Singapore Zoo

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Singapore Zoo
Singapore Zoo Logo.png
Singapore Zoo entrance-15Feb2010.jpg
Entrance of the Singapore Zoo
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Date opened27 June 1973; 48 years ago (1973-06-27)
LocationMandai, Singapore
80 Mandai Lake Road, Singapore 729826
Coordinates1°24′14″N 103°47′39″E / 1.403782°N 103.79414°E / 1.403782; 103.79414Coordinates: 1°24′14″N 103°47′39″E / 1.403782°N 103.79414°E / 1.403782; 103.79414
Land area28 ha (69 acres)
No. of animals2,530
No. of species315
Annual visitors2,132,270 (FY 2019/20)[1]
WebsiteSingapore Zoo

The Singapore Zoo, formerly known as the Singapore Zoological Gardens or Mandai Zoo, occupies 28 hectares (69 acres) on the margins of Upper Seletar Reservoir within Singapore's heavily forested central catchment area. The zoo was built at a cost of $9 million granted by the government of Singapore and opened on 27 June 1973. It is operated by Wildlife Reserves Singapore, who also manage the neighbouring Night Safari, River Safari and the Jurong Bird Park. There are about 315 species of animal in the zoo, of which some 16 percent are considered to be threatened species. The zoo attracts over 2 million visitors every year.[1]

From the beginning, Singapore Zoo followed the modern trend of displaying animals in naturalistic, 'open' exhibits with hidden barriers, moats, and glass between the animals and visitors. It houses the largest captive colony of orangutans in the world.[2]

History[]

Chomel, a Sumatran orangutan, at the Singapore Zoo (Lionel Lee, 2009)

Prior to the establishment of Singapore Zoo, there were other short-lived zoos in Singapore's history, including the first recorded zoo founded in the early 1870s at the present-day Singapore Botanic Gardens,[3] a zoo opened in the 1920s in Ponggol (present-day Punggol) by animal trader William Lawrence Soma Basapa and two zoos run by two brothers by the surname of Chan during the 1960s.

The conception of the Singapore Zoo dates from 1969. At the time, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) decided to use some of its land holdings around reservoirs for parks and open recreational facilities. The executive chairman of the PUB, Dr Ong Swee Law, set aside 88 ha (220 acres) of land for the construction of a zoological garden.

In 1970, consultants and staff were hired, and in 1971, the construction of the basic 50 enclosures was started. Animals were collected from dealers and donated by sponsors. The director of the Colombo Zoo in Sri Lanka, Lyn de Alwis, was hired as a special consultant to work out the problems inherent in tropical zoos.[4]

On 27 June 1973, the Singapore Zoo opened its gates for the first time with a collection of 270 animals from over 72 species, and a staff of 130. By 1990, 1,600 animals from more than 160 species lived in social groups, housed in 65 landscaped exhibits with boundaries conceived to look as natural as possible.

In 1987, the zoo began to display rare animals loaned by other zoos. The first animals displayed in this manner were the rare golden snub-nosed monkeys from China in 1987, which attracted more than half a million visitors. This was followed by white tigers from Cincinnati Zoo in 1988 and giant pandas from Wolong National Nature Reserve in 1990.[2]

On 1 August 2000, Singapore Zoological Gardens, Jurong Bird Park and Night Safari were integrated under Wildlife Reserves Singapore, under the umbrella of Temasek Holdings. The zoo underwent a restructuring to improve its efficiency and branding which included merging of shared services and expansion of consultancy services overseas. Night Safari, which began under the zoo, became a separate branding entity.

The restructuring of the zoo was not without controversy. Several key staff, including CEO Bernard Harrison, left as a result in 2002, citing differences in management style. In 2003, Wildlife Reserves Singapore launched a massive rebranding exercise, which was shelved due to widespread public disapproval. The name of the zoo was simplified to Singapore Zoo sometime by 2005.

As a result of the restructuring, more facilities were launched, such as a S$3.6 million Wildlife Healthcare & Research Centre in 2005. Existing infrastructure was revamped to further enhance the experience of visitors. The growth in revenue continued on an upward trend.

Exhibits[]

A mandrill
Hamadryas baboons
White tigers
A cotton-top tamarin
A meerkat

Animals are kept in spacious, landscaped enclosures separated from the visitors by dry and wet moats. The moats are concealed with vegetation or dropped below the line of sight. Dangerous animals that can climb well are housed in landscaped glass-fronted enclosures.

The zoo has not expanded beyond the original 28 hectares. However, 40 hectares of secondary forest were later developed into the Night Safari. The remaining undeveloped land has been kept as wooded land. This and the waters of Upper Seletar Reservoir contribute to the zoo, giving it a sense of natural, unrestricted space.

