‘Wild City: Singapore’ Recap - ‘Wild Islands’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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Over the course of the past couple of weeks, we’ve learned a lot about the city of Singapore thanks to everything Wild City: Singapore has taken the time to teach us about this fascinating place. In fact, we’ve learned that this thriving metropolis is more of a massive oasis for man than we give it credit since it is surrounded by a great many species and we’ve also come to learn that mankind and the animal kingdom are slowly figuring out ways to co-exist in this tropical paradise. And while those two elements alone should serve as more than enough for the audience to chew upon, it turns out there is plenty more to learn about this place, especially when it comes to the islands and the water that surround Singapore.
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Which is precisely what last night’s episode focused upon, since ‘Wild Islands’ took us on a little tour of everything away from the city and what we came to discover on this little journey was equally as fascinating as everything we’ve learned so far. For this episode revealed more about how mankind and the vast number of species that live here are coming to co-exist without much effort, since coral reefs are starting to grow on the pontoons used in the Marina, allowing for a new aquatic community to thrive beneath the many boats that people use for leisure and even the fish farms that provide mankind with a great many meals in this place, are helping to support marine life in ways we never thought possible. For algae on the nets is attracting all kinds of species here, and they’re simply making a home in this manmade contraption.

But the series wasn’t quite done with showing us how much marine life thrives in this area, since we were privy to a tour of the coral reefs that hide at the bottom of the ocean here, wherein all kinds of species work together to survive, even on the outskirts of these reefs since there are shrimp and fish that work together to protect one another. If anything, it was just incredible to see how much of this part of the world works in harmony since truly every species of marine life has a role to fulfill, and quite frankly, it was almost overwhelming how much stuff this particular part of the story went into. For we spent time with cuttlefish, octopus and the reefs themselves, and really, having that much material present in this segment speaks to just how much life is thriving beneath the sea surrounding Singapore.

Yet, while it was fascinating to take that voyage through the water, there was still more for us to learn in this tale since it dedicated a healthy chunk of time to the species that move about above the water on the islands surrounding the city. On Big Sister Island for example, the ultra-cute Macaque monkeys we met in the last episode rule this tiny land, and that makes them a touch more aggressive than their city counterparts, simply because food and water isn’t exactly plentiful here, and they can’t exactly leave thanks to the waves that surround this island. So, they fight a little harder for survival and fight amongst themselves a little more and it was just fascinating to know that even a tiny island such as this one can support life in this manner, but nature truly does find a way.

Plus, it was also incredible to learn that Coney Island, a place that was once designed to be a theme park, but was closed off to the public when plans fell through, has now become a reserve of sorts where once displaced animals have made a new home and really all of these facts are what made this episode so special in its own right. Because in many ways, this particular tale changed pace for this documentary, and shifted way from any message or theme and just immersed us into the wildlife that lives alongside mankind. And while there’s nothing wrong with a message being present, it was just cool to kick back and learn and soak up the beauty of this place and quite frankly, I’m impressed with how this documentary can shift gears in that manner, and I am more than ready to see what else this journey through the Wild City, has in store for us. Until next time.  

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