Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.
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The squirrel is definitely albino, as apparent from the pink eyes clearly visible in the photo and video. But when you encounter a medium-sized, light-coloured squirrel in Singapore, it may be difficult to establish whether it is Callosciurus notatus (our local Plantain Squirrel) or Callosciurus finlaysoni, the introduced Variable Squirrel from Thailand. There was also a light-coloured Giant Squirrel, (Ratufa affinis) more than a meter in length, native to Singapore, though it may now be extinct.
There is a white strain of the Variable Squirrel. In the days when it was not yet against the law to keep wild animals as pets in Singapore, such white squirrels were sold here. Some could have escaped, or have been released when the new wildlife laws came into effect.
I saw white squirrels for sale when I visited the Chatuchak Pet Market in Bangkok in 2007. I am not sure if they were trapped from the wild, or if they are being bred in captivity. Not all white Variable Squirrels are albino, though some are. Others are simply pale-coloured individuals, which still have dark eyes and claws.
There are small feral populations of the Variable Squirrel in Singapore, the largest group being in the Bidadari area. In the opinion of some members of the Nature Society, the Variable Squirrel can pose a threat to our native squirrels because it is more aggressive and adapts more readily to an urban lifestyle. After all, never forget that squirrels are nothing more than tree-living rats with bushy tails.