The zoo also offers various modes of rides available within the premises: trams, animals, boat, pony and horse carriage rides.

Strollers, wagons and wheelchairs can also be rented.

Animals:[5][needs update]

Treetops Trail

The first exhibit at the very beginning of the zoo, the Treetops Trail is a boardwalk themed on a rainforest habitat and showcases wildlife on at different layers of the rainforest in a free range setting.

Animals(Siamang Islands area):

Animals(Bornean marsh Exhibit):

Gibbon Island

This exhibit is made up of several small "islets" where some primates reside. It has two different areas in which the ones opposite Treetops trail lead to the main Gibbon Islands.

Animals (opposite Otter exhibit):

Animals(main Gibbon Island):

Tiger Trek

Tiger Trek is located near Gibbon Island and the Ah Meng Restaurant. The exhibit is home to Pasha and Keysa, two white Bengal tiger siblings from , India . Also, the tigers are one of the most popular animals in the park.

Animals:

Wild Africa

This exhibit features animals that hail from the continent Africa. Whereas most of the exhibits at the zoo which are tropical rainforest themed and densely vegetated, the exhibits in Wild Africa have very little shade. Token feeding session for carnivores are done when the animals are extensively active. Aside from the main area, there is a Cat Country exhibit featuring the lions from Wild Africa, a leopard and others.

Animals:

Cat County

Located at the end of Wild Africa, this exhibit features the lions from Wild Africa, the leopards Nuwa and Raja, and others.

Animals:

Australasia

Earlier called Australian Outback this exhibit underwent a long construction to display marsupials native to the Papua New Guinea region of Asia. The zoo's Pygmy hippopotamuses reside very near this exhibit in an under water-viewing gallery

Animals(Australasia):

Animals(Pygmy hippo exhibit)

Primate Kingdom

A large number of the zoo's large collection of primates are exhibited in the Primate Kingdom where the primates have their own islands surrounded by moat. The exhibit is themed in a free range rainforest setting and ginger, palms and wild grass have been planted to make the exhibits look dense and replicate their natural habitats.

Animals:

Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia

This exhibit is based on The Great Rift Valley showcasing native Ethiopian wildlife in a setting designed as a rugged rockscape, rocky terrain and cascading waterfalls. The main exhibit costs around 4.2 million S$ has a waterfall and large troop of more than 80 hamadryas baboons.

Animals:

Fragile Forest

Fragile forest is one of the best exhibits at the zoo. It is a 20,000 cubic metre biodome that mimics a tropical rainforest. The animals are in through various strata of the rainforests, like the forest floor, rainforest understorey and canopy. Visitors can interact and get up close with denizens of tropical forest animals. At the beginning is an exhibit for various amphibians, followed by a butterfly aviary, then the main biodome and finally a discovery outpost.

Animals(Frog Station):

Animals(biodome) :

SPH foundation conservation centre

Beside fragile forest is SPH foundation conservation centre which has a glass fronted exhibit for endangered primates.

Animals:

Discovery Outpost

After the Fragile Forest is an interactive invertebrate display where various species of invertebrates are housed in naturalistic terrariums. Visitors can interact with the creepy crawlies with the assistance of a keeper and let them crawl down their hands.

Animals:

Butterfly Aviary

Between the Fragile Forest biodome and Discovery Outpost is a butterfly walk thru aviary home to a large number of butterflies and occasionally Atlas moths. The aviary houses species like the blue glassy tiger, plain tiger, yellow glassy tiger, blue moon butterfly and many other butterfly species native to Singapore.

Elephants of Asia

Elephants of Asia is a 1 hectare exhibit featuring Burmese style architecture for the zoo's herd of Asian elephants. The herd consists of five female elephants. Komali is the herd's Sri Lankan elephant, Intan and Aprilla are the critically endangered Sumatran elephants and Jati and Gambir are the female Indian elephants. The exhibit has a waterfall, a large pond and a large yard. Feeding sessions and elephant demonstrations are held daily for visitors to interact with elephants and to display elephant behavior, conservation, educate people about elephant labour.

Free-Ranging Orangutan Island

Singapore zoo is the first and only zoo in the world to have the feature of free ranging orangutans. The free ranging orangutan area is spread throughout the zoo, including Wild Africa. It houses the largest captive colony of orangutans in the world. Orangutans have access to live trees and can move from tree to tree through overhanging wines and ropes placed high above the ground while the visitors watch from below. The orangutans can rest at various nets hanging above the ground while people can watch them and come down at various points for feeding sessions where visitors can interact with them.

