This was published 7 years ago
Four parks in two days: How to kill time on a Singapore stopover
By David McGonigal
An orang-utan family in Singapore Zoo. Credit: Seng Chye Teo
The dense forest masks the lights of Singapore's high rise so I was standing in the dark, feeding bananas to an elephant by the edge of a lake. Too close but out of sight, a lion gives a half-hearted roar. I've been transported from urban jungle to unexpected wilderness in just a few kilometres.
I recalled that a tiger was found under the billiard table at Raffles Hotel in 1902. It was a timely reminder that Asia's most urbanised nation still has a wild heart.
We are in the Night Safari that adjoins Singapore Zoo. It's larger than the zoo at 35 hectares (compared to the zoo's 26 hectares) and it has its own nocturnal animals that wake as night falls. There are 130 species, of which more than a third are threatened, and over 2500 creatures in total.
The Night Safari can be seen on foot along four walking trails, on a 40-minute "tram" trip with commentary or by private buggy. The private buggy option is both more expensive and more rewarding. The eeriness of looking for animals in dense vegetation sometimes feels like a real game safari under a full moon. The lighting throughout the Night Safari was created by British theatrical lighting designer Simon Corder.
In keeping with Singapore Zoo's extensive investment in conservation, since the Night Safari opened in 1994 it has seen the birth of clouded leopards, Asian leopards and rare Asian lions as well as Sunda pangolins and red giant flying squirrels.
The Republic of Singapore was born in 1965. As a matter of national pride the new nation wanted to have a national zoo but couldn't really afford it. So, on the sound basis that bird seed was cheaper than animal food, Jurong Bird Park was created. It opened in 1971 to the west of the city.
Strong prime ministerial support by Lee Kuan Yew saw Singapore Zoo open in the centre of the island in 1973. The adjoining Night Safari began in 1994; and River Safari became part of the complex in 2014. They collectively form Wildlife Reserves Singapore (wrs.com.sg).
Zoos throughout Asia can be sad places of too much concrete and dirty water, and dispirited animals in small cages. However, all four of these reserves in Singapore reveal world's best practice in how well animals can be displayed in captivity. It appears that many of the animals are free ranging.
When the zoo had four koalas on loan last year, 60 kilograms of eucalyptus leaves were flow up by Qantas twice a week – and they had to be presented with a choice of leaves because they kept changing their preferences. The birds of Jurong have their own acupuncturist.
Of course, some argue that zoos shouldn't exist at all. Singapore Zoo works hard on education and conservation: it attracts 1.7 million visitors annually, about 60 per cent are locals. It also operates a conservation fund across south-east Asia to protect and preserve endangered wildlife and is often called upon by port authorities to assist when wildlife poachers are caught. The most trafficked species is the Sunda pangolin.
For many years the face of Singapore Zoo was Ah Meng, a female Sumatran orang-utan. Indeed, the zoo offered "Breakfast with Ah Meng" where she joined you at the table. Ah Meng died in 2008 at the age of 48 – there's a bronze statue of her at the zoo. Today, the orang-utans of the zoo are in a free-range habitat and you can still have breakfast with them but must keep your distance so they don't catch human colds.
The zoo is in dense rainforest so many of the fences and moats are hidden so it looks as if the 2800 animals are free to roam. That free-range feeling is enhanced by the opportunity to feed the rhinos and giraffe.
While Jurong Bird Park is the oldest of the reserves its display areas has been updated regularly and the four walk-through aviaries simulate natural habitats. One has a 30-metre waterfall and the revamped "Wings Over Asia" reveals the unexpected beauty of the rare Bali mynah and the black-winged starling. There are some great shows revealing significant bird ingenuity. Each show has a strong environmental message about the need to recycle or protect.
Most heart-warming is the breeding and research centre where visitors can look through large windows at tiny naked hatchlings receiving intensive care.
The most recent addition to the quartet of parks is River Safari that only opened in 2014. Typically pragmatic Singaporean logic concluded that there are enough ocean-themed parks so this should replicate the world's great rivers. You walk through zones representing the Congo, Mississippi, Nile, Ganges and Mekong. There are some scary creatures here as well as endearing manatees in a huge tank. The Yangtze area is where you find giant pandas on loan from China.
A short cruise on Upper Seletar Reservoir, part of Singapore's water supply, reveals that local birdlife is just as exotic as the birds on display.
The highlight of River Safari is the cleverly-designed Wild Amazonia ride where you splash down rapids and pass close by exotic South American species like jaguars, flamingos and spider monkeys.
It would take a very full day to rush through all four parks, starting at Jurong in the morning and finishing at the Night Safari at midnight. But each has its own special charm and shouldn't be excluded. So the ideal would be to spread it over two days and there are passes to do this.
Besides the wildlife reserves, the Botanic Gardens (begun by Sir Stamford Raffles) offers the expansive Orchid Garden, the world's largest, with more than 1000 species and 2000 hybrids,
Singapore plans to be a city in a garden, so there's the Gardens by the Bay with its towering "Supertrees" that turn into a beautiful scene from Avatar during the light and sound show each night. Here you'll also find the towering Cloud Forest glasshouse that can be seen from around the city.
Whether you are travelling with children or simply have an interest in tropical plants and animals the natural side of Singapore is a very rewarding destination.
TRIP NOTES
MORE INFORMATION
TOURING THERE
The Night Safari is open from 7.15pm to midnight daily (last admission 11.15pm). Basic admission is $S45 for adults and $S30 for children under 13. ParkHopper passes offer entry to multiple parks at discounted prices; see nightsafari.com.sg and zoo.com.sg.
David McGonigal travelled as a guest of Wildlife Reserves Singapore
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