To be sure, Singapore makes the best of its almost equatorial location. It sports an amazing zoo, a night zoo (“Night Safari“) and a huge bird park (a combination ticket for the three is available). Both the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari try to avoid the “cage look” as much as possible. Animals are viewed across moats or through glass panes. Their large enclosures are made to look as much as possible like their natural habitat. And here the tropical location shows its advantages: lush rain forest surrounds both visitors and animals, making you feel like you are out in the jungle for real. Right upon entering the zoo, we were startled by loud calls. Looking overhead into the huge trees, a family of monkeys were revealed swinging through the branches. We learned that their “songs” serve to mark territory. In the “Australian Outback” section, we quickly understood that the low fences were meant to keep visitors off the lawns, and not to keep the kangaroos in which were merrily jumping all around. Among the top exhibits of the zoo are definitely the three white tigers, which can even go for a swim in their jungly enclosure. Lions are lazing in the sun, watching giraffes nibbling on giant trees. Only for the leopard, the enclosure needed to be caged in on all sides (including the top).
The night zoo is a special experience. You walk in the dark through jungle paths, stopping to observe the discreetly lit night active animals which for once do something else than sleeping. My favorite was the mouse deer, a secretive small mammal indigenous to the Malayan Peninsula and Singapore which looks something like a fat guinea pig on extremely spindly thin legs. A special thrill is an enclosure where one can walk among flying fruit bats.
Also the Jurong Bird Park is a great experience. It features many aquatic birds like Flamingos and Pelicans, along with all sorts of storks and egrets in their outdoor ponds, as well as a number of very large walk-through aviaries. The “African Waterfall Aviary” is the best of these. Apart from the many multicolored and shiny birds, it includes a tall artificial waterfall. Also the “Jungle Jewels” aviary is definitely worth seeing. During feeding times, visitors can purchase bird food which the hungry recipients eat directly out of one’s hand. While I felt that the enclosures of the birds of prey and the owls fell short of the needs of these large and majestic birds, most aviaries are very spacious and brimming with tropical vegetation and really do look like bird paradises.
All three animal parks are very well made, educational, and thanks to their layout and rain forest surroundings completely different from your usual zoo experience. All parks also have animal shows several times a day (especially attractive for children, I suppose).
For those who tire easily walking around in the humid heat, electric trams or monorails are available to take visitors around the large parks in all three locations.
Singapore Animals
March 6, 2011 by sevenbrane
Das sind ja wahre Wunderschätze.!!!
ich denke, jeder europäische Zoodirektor wird vor Neid erblassen, oder?