The Singapore zoo, located in Mandai, is one of our country’s premier attractions. It host a wide variety and an extremely diversified species of animals, amounting to approximately 4000 specimens. Ever since it was started it has aimed to protect endangered animals. It also houses many of its animals in huge enclosures surrounded by their natural habitat. They have not build cages but separating us from the animals by natural barriers like trees and man made rivers, thus it helps in recreating the natural habitat of the animals, while at the same time still serving a purpose. It also aims to be one of the worlds leaders in vetinary and research and world class as a training centre and world class for reproductive research. It has a viewing gallery which enables visitors to see zoo animals in the process of being treated. Interesting displays that will portray the life and job of zoo vets.
Due to the inquisitive nature of primates, special setups are created for them to provide these creatures with hours of fun, and still serve as a resting place at night.
VIDEO CLIP : The video shows the feeding of the largest freshwater fish in the wild, the Arapaima.
The zoo also organizes many activities which include enrichment programs which are free for visiting schools and aim to supplement concepts learnt can be conducted in time with lesson plans maths trails which make use of mathematics and learn concepts and to enjoy nature camps which the zoo organizes to build teamwork leadership and experiential learning. Behind the scenes tour, the zoo gives us a chance to go behind the scenes to find out how zoo keepers handle their animals. Service learning in which students learn wildlife awareness and conservation through training by zoo staff. The zoo will also be visiting schools to interact with children on nature conservation.
The Singapore zoo believes that zoo’s have an important role in conservation by displaying animals in simulated natural environment. They also believe that due to close proximity, guest will sympathize with them and better understand their plight and raise their concern or these animals. Conservation is carried out through the many breeding programmes which the zoo has, and for animals which the zoo has bred successfully, like the orang utan, they are sent to zoos all over the world, such that the population in the wild will not be affected when zoos require more of any animals. Exchange programmes, where animals are loaned to other zoos, are also present. This allows for a widening of the gene pool since animals from different zoos are allowed to breed, thus resulting in healthier and stronger offspring.
These picture depicts an orang utan animal show in the zoo.
The Singapore zoo considers education as the most important aspect to raising awareness. This is the reason the zoo conducts various Animal shows and animal feeding programs to entertain and to integrate a conservation message. During the animal shows, the audience is allowed to participate at certain segments of the show. This not only allows the visitors to get close to the animals, it also gives them an experience which they are not likely to forget, thereby increasing the chances of them returning to the zoo again. The zoo also offers certain activities where its visitors get to have private time with the animals, for example taking photographs with animals such as snakes and there is even an option to have a meal with an orang utan, something which many of us will never have a chance to try out.
A quarterly magazine called Wildlife Wonders, also introduces the world of animals to children, since subscriptions are offered to students at discounted prices, thus encouraging them from young to learn more about these wonderful animals. As they grow, they will learn about and sympathize with the plight of some featured in the magazine, and this could encourage them to play an active role in the conservation of species when they get older.
Certain animals have the freedom of the whole zoo, which holds true to the belief of having an open zoo, where animals are not caged down.
This is a relatively new concept adopted by the Singapore zoo called the open concept. In this new concept animals are kept in big and spacious enclosures modeled after their natural habitat. They will be separated from visitors from natural barriers like dry or wet moats. The moats are concealed by vegetation and below sight. In the case of dangerous animals moats are not used. They are housed in landscaped glass enclosures to give the visitors a close up view surrounded by a wall of glass. This hives a feeling of openness.
Singapore Zoological Gardens
