive. Because mankind’s incredible growth is taxing the animal kingdom and bringing us together in ways we never thought possible, and for proof, well no look no further than last night’s documentary; Wild City: Singapore. For this new, four part series, took the time to introduce us properly to the city that shares the namesake of the title, and the reason that Singapore is worthy of its own documentary, is the sheer fact that this growing metropolis is quite literally standing in the midst of the wild. And the animals that once used the treetops for cover are finding ways to cope with their new human neighbors and how they make that work, made ‘Hidden Wild’ a fascinating opening chapter to this particular documentary.

Because I honestly had no clue that mankind and the natural world are so close to one another in this region of the planet, but Singapore is a mere 15 miles from the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, a place where the animal kingdom goes about its everyday business as humanity does the same. And it was simply incredible to learn that a naturally wild area such as this, has no borders or fences to keep the animals from staying out, or others from getting in, but somehow this setup and design works since animals are doing just fine here. Some for example, use their natural evolution to keep their day, or in this case, night going, since the Colugo is able to camouflage itself during the daylight, allowing it to sneak out into the darkness with ease to eat and care for its young and it’s not the only family animal looking to keep generations going.

For this tale also focused upon the wonder of the Smooth Coated Otter, a bright species of otter that knows exactly how to use the tide to hunt for fish and train their young in the process and we were able to meet a family of five in this story, one that is adjusting nicely to the fact that they run into humans and other species alike while in the reserve. Of course, people want nothing more than a picture, but sometimes these poor cuties run into wild dogs that wish to hunt, but thankfully, these resourceful creatures use the territory to their advantage. But while it was wonderful to see life doing just fine in this beautiful reserve on a consistent basis, it wasn’t all joy and cute moments present in this tale since we cannot forget that sometimes, the merging of our non-stop and controlled environment and the world of nature doesn’t always go so smoothly.

Because this tale showed us some of the strife that animals go through in this hybrid environment, since a family of eagles saw one of their young pass away, thanks to some fishing wire that was present in the food they fed their baby, and despite having their other child survive, there’s no guarantees as to what tomorrow will bring and this was a sobering reminder that we haven’t quite figured out that perfect balance between man and nature just yet. Which means we are in for one fascinating ride in the weeks to come since we will undoubtedly learn more about the tenuous yet peaceful relationship between man and nature in this beautiful place and I truly cannot wait to discover what wonders are right underneath the noses of the good people of Singapore and potentially, what the long term relationship between man and nature looks like in a place where mankind is showing no signs of slowing down its inevitable growth. Until next time.

---