This Singapore Road Lets Pangolins, Mousedeers Cross Safely

(Bloomberg) -- Macaques and other wildlife animals in Singapore can now cross a road in their neighborhood safely with a new detection system.

The program is part of a one-year pilot project by the city-state’s National Parks Board and Land Transport Authority along the three kilometers (1.86 miles) stretch of Old Upper Thomson Road, according to a NParks statement on Friday.

Under the S$400,000 ($291,269) system, a camera monitors the pathway and will flash lights under an “Animals Ahead” sign once movement is detected, the Straits Times reported.

Singapore is using the technology for the first time in this way to better protect its native wildlife from on-coming vehicles, NParks said, as the animals make their way from forest to forest to find food or mates. The Thomson road separates a nature reserve from a newly-opened park, that is home to endangered species like the Raffles’ Banded Langur, Sunda Pangolin and Lesser Mousedeer.

There are also five underground culverts and two overhead rope bridges along the road, ST said. The authorities have plans to close the road to traffic between 7:30 pm and 6 am daily to make the area even more conducive for nocturnal animals within the area.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chanyaporn Chanjaroen in Singapore at cchanjaroen@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Joyce Koh, Atul Prakash

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