A nurse and her family thought their home was haunted after their bananas kept \u201cgoing missing\u201d \u2014 but the culprit turned out to be far less sinister.<\/p>\n
Stomper Emily Yap<\/strong> said her family had bought some bananas at the market and left them on the dining table in their kitchen.<\/p>\n They soon noticed the bananas gradually disappearing from April 21.<\/p>\n The nurse said, \u201cWe thought we were living in a haunted house.\u201d<\/p>\n Besides the missing bananas, the family heard \u201cstrange noises\u201d coming from the kitchen late at night. When they rushed to see what it was, they could not find anything.<\/p>\n \u201cOur bananas kept going missing,\u201d said the Stomper. \u201cDay by day, fewer and fewer.\u201d<\/p>\n The family was perplexed and set a rat trap, expecting to find a rat.<\/p>\n They were surprised to discover that the \u201cbanana thief\u201d was actually a civet cat that had been sneaking into their home near Bukit Timah.<\/p>\n Ms Yap\u2019s family called the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) immediately, which arrived by 12pm, and assisted in releasing the animal.<\/p>\n \u201cHuman-wildlife encounters aren\u2019t as simple as they seem,\u201d said Ms Yap. \u201cIn places where wildlife naturally exists, these situations can happen more often than we expect.\u201d<\/p>\n The Stomper added that the Yap family would be more mindful about closing all windows at night to prevent similar occurrences in the future \u2013 a more \u201chumane and lasting\u201d solution compared to trapping. <\/p>\n In response to a Stomp query, Acres\u2019 chief executive Kalai Vanan Balakrishnan confirmed that the animal found in the Yap family\u2019s trap was a common palm civet \u2013 a nocturnal animal native to Singapore that mainly feeds on fruits. <\/p>\n \u201cFortunately, the residents kindly allowed us to access the area, share some awareness, and safely release the animal back on-site,\u201d Mr Kalai said.<\/p>\n He added that releasing the civet in the same location is important, as it may have a family nearby and is already familiar with its surroundings. <\/p>\n Ms Yap\u2019s mother, Audrey Wong, told Stomp her family was grateful for Acres\u2019 help and made a donation on the same day to support the organisation\u2019s work and efforts.<\/p>\n Have something to say? Join in!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Explore more on these topics<\/p>\n<\/div>\n See something interesting? Contribute<\/a> your story to us.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Scroll to continue reading<\/span><\/p>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\nAcres: Releasing civet in same location is important <\/h2>\n
\n![\"Stomp](\"https:\/\/www.stomp.sg\/assets\/stomp-comment-COLiWNMD.png\")
<\/p>\n