Changi Beach Club staff rescues rare greater mousedeer from pond, Acres releases it back into wild

A mousedeer was found stranded in a pond in Changi Beach Club on Oct. 4.

It was rescued by staff, and later rehabilitated by wildlife rescue group Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres).

What was remarkable about the incident though, was that the mousedeer was a greater mousedeer.

Mousedeer in Singapore typically belong to the lesser mousedeer species, and a greater mousedeer on the mainland is almost unheard of.

Trapped in a pond

The mousedeer was discovered nearly drowned and severely weakened in a murky pond at the beach club.

Asaraf Ali, a maintenance staff at the beach club, came across the drenched creature, and fished it out with a net.

Acres co-CEO Kalai Vanan told Mothership that the team was then called down to retrieve the mousedeer.

According to Kalai, the deer showed signs of weakness and stress, and was severely dehydrated.

Thankfully, the Acres' veterinary team, led by Sergei Kutorov, was able to stabilise the animal and it was able to recover through the night.

"We are fortunate that the deer did not suffer myopathy and was able to quickly recover," Kalai added.

Myopathy is a general term referring to any disease that affects the muscles that control voluntary movement in the body.

Kalai also praised the "quick-thinking staff" at Changi Beach Club.

A "super rare" occurrence

Kalai shared that the deer is believed to have swum over to the mainland from an offshore island, and gotten stranded in Changi.

The mousedeer was successfully released back to the island on Oct. 5.

"They are fragile animals that can get stressed easily and we are thrilled about the positive outcome for this deer given the circumstances."

Greater mousedeer are, as their name suggests, slightly larger than their more common cousins, the lesser mousedeer.

The former is around 50cm to 60cm, while the latter is around 40cm to 50cm.

The greater mousedeer has five white stripes running down its neck, while the lesser mousedeer has three.

Kalai described the incident as a "super rare" occurrence — while the lesser mousedeer can be found in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve on the mainland, the greater mousedeer population is known to only exist on one of Singapore's offshore islands.

The species was previously thought to be extinct in Singapore, until they were resighted on the island in 2008 after 80 years.

As of 2009, 100 sightings of the greater mousedeer on the island were recorded.

Those who see a wild animal in distress can call Acres at 97837782, or the NParks wildlife rescue hotline at 1800-476-1600.

Top photo courtesy of Acres