A pangolin, 6,000 birds, and a very good ant recipe
- Andrew Dixon
- Aug 21
- 5 min read
This is an archived edition of Island Life. Island Life is the bi-monthly newsletter and whimsical musings from the team at Nikoi and Cempedak Islands. You can subscribe to it here.
The Pangolin Comes Out of Hiding
Nature is always amazing. Just recently one of our staff whilst on a night walk spotted one of our resident pangolins on Cempedak.
We had not seen them for a few years so we were a little concerned as to what may have happened to them. They are usually nocturnal and great tree climbers as this video shows.
Coincidentally when the pangolin was spotted, we had guest chef Michael Lewis on the island doing a foraging menu which included the pangolin’s favourite food - weaver ants. So there is a theory going around that might have brought this one out from its hiding spot.
More about the menu below…
The Otter Family Keeps Growing
We have new guest web apps (don’t worry you don’t need to download anything) with some cool features for any budding conservationists. On Nikoi we now have a camera trap that is monitoring sightings of the small-clawed otters (Lutra cinerea) that took up residence on Nikoi during COVID.
Whilst we had sighted them in the area and there has always been a population on Cempedak they had never been in residence on Nikoi. Since they arrived on Nikoi we have seen an increase in numbers from the original pair to now 11 individuals. These otters are usually found in riverine sites and it is unusual to find them on offshore islands like Cempedak. This species is smaller and rarer than the larger smooth coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) typically found in Singapore. The camera trap is helping us to monitor the group which we believe is the largest group found in such a setting.
You can help us play a part in the monitoring by submitting your count of how many you see on the web app here. We have been trying to use AI to monitor the, video grabs but it turns out it is not as good at this task as a human.A population of this size is a great indicator of the health of the island so we are keen to monitor them, hence why we are asking your help. We understand that when the pups are old enough they will leave the group to find a mate. If you are interested in helping fund our wider conservation work in the area do get in touch by emailing conservation@nikoi.com
Eavesdropping on 6,000 Birds
On Cempedak where we get a larger variety of birds our team have cleverly set up a microphone attached to a mini computer that uses AI to match the bird song to a database of over 6,000 birds. This has already helped identify a few new “sightings” for our records. You see, bio acoustics is a great way to identify birds in forested areas where it can be difficult to see them. This will help us identify anything new to the area and over time measure biodiversity. We are in the process of extending this further into the ocean.
Finally, a Cempedak on Cempedak
When we first acquired the leasehold titles to Cempedak we were rather intrigued by the name. Cempedak is a tropical fruit (Artocarpus Integer) that is closely related to the much more common Jackfruit. We were told by the locals in the nearby villages that the island was famous for its Cempedak fruit.
Amazingly we were never able to find a Cempedak tree and for many years we understood that they may have been cut many years ago for building boats. The local village provided us with some saplings to grow but these have largely failed.
The good news is that one of our staff who knows what Cempedak fruit smells like picked up the scent in a hidden part of the island and managed to find a tree laden with Cempedak fruit. Having walked the island extensively myself I cannot believe we had not found it earlier.
Forbidden Fruit
On the island last week with botanists we found several other interesting fruit trees including wild nutmeg, vanilla, some citrus trees and several other interesting plants including Artocarpus Dadah which is from the same family as Cempedak and a sub species of the mulberry family.
I got pretty excited about the wild nutmeg until I was warned that some of these wild species can be quite toxic! So more research is needed on this.
Ants on the Menu
As mentioned above we recently hosted Australian chef Michael Lewis from the award winning Sala Restaurant on Sydney harbour (highly recommended). Michael with some help from Bjorn Low from Edible Garden City created an extraordinary menu from ingredients sourced around Cempedak with a couple of dishes featuring Weaver ants. Having walked into my fair share of weaver ants’ nests in the early days of exploring the island I knew there was no shortage of them on the island.
In order to not get bitten the trick was to always be leading the way as it was the second and third person who would get covered with them. I hadn't, however, appreciated what a tasty treat they make. My research has found that they have been considered a delicacy in Asia for many years. Below is the recipe for one of the ant recipes and some tips on how to catch the ants. We had such great feedback from the guests who enjoyed Michael’s food that we are hoping we can coax him back some day.
Do let us know if you might be interested in this event by emailing - ilikeants@cempedak.com.
Some of the dishes featured on the foraging menu
A Recipe from our Foraging Dinner by Chef Michael Lewis: Sprouting Coconut, Caramelised Banana, Lavender Sorrel & Weaver Ants
Yield: 4 snacks
Ingredients
1 sprouting coconut, with a 10–20 cm sprout
24 lavender sorrel leaves
2 small local bananas
Caster sugar, as needed
Maldon sea salt
Fresh weaver ants
4 banana blossom bracts
1. Sprouting coconut Select a coconut with a 10–20 cm sprout. Shake it before opening; ideally there should be little to no liquid remaining inside. Remove the husk, crack open the shell and carefully remove the soft, spongy coconut. Trim and cut into 4 portions.
2. Weaver ants Find a suitable weaver ant nest on a branch that can easily be covered with a bag. Cover the nest completely, snip the branch and quickly tie the bag closed. Place directly into the freezer to immobilise the ants. Keep frozen until serving.
3. Caramelised banana
Peel and slice the bananas. Sprinkle the cut surfaces with caster sugar and caramelise with a blowtorch. Allow to cool slightly, dice and season with Maldon sea salt.
4. Assemble Place a piece of sprouting coconut into each banana blossom bract. Top with 6 lavender sorrel leaves, followed by the caramelised banana. Finish generously with the raw weaver ants straight from the freezer and serve immediately.
A Book Recommendation: Art Cure
And if you enjoy the arts you may appreciate my current read “Art Cure” by Daisy Fancourt which is “The science of how the arts transform our health”.
It cites some wonderful examples and this will now be the default explanation when I am asked why we set up an artist residency on Nikoi and a writers residency on Cempedak.
Djuwadi’s Singapore Debut
We are thrilled that next month Djuwadi, one of the artists who did a residency on Nikoi, has been offered a show in Singapore. We are hosting the opening night drinks on 10 Sep at Blueprint Art Space, 1 Commonwealth Lane, #04-28 from 6pm. Please RSVP using the link below. The exhibition runs from 11 September to 1 October.
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