The plight of the parakeets in Tengah forest

Although red-breasted parakeets are globally near-threatened, they are considered introduced non-native species in Singapore.

There are concerns that the more urban-adaptative red-breasted parakeets may establish their populations at the expense of the forest-dependent native long-tailed parakeets.

Both parakeet species have been displaced by habitat loss in Tengah forest in recent years, and many are seeking refuge in roadside trees in Choa Chu Kang town nearby.

Alas, their noise has resulted in some residents complaining to the authorities, who have captured many of the parakeets in order to cull the red-breasted parakeets.

Then again, culling appears to be a band-aid solution to a deeper problem of deforestation and loss of habitats.

The native long-tailed parakeets, which are globally vulnerable, continue to face the threat of extinction as long as they lose their forest habitats, not so much because of the so-called competition from the red-breasted parakeets.

Hence, the call to conserve at least 30-50 percent of Tengah forest remains as urgent as ever, for this and many other reasons.

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