Take a look at one Russell Low's photos of MacRitchie Reservoir and you might be hard pressed to believe that they were actually shot in Singapore.
Gorgeous shots of MacRitchie Reservoir at late afternoon
Low's photos, which were taken during two separate trips to the nature reserve, depict the tropical forest in a completely different light.
He revealed in a post on Nature Society Singapore that the photos were taken between 5pm and 6pm.
Photo from Russell Low / FB
Photo from Russell Low / FB
Photo from Russell Low / FB
The waters of the reservoir are also an astoundingly bright turquoise colour.
Photo from Russell Low / FB
Despite the colour though, the water still appears to be rather clear in certain parts, with the flora visible beneath.
Photo from Russell Low / FB
Photo from Russell Low / FB
One of the reasons for blue-green waters could be the presence of cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae.
Such algae blooms typically occur in warm, slow-moving waters with an abundance of nutrients for the algae to feed on.
These might even be harmful to local aquatic biodiversity as they cloud the waters and block sunlight from aquatic plants in the waters' depths.
Macaques on the boardwalks
Low shared that the photos were shot along the Prunus and Petai Boardwalks.
And of course, no trip to MacRitchie is complete without sightings of its most common resident.
Photo from Russell Low / FB
Photo from Russell Low / FB
Irreplaceable biodiversity
Located adjacent to the nature reserves, this oldest reservoir in Singapore is part of a greater nature site that is home to various flora and fauna.
Low also said that he even spotted a Lesser Mousedeer — a common but less commonly sighted native species — during his trip, but did not manage to snap a photo of it.
That said, there are other lucky visitors who caught a glimpse of this shy resident in the forest by MacRitchie Reservoir.
Here's one:
What makes MacRitchie home to various species of wildlife is its diverse micro-habitats.
As you can see from this map, there are five different micro-habitats.
via Love Our MacRitchie Forest website.
Right at the end of the reservoir, there is a wetland marsh where you might get to see the Blue-eared Kingfisher.
In the forests, there are live animals like the colugo and the Raffles' banded langurs as well.
Here's a colugo which you can spot on trees along the boardwalks — be warned though, that they are pretty good at camouflaging.
Photo by Toddy Cats via Love Our MacRitchie Forest.
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Top photo from Russell Low / FB