| The Jurong Bird Park is South East Asia's largest birdpark, and houses over 600 species of birds found worldwide. Other than being the largest, it also contains the largest walk-in aviary, and inside this there is the world's largest man made waterfall. With birds flying overhead, one gets to experience what it is like to be in a real forest, especially with the simulated sounds of a thunderstorm. Travelling within the park is a breeze, allowing visitors to have a bird's eye view of the park grounds, and accompanied by the commentary, it provides a relaxing ride while at the same time teaching visitors new information. |
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Entrance to the Bird Park |
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| All the birds are housed in roomy cages, with much effort put into recreating the natural habitat of theirs, so that they would feel at ease. Some of the exhibitions are the Lory Loft, Penguin Parade, Pelican Cove, World of Darkness, South East Asian Birds Aviary, Hornbills and Toucan Exhibit, Royal Ramble, Window on Paradise, Waterfall Aviary, Swan Lake, Parrot Paradise, The Riverine and Splash N Slide Station. |
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Flamingos relaxing in the clear waters |
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Birds have always fascinated children, which is why the bird park plays an active role in educating students on the behavior and lifestyle of birds. There are special tours which are organised for schools, where students would tour the park after listening to a very enriching talk about birds, and for those who are interested, there are also camps to allow students to spend more time together with the birds. There are also behind to scene tours to educate students on how the bird park is run, for example, how the food for the birds are prepared, since many species require special diets. There are also scheduled feeding times, so interested visitors can learn about the feeding habits of these birds.
While located in a small country, the bird park also has the record for another thing, having the largest captive population of flamingos. There is a public adoption programme, where members of the public can foster flamingos, and this allows them to participate more actively in conservation efforts, since they know that they are playing a part in maintaining the birds. The Foster-a-flamingo programme would also provide the adopters with a more intimate glimpse into wildlife, and the adoption fees of a $100 each will go into providing the flamingos with a special diet, the upkeep of their enclosure and also to fund more programmes on the research and conservation of flamingos, thus this not only helps the flamingos in the zoo, but those in the wild as well. |
Conservation
| Captive breeding is carried out such that different species of birds would be free to roam the earth in the future, preventing them from dying out due to the mismanagement of the habitats which they come from. The bird park has dedicated facilities, breeding and research centre (BRC), to allow it to breed endangered birds, and this consists of aviaries, nurseries and egg-incubation rooms, which ensure that any offspring would be cared for until it is ready to be released into aviaries for display. As with all other wildlife attractions in Singapore, there is a breeding and exchange programme, which allows for more robust offspring. Some of the endangered species being bred are the Umbrella Cockatoo, Jandaya Conure, Razor-billed Curassow, White-winged Wood Duck, Lesser Flamingo, Caribbean Flamingo, Harris’s Hawk, Great Indian Hornbill, Southern Pied Hornbill, Tarictic Hornbill, Scarlet Ibis, Ornate Lory, Purple-napped Lory, Hyacinth Macaw, Military Macaw, Scarlet Macaw, Bali Mynah, Brown Fish Owl, Monk Parakeet, Edward’s Fig Parrot, Pesquet’s Parrot, Palm Cockatoo, Dalmatian Pelican, Humboldt Penguin, Scheepmaker’s Crowned Pigeon, Nicobar Pigeon, Great Argus Pheasant, Palawan Peacock Pheasant and the White Spoonbill. |
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World's Tallest Man-made Waterfall |
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Jurong Bird Park
