The Murray River theme has been scrapped. An open-topped mangrove tank that continues the Ganges River theme will replace the former exhibits. It is scheduled to open in June.
The 2 pandas came into heat for the first time this year. Natural mating was not successful and artificial insemination was performed. The park's staff can't be sure yet if the female is pregnant and are keeping a close watch. More details in the link below. https://wrscomsg.wordpress.com/2015/09/03/birthday-suspense-for-giant-pandas-at-river-safari/
News about the park's first hand-raised manatee being named the new animal ambassador. River Safari currently houses 14 West Indian manatees. Interesting tidbit in the article about the plan to send 2 of the park's manatees to Guadeloupe to boost the wild population. https://wrscomsg.wordpress.com/2016/05/25/canola-the-manatee-is-river-safaris-new-animal-icon/
River Safari will send 2 captive born male manatees to Guadeloupe as part of a re-population program. Singapore manatees headed to Caribbean for world-first repopulation programme - Channel NewsAsia
Link below to the video of the 2 manatees being crated (behind the scenes at River Safari's Amazon Flooded Forest holding area) and loaded onto a cargo plane for their 34 hour journey to Guadeloupe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL0MzpzUeSs
Some updates from the park: Mississippi River zone has added 2 terrariums with Prairie Kingsnake and Milksnake. Squirrel Monkey Forest now houses White-faced Saki and Azara's Agouti as well. After a few unsuccessful litters, the Giant Otters have raised a new litter of four pups which are now on display.
Quick question; what happened to the cocks-of-the-rock destined for the River Safari? Are they on-display there, or still at Jurong 'behind the scenes'? Also, nice to hear that sakis have joined the squirrel monkeys; I found it a bit empty on my visit, personally.
Another article about the Manatees : The Return of the Manatees! Singapore-Born Sea Cows Back in the Caribbean After a Century of Extinction : News : Nature World News
One of the manatees sent to Guadeloupe has died of a suspected kidney infection. One of two Singapore-born manatees in Caribbean repopulation scheme dies, Americas News & Top Stories - The Straits Times
Another article about the death of the Mamatee : S?pore-born manatee that died in the Caribbean was in good health before transfer: WRS | TODAYonline
Hit or miss is definitely the order of the day. In something like twenty rides* I only caught a clear look at a lone spider monkey once. Common squirrel monkeys seem to have taken over their exhibit, but the audio track failed to comment on this. The bearded saki was a bit easier to see towards the end of the day, and I got a good look at the maned wolf around the same time too. It is a pleasant ride, but I fully despise the fact that the only way to see the jaguar (under represented in my Bay Area zoos) is an extra S$5. I'd like a second option, because the roughly 30 seconds you get to see all three jaguars is unsatisfying. That said, I like the ride while acknowledging the fact that it could be much, much better. Updating the audio track would be a great start; a fourteen or fifteen year old jaguar is hardly young! His parents must be pushing twenty then. And why do I care about the sacred ibis? These are scarlet and I was pretty sure that the sacred Ibis was an African species. Give me a reason to think they're "sacred". I saw no Golden Lion Tamarins, iguana, or a parrot of any type. Yet all of these are still prominently displayed on signage. If there's anything more iconic to the Amazon than a macaw I don't know what it would be. * - Unlimited rides on a very slow weekday is a boon.
Just a question: I know the ride need to pay an extra S$5, but is it unlimited? Can I ride the boat for a few times just to see the animal?
At least you should buy a Parkhopper plus ticket, this way the four WRS parks cost only S$90 alltogether including the rides. That saves you quite a lot of money. Just remember that you have to book your NIght Safari visit when you buy the Parkhopper ticket.
I'm planning to buy the normal Parkhopper ticket plus $5 for the Amazon River Ride. Do this mean I can only go on the ride once? (I don't want to buy the plus one because I don't think I will take the train in Jurong and the Zoo)
You can get the parkhopper sans rides. It'll save you ~S$10. You can take that windfall and spend it on the Amazon River Quest. To answer your question, yes, it's unlimited rides. How many you can fit in depends on crowds and weather of course. I did about twenty rides on a slow Wednesday.
