'Very majestic': Endangered Malayan tapir spotted foraging in Lorong Halus

An endangered Malayan tapir was seen trotting along a grassy patch at Lorong Halus in the early hours of Mar. 19.

In a video posted to the Nature Society Singapore (NSS) Public Forum Facebook page, the tapir could be seen calmly foraging.

It then paused momentarily before jumping into a gap between the railings, running off into the Serangoon River forest.

"Very majestic"

The man who spotted it, Eric Teo, said he had been cycling in the area when he spotted the tapir.

He initially thought it was a wild boar, and began to speed up in fear of being attacked.

But when he looked closer, he realised that it was a tapir.

"It was larger than I expected and very majestic," Teo told Mothership.

He added that the sound of its footsteps sounded like a horse's hooves.

As he watched, it foraged and "minded its own business" for a few minutes, while keeping an eye on Teo.

It eventually grew skittish and returned to the forested area.

While he likened the sighting to "striking the lottery", Teo urged others not to camp out to spot the tapir.

"It's a shy animal, and your presence could cause it unnecessary stress," he warned in his Facebook post.

Most recent sighting at carpark

The most recent sighting of a Malayan tapir on Singapore soil was on Feb. 2 this year at a Defu Lane car park.

In 2023, there were multiple sightings of a Malayan tapir in Punggol.

"I think some of us believe it is the same individual," Teo said.

Tapirs are not native to Singapore.

Those which are spotted in Singapore are believed to have swum over from Malaysia to mainland Singapore, possibly using islands as pit stops. 

Before 2023, the last time a tapir was spotted in Singapore was in 2016 in Changi.

That was the second time in recorded history that a wild Malayan tapir was sighted in Singapore.

In response to queries from Mothership, How Choon Beng, Group Director of Wildlife Management at National Park Boards (NParks), said that NParks is aware of the sighting.

How shared that sightings of tapirs in Singapore are rare, with previous sightings documented in the Lorong Halus area in 2023 and Pulau Ubin in 2024.

“A sighting was also captured on a camera trap in Pulau Ubin in late-2025,” How added.

A visitor

Malayan tapirs are classified as endangered under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.

According to the IUCN Red List, the estimated population of individuals in the wild is 2,499, and that number is decreasing.

If you encounter a tapir, remain calm and quiet and do not make any sudden movements.

Do not attempt to approach or feed the animal.

Keep a safe distance and do not corner or provoke the animal, such as by using flash photography while taking pictures of it.

Members of the public should call the 24-hour Animal Response Centre at 1800-476-1600 to report any sightings of the tapir.

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Top photo from Eric Teo/Facebook