Coming out tops
MEET Tan Kai Ren, the world’s most observant nature-lover.
Tan took the title of top observer in the 2018 City Nature Challenge from more than 17,000 participants from 68 cities worldwide. He recorded a whopping 4,872 observations over the four days of the event that was held in the Klang Valley.
The 23-year-old from Puchong, Selangor, is a third-year undergraduate in ecology and biodiversity at Universiti Malaya’s Institute of Biology; he is also a member of the committee that organised the Klang Valley City Nature Challenge (KV CNC).
Here, he shares what it was like taking part in the challenge.
What made you take part in the KV CNC?
My decision stemmed from my interest in studying every aspect of nature. Many people only relate nature with places such as dense forests, clear streams and beautiful islands. And conservation efforts have always been focused on “charismatic” animals, especially mammals such as rhinos, orangutan and tigers, which essentially are only a tiny fraction of the diversity we have in Malaysia and are currently losing.
By taking part in the KV CNC, the idea is to bring the spotlight back to urban wildlife in the hope of having better conservation plans for this unique group of plants and animals that live close to us.
How do you feel about emerging as the top observer in the world?
I feel a sense of contentment that, finally, all the hard work has paid off despite my busy schedule.
How many hours and days in total did you spend making the observations?
I spent at least 12 hours a day making observations over the four days.
Which part/s of Klang Valley did you focus on and why?
I made observations on the beach and in the mangroves at Pulau Indah (Klang), the streams of Templer’s Park (Rawang), the forest at Ulu Gombak and, most importantly, around the First Residential College of Universiti Malaya, which is my hostel.
Travelling to different habitats allows us to make observations of a bigger array of species. However, I largely focused on the campus, especially my hostel, and the adjacent neighbourhood simply because our main goal was to record urban wildlife.
What are the key take-aways from those four days?
The key take-away for me was finding a balance between travelling, eating and drinking, resting and making observations.
Do you plan to start or take part in any other projects related to urban biodiversity conservation?
Yes, definitely. A huge part of Universiti Malaya remains unstudied, especially the Rimba Ilmu, which literally means “Forest of Knowledge”.
We hope to get useful information on how urban greenery can support a huge diversity of wildlife even though the green spots are fragmented from each other.