Day Three (Part Three): Zoos can be tiring places, so it was fortunate that we had a couple of hours to kill after visiting River Safari to recharge our batteries before visiting the adjacent Night Safari. We ate and drank, watched the fireshow and got our photo taken with a Great Horned Owl (http://www.zoochat.com/243/great-horned-owl-dec-2015-a-436050/). We also spent a bit of time watching the herd of Ankole Cattle, which were highly unappreciated by the rest of the (many!) waiting visitors. For a domestic species, they were quite interesting, plenty of herd dynamics to observe, as well as two young calves. At 7.00pm we headed in, but chose the shortest entry queue, for the walking trails rather than the trams. The walking trails cover about half the zoo’s exhibits, and don’t appear to have changed significantly since my last visit. The Fishing Cat and Leopard Trails mostly display South East Asian mammals, and so contain a lot of excellent species, most notably the Sunda Pangolin that I had previously missed due to enclosure renovation. While there was no renovation underway this time, there was sadly no sign of the elusive inhabitant. I did pick up a life tick, however, in the form of a Long-tailed Porcupine, which I saw just the front half of, after standing in front of its enclosure for a rather long time. I do like porcupines. Another previous no-show was the Giant Flying Squirrels in their walkthrough exhibit, but one was visible in a small tree this time, although he didn’t get airborne. I think the species on display is the Indian Giant Flying Squirrel, but I’m not 100% sure. The last two trails, the East Lodge and Wallaby Trails were less enjoyable, as a result of the rain that set in. While we had umbrellas, this still made for difficult viewing, and a particularly heavy downpour saw us stranded at the Malayan Tiger viewing shelter for 20 minutes. I was surprised to see so many Servals housed together, I counted 3 or 4. In contrast, the Bat-eared Fox exhibit appeared devoid of animals, but this could have been due to the large amount of vegetation that has overgrown it. We were aiming for the 9.30pm Creatures of the Night Show, however, when we reached the entry area we discovered that the night’s remaining shows had been cancelled due to the weather (now periodic showers), which was disappointing. The queue for the tram took another 30 minutes, and wasn’t a great experience. Poorly behaved visitors, unfavourable weather, and a surprising number of no-shows did not make for happy tram-riders. I’m not sure if they normally skip past some exhibits to make up time, but we missed a few this trip, including the Dholes and Indian Wolves. The only recent exhibit additions were two glass-fronted enclosures for Malayan Tiger and Asiatic Black Bear. Surprisingly, the viewing for the bear (no sign of the tiger) was really good, although I don’t think the enclosure is particularly impressive. Overall, the tram ride was a bit average, and by the time we disembarked we were more than ready to leave Night Safari. The missed species, poor weather, and average tram ride, as well as a closer inspection of the actual enclosures (which were not necessarily as large or suitable as one would hope) made my visit to Night Safari rather disappointing. Possibly the previous two zoo visits weren’t helpful either. The night did end happily however, as before we left, we trudged and squelched in our wet shoes up the Fishing Cat Trail to see if the Sunda Pangolin was visible – and it was!!! Just a curled ball in its burrow, but still awesome! Definitely a massive highlight. Photos below show: a young Ankole Cattle calf, Greater Mousedeer feeding, Fishing Cat catching its dinner, and a Sunda Pangolin all curled up in its burrow!
well that's a shame (but then, later, yay for pangolin!). There should be two species of giant flying squirrels in there - Indian and red-and-white - I saw both species being very obvious when I was there. Did you see the tarsiers and cloud rats? The latter, in particular, were a big highlight for me, although I figure you probably saw them already in Europe? The Australian section of the Night Safari seems really half-hearted doesn't it?
I only saw one giant flying squirrel, and I didn't realise there were two or I would have stayed longer. Out of those two species I think it was more likely to be an Indian, as I don't recall it having a white face. Unfortunately I missed, again, the Tarsiers. Having never seen a Tarsier, these primates are now definitely very high up my list of mammals-too-see. I did see the Cloud Rat, but had already seen the species in Europe (Vienna) and other Cloud Rats elsewhere and much more clearly so this one wasn't much of a highlight. I kind of like the Australian section, the species mix is fine (although dull for someone familiar with Australian species). The exhibits are a bit of a nice change from the rest of the park, being a little more modern and with significant amounts of shelter and light. But in that way it also doesn't really fit with the rest of Night Safari and so feels a bit weird.
oh I didn't realise you had missed the tarsiers last time (or, more likely, I did know but forgot). When I was there they weren't terribly obvious most of the time - being either off to the sides of the viewing area or up the back somewhere - but were quite active so a bit of waiting meant good views. I think they may have recently been fed? If I recall correctly, CGSwans didn't have much luck with them either (I think he did see them but poorly - yes, just checked: "a fuzzy shadow" - http://www.zoochat.com/266/singapore-long-last-400666/). Guess you'll just have to go back again
Pity about missing the tarsiers. I was told the pair have recently bred, so there should be 3 of them now. Pity about the weather too. It's always unpleasant to visit during heavy rain. Many of the animals just retreat back to their off-show dens. Keepers may decide to confine them in the dens earlier than usual if the rain is incessant (as was possibly the case with the canids).
Ooh that's good. Has Night Safari (or the Zoo) bred Tarsiers before? The weather definitely made it far less enjoyable, although the large crowds also contributed. The tram didn't seem to slow down much for many exhibits. I wonder if there is a better way than the tram to display the animals along that track. Maybe a covered travelator or something? Can see issues with that too. Does it rain more often at night than during the day in Singapore overall?
