NEW LIFE is teeming along Penang's Gurney Drive. The presence of these plants and animals is especially apparent at low tide, on the mudflats just beyond the embankment

Mangrove saplings well suited to a coastal saline habitat have sprouted in the brackish mud, which is now frequented by egrets, herons, other birds as well as mudskippers. Hundreds of these amphibious fish walk and skip around on their pectoral fins with their gaping mouths and bulbous eyes. They disappear very quickly into deeply-dug burrows at the slightest hint of danger. Standing at the water’s edge, migratory egrets and herons wait in ambush to spear unsuspecting mudskippers and other small animals with their long sharp bills.

Over the years, the beaches along Gurney Drive have largely been lost to coastal erosion. More recently, however, it is experiencing a phenomenon called accretion, where coastal elements and mud collect to form mudflats that are visible during low tide. This makes for an ideal home for mangroves and a new breeding ground for wildlife. 

Locals and regular visitors, who remember Gurney Drive as a picturesque beachfront, are not happy with this changing landscape. Though there is no way of recapturing the idyllic seafront promenade of yesteryear, there have been suggestions of de-silting, building a recreational park with boardwalks, or a green mangrove belt on a limited scale to make it more pleasing and scenic again.

References

• Under threat from pollution (Star)
• Green buffer to take root at Gurney Drive (Star)
• Persiaran Gurney (PenangTravelTips)

• Mudskippers in Gurney Drive (Star)
• Plant mangroves trees to check pollution (Star)
• Gurney Drive trashed (Star)

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