Event date: 7th June 2010
All 3 teenage kids forbid me from posting their photos while we were in the zoo as it was not cool for a grown-up dude like them visiting a zoo. They will becoming a laughing stock among their friends, they said. Sigh. Despite of whatever rationale, everybody really had a fun time seeing the animals in a real unbelievable jungle, rather the best rain forest inside the city as Singapore itself is known as a concrete jungle country. Singapore zoo is located at 80 Mandai Lake Road and the night safari (we skipped) is just a short walk away. Admission fee is $22/adult and $14/child (age 3 - 12 yrs old) inclusive of 7% service tax.
Before proceeding with our exploration to see a friendly wildlife, we took a group photo with brother Amin without the 3 boys at the parrot's station. The zoo is being divided into 10 zones, Wild Africa, Fragile Forest, Australian Outback, Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia, Treetops Trails, Gibbon Island, Primate Kingdom, Reptile Garden, Critters Longhouse and Tropical Crops and Orchid Gardens.
The Singapore Zoo, formerly known as the Singapore Zoological Gardens occupies 28 hectares @ 69 acres on the upper Seletar Reservoir within Singapore's heavily forested central catchment area. The zoo was built at a cost of $9m granted by the government of Singapore and opened on 27 June 1973. It is operated by Wildlife Reserve Singapore, who also manage the Night Safari and the Jurong Bird Park. There are about 315 species of animal in the zoo, of which some 16% are considered threatened species. According to the statistic, the zoo is said attracts about 1.6 million visitors each year.
Animals were collected from dealers and donated by sponsors at the initial stage. The Director of the Colombo Zoo in Sri Lanka, was hired as a special consultant in 1970 to work out problems inherent in tropical zoos. When its gates was open for the first time with a collection of 270 animals from over 72 species. 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. At present, its animal collection exceeds 2,000.
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| Adorable Otter |
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| A pair of white tiger, the zoo major attraction |
One of the award winning park inside the zoo is the Savannah grasslands of Wild Africa, where lions, zebras and rhinoceroses freely roam to the rugged canyons of the great rift valley of Ethiopia where it was a home to Hamadryas baboons.
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| A hamadryas baboons house |
After a long walk, we decided to stop for a quick rest at the Elephant station. There are a scheduled animal shows by Singapore Zoo, such as "Elephants at Work and Play Show" being held here. The elephant show is 1 of the most popular among tourist with family especially where a daily token feeding session will give the opportunity to interact with the animals.
Animals are kept in spacious, landscaped enclosures separated from the visitors by either dry or wet moats. The moats are concealed with vegetation or dropped below the line of vision. 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. Due to its large area, 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. Rest assured that the facilities such as public toilets are very clean.
The zoo also embarked on various rescue and conservation efforts to protect wildlife. The late Steve Irwin, the animal activist and conversationalist known as "The Crocodile Hunter", admired the Singapore Zoo greatly, adopting it as the 'sister zoo' to the Australia Zoo. He was at the Singapore Zoo in 2006 to officiate the opening of the Australian outback exhibit.
The Wildlife Health care and 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.
The above photo is the main entrance to the zoo, which is also an entrance to a Night Safari. Please bring your children's along to enjoy the beautiful creation of Singapore Zoo :)