Animals:

Frozen Tundra

Frozen Tundra is the exhibit modelling the frozen sprawl of the Arctic region with a size of 2 1/2 basketball courts. There are exhibits for the zoo's raccoon dogs and wolverine. Frozen Tundra also used to house Inuka, the world's only polar bear to be born in the tropics.

Animals:

  • Raccoon dog
  • Wolverine

Chimpanzee island

Chimpanzee Island is an exhibit with a tropical hillside forest and a waterfall, for the zoo's troop of chimpanzees. The exhibit is equipped with fallen tree trunks and overhanging vines placed carefully which create a multi-tiered jungle gymnasium.

Animals:

  • Chimpanzee
  • Cherry-crowned mangabey

Reptile Garden

Reptile Garden is an exhibit complex at the centre of Singapore zoo with more than 150 species of reptiles from around the world on display through various exhibits. The reptiles are showcased through exhibits like Reptopia and the Tortoise Shell-Ter.

Animals(Reptile garden complex):

RepTopia

The Reptile Garden complex further leads to one of the best attractions and exhibits of the zoo, RepTopia. RepTopia is the zoo's reptile collection which houses reptiles from different geographical regions of the world under one roof. The reptiles are divided into different sections- Indo-Pacific, Neotropical Rainforests, African Jungles and Deserts of the World.

Animals (Indo-Pacific area)

Outside yard

Animals (African jungle area):

Animals (Neotropical Rainforest aviary):

Animals (Neotropical Rainforests reptile displays)

Animals (Deserts of the World)

Animals (Reptopia hatchery)

  • Electric blue gecko

Tortoise Shell-Ter

Tortoise Shell-Ter has the Singapore Zoo's glass fronted displays for tortoises. The exhibit houses extremely rare and critically endangered species of tortoises as well as other animals coexisting with them.

Animals:

Splash Safari Amphitheatre

The Splash Safari Amphitheatre is where the sea lion show used to be held. The exhibit has an underwater viewing gallery displaying coastal species. When not performing in the Splash Safari show, Pedro and Phillip, the zoo's California sea lions resides here. This area was the former home of the zoo's West Indian manatees before they were moved to the River Safari.

Animals:

Education and conservation[]

The Wildlife Healthcare & Research Centre was opened in March 2006 as part of the zoo's efforts in wildlife conservation. The centre further underscores Singapore Zoo and Night Safari's commitment to conservation research, providing the infrastructure for the parks and overseas zoological partners to better execute their research programmes. The Singapore Zoo is the first zoo in the world to breed a polar bear in the tropics. Inuka was born on 26 December 1990, died 25 April 2018 (aged 27).[2]

The zoo also embarked on various rescue and conservation efforts to protect wildlife. Steve Irwin, the animal activist and conservationist known as "The Crocodile Hunter", admired the Singapore Zoo greatly, adopting it as the 'sister zoo' to Australia Zoo. He was at the Singapore Zoo in 2006 to officiate the opening of the Australian Outback exhibit.[6]

Shows[]

"Breakfast with an Orangutan" allows visitors to meet and interact closely with the orangutans in the zoo, which has included Ah Meng (died on 8 February 2008) who was an icon of the Singapore tourism industry. Animal shows, as well as token feedings coupled with live commentaries by keepers, are also the daily staple in Singapore Zoo.

The "Rainforest Fights Back" show is housed in the Shaw Amphitheatre, the main amphitheatre in the zoo. Actors and performers act alongside the animals: in-show, a villainous poacher attempts to mow down a section of tropical rainforest for land development, and is foiled by the native people and the animals of the rainforest—orangutans, lemurs, pea-fowls, otters and cockatiels.

The "Elephants at Work and Play" show demonstrates how elephants are used as beasts of burden in south-east Asian countries. The animal caretakers are referred to as mahouts, and the show simulates how a mahout would instruct an elephant to transport logs or kneel so that they can be mounted.

The "Splash Safari" show features the zoo's California sea lion, Pedro as he performs acts relating to his natural behaviors, and also playing frisbee with a lucky visitor.

The "Animal Friends" show, housed in the Kidzworld amphitheatre in the zoo's children's section, features mostly domesticated animals such as dogs and parrots performing tricks with the aim of teaching young children about pet responsibility.

Organising events[]

There are three events venues in the zoo: Forest Lodge, Pavilion-By-the-Lake and Garden Pavilion. There are also three cocktail venues: Elephants of Asia, Tiger Trek and Treetops Trail. The Singapore Zoo also caters for birthday parties and weddings.

