Tracing the Coney Island Cow
Image of the Coney Island Cow
Credit: National Parks Board (NParks)
Coney Island is one of Singapore’s many destinations for nature lovers. While it was once bound to emulate the amusement park of New York City, these plans went unrealised. The island was then designated to become one of Singapore’s newer national parks. As a tropical island, it was home to a large biodiversity of flora and fauna. There was also once an unusual denizen of the island; a lone, brown bull. No one knew where it came from, or what its name was. The Coney Island cow, as it was affectionately known as, was a frequent sight for early visitors of the island, until it passed away in 2016.
We spoke to Eileen, a fitness fanatic and nature lover, about her memory of catching a glimpse of the fabled Coney Island Cow, as we hiked through the trail finding any remaining traces.
Eileen, photographed in the spot of her encounter with the bull.
A signage from National Parks taken in 2021
Eileen shared that she used to cycle from her old home in Sengkang to Coney Island as part of her weekend recreation. “Singapore actually has many great parks catered to cyclists. They really are reminders of how Singapore used to be: full of lively wildlife!” These natural parks, she says, are such important places for escapism from her daily corporate life.
“I was there (Coney Island) one weekend with my good friend, when I saw the cow from the distance. I made eye contact with it and tried to take a photo of it, but the cow quickly walked back into the vegetation”. She expressed that it was quite large, even from a distance and joked that she would have been terrified if it was any closer. She said it was an unexpected encounter, and that it made a gentle grunt as it fled.
As we continued strolling through the trail, we were equally surprised to find the signage still in existence, where she stumbled upon it many years ago. “It’s now a nice reminder of the cow I think.”
We thank Eileen for sharing her weekend and her memory of the Coney Island cow.