Incidents[]

On 7 March 1973, a black panther escaped from the zoo before it had opened.[7]

In early 1974, a hippopotamus named Congo escaped from the zoo and spent 47 days in the Seletar Reservoir.[8]

Other escapes in 1974 included an eland and a tiger.[9]

On 13 November 2008, two Bengal white tigers mauled a zoo cleaner to death after he jumped into a moat surrounding their enclosure and taunted the animals.[10]

Awards[]

Awarded to Singapore Zoo:[11]

  • Travellers' Choice Awards - Top 3 Zoos in the World, 2018
  • Singapore Tourism Awards, 2017
  • Traveller's Choice Awards - Zoos and Aquariums, 2017, 2015 and 2014
  • Best Customer Service (Retail) Award, 2014
  • Meritorious Defence Partner Award, 2013
  • Singapore Experience Awards, 2013
  • Singapore Service Award, 2013
  • Singapore Service Excellence Medallion - Organisation, 2013
  • Meritorious Defence Partner Award, 2012
  • Most Popular Wildlife Park, Asian Attractions Awards, 2011
  • Michelin 3-star rating, 2008
  • Best Breakfast, 40 Jewels in ASEAN's Crown, 2007
  • One of the World's Best Zoos, forbes-travel.com, 2007
  • Bronze, Singapore H.E.A.L.T.H Awards, 2004
  • Leisure Attraction of the Year, 6th, 7th, 8th, 13th, 16th, 17th, 20th and 22nd Singapore Tourism Board Awards
  • Best New Attraction for the hamadryas baboons exhibit, ASEAN Tourism Association, 2002
  • Cleanest Toilet, Ministry of Environment, 1997 and 1998

Gallery[]

Transportation[]

Public transportation[]

Singapore Zoo will not be served directly by any MRT line until 2021, when the upcoming Springleaf MRT station is planned to open. Currently, the only way of getting to the zoo from an MRT station is via bus service from either Choa Chu Kang MRT station, Khatib MRT station, and Ang Mo Kio MRT station.[12]

There are three bus services operated by SBS Transit and SMRT Buses which calls at the bus stop near to the Zoo.[12]

Service Destination Notes
SBS Transit Services
138 Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange
SMRT Buses Services
926 Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange Suspended till further notice
927 Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange

Bus[]

A shuttle service, known as the Mandai Khatib Shuttle, plies daily between Khatib MRT station and the Zoo. A one-way trip cost $1 for everyone above the age of three.[13][14] A separate service, known as the Mandai Express, operates on weekends and holidays to and from three locations in Bedok, Sengkang, and Tampines. A one-way trip cost between $1 and $3 for everyone above the age of three.[15][16]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "WRS Yearbook 2018/2019" (PDF). Wildlife Reserves Singapore.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Catharine E. Bell (January 2001). Encyclopedia of the World's Zoos. Taylor & Francis. p. 1155. ISBN 978-1-57958-174-9.
  3. ^ "Fortnight's summary". The Straits Times. 5 March 1870.
  4. ^ Vernon N. Kisling (18 September 2000). Zoo and Aquarium History: Ancient Animal Collections to Zoological Gardens. CRC Press. p. 233. ISBN 978-1-4200-3924-5.
  5. ^ "Map of Singapore Zoo" (PDF). Singapore Zoo. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 September 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  6. ^ "Remembering Steve Irwin" (PDF). Wildlife Reserves Singapore. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  7. ^ "Headlines that shook Singapore (since 1955)". Remember Singapore. 24 January 2011. Archived from the original on 20 March 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  8. ^ "Flashback: 40 Years of The Singapore Zoo". The Straits Times. 2013. Archived from the original on 16 June 2015.
  9. ^ "Bernard Harrison interview (part 2)". The Independent Singapore. 20 September 2013. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014.
  10. ^ "White tigers maul man to death in Singapore zoo". 13 November 2008 – via reuters.com.
  11. ^ "About Singapore Zoo". wrs.com.sg. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b "Getting here". wrs.com.sg.
  13. ^ "Getting here - Mandai Khatib Shuttle". wrs.com.sg.
  14. ^ Chew, Hui Min (9 March 2017). "New daily express bus from Khatib to Mandai wildlife parks". The Straits Times. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  15. ^ "Getting here - Mandai Express". wrs.com.sg.
  16. ^ "Mandai Express". form.jotform.com.

Bibliography[]

  • Véronique Sanson (1992). Gardens and Parks of Singapore. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-588588-0
  • Ilsa Sharp (1994). The First 21 Years: The Singapore Zoological Gardens Story. Singapore Zoological Gardens. ISBN 981-00-5674-5

External links[]

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