When I was there at the beginning of November and beginning of December last year, the mornings were bright, cloud started to appear at midday and by 2pm it was pouring with rain. It had stopped by about 6pm. I'm trying to find out which are the least wet months/weeks for a return visit.
When I was there in early Dec 2011 it was exactly the same, downpour at 2pm! It tended to be later in the day on this trip, but was also more variable. Maybe El Nino played a part in that though...?
The tasiers have apparently bred before, but the baby(s) did not survive. The trams usually speed along on busy nights to cope with the crowds. Even on less busy nights, the trams only slow at the big cats and elephants, and when the tapirs decide to hog the road! It definitely rains more in the day, but from November to January it rains much more overall and more often at night.
It is usually drier towards the middle of the year all the way till October. But the weather in recent years has been unpredictable, probably due to global warming/El Nino/La Nina. Also, the dry season is when the forests in Indonesia start burning and Singapore gets badly affected by the smoke haze.
Day Four: After the previous busy day at the three WRS parks, today was much quieter. We took the MRT across the city to the Singapore Botanical Gardens, which is a very impressive place (so much so that it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015). There are various specialised gardens here, including for Bamboo, Ginger, Foliage and of course the National Orchid Garden. My favourite part, however, was the Evolution Garden. This is a brilliant walk that showcases the rise of plants and focuses mainly on the earliest lineages. As well as all the plants, there was also a fair bit of animal life within the gardens. Most obvious were the Water Monitors, large individuals regularly crossed our path and we spotted them swimming through the lakes too. Birds seen were largely limited to waterfowl, including Black Swan, Lesser Whistling Ducks and White-breasted Waterhens. After leaving the Botanic Gardens, we headed to Orchard Road to have lunch and explore this shopping Mecca. Not that great. We then headed downtown, to Marina Bay, where we were hoping to visit the Marina Bay Sands, the three-tower mega-structure that is topped off with a boat-shaped deck that provides views over the city. However, the weather wasn’t the best so we skipped it and instead had a brief look at the adjacent Gardens by the Bay. We just explored a small part of this, including the Supertree Grove, as we planned to visit later on during our trip. There were a few birds around here too, and I added Asian Koel and Black-naped Oriole to my list. As the weather deteriorated further, we headed back to the hotel for a swim in the rain. Photos below show: a Water Monitor at the Royal Botanical Gardens, a pond with Water Lilies in the Ginger Garden, a view of the National Orchid Garden, and a view of Gardens by the Bay, including some Supertrees.
When I first went through the Night Safari 20 years ago my guide (a curator) told me that rain "invariably" stops at 6pm in Singapore and that was taken into account in the business case. Obviously not every night.
Day Five: Again well-rested, we set out for another mega-day of exploring. A long MRT ride and a short bus trip took us to the far side of Singapore and my favourite animal collection on the island – Jurong Bird Park. This is by far the best bird collection I have ever visited (I haven’t been to Walsrode or Loro Parque though), and I was very keen to revisit, especially as the collection is slated for closure in a few years. Despite this, there have been some significant changes since my last visit, most of them positive. In fact the only negative things overall were the temporary closure of the Shorebirds and Ibis aviaries, fewer ducks on display than last time and the reduced species diversity in the Lory Loft aviary. In contrast, the highlights were many. The major new addition since my last visit is the Breeding and Research Centre, which displays eggs, hatchlings and young birds in a series of small rooms. And it’s done really well, with a fantastic range of species on display. Another change was the renovation of the South East Asian aviary, Wings of Asia, which is absolutely amazing, with a brilliant collection (I saw 88 species). I’m not generally a fan of bird shows, but I was keen to see the birds of prey display, Kings of the Skies. This turned out to be quite good, with eleven species shown, albeit to a rather excitable soundtrack. Other excellent exhibits were the Waterfall Aviary, Hornbill aviaries, and Heliconia Walk. The Bird Park’s collection has expanded since my previous visit, although some groups appear to have become less diverse. In total I spotted 264 different species, with quite a lot of duplication across exhibits. Of the species seen, 32 were new, including a whole new family, represented by the rather dull Long-tailed Mockingbird. More exciting were the Red-vented Cockatoos, Coppersmith Barbet, and several species of Imperial Pigeons. The population of wild Green Iguanas has also exploded, with lizards all over the place. Overall, a very enjoyable and productive visit, which I hope will not be my last to this amazing park. I will be following its future very closely. After leaving the Park, we took the MRT a couple of stops back, and disembarked to explore the Chinese Gardens. This is an impressive attraction, with a series of pagodas, statues, ponds and gardens, and well worth a visit. Within the gardens is one of Singapore’s smallest animal attractions, the Live Turtle & Tortoise Museum. Sadly, it has not changed much from my previous visit, with the exhibits still very poor overall (see the gallery). It needs serious investment and expansion to adequately house all the individuals, from 37 different species. Interestingly, the species line up seems to have changed a bit, with nine additional species, and eight no longer displayed. Unfortunately, it does not appear that conditions have improved much, nor will in the near future, and so I (sadly) can’t recommend this park to other visitors. My partner hated it, and we left very quickly. We continued on the MRT back to the centre of the city and Marina Bay. The weather was much improved, so we took the opportunity to go up to the observation deck of the Marina Bay Sands. This is expensive, but provides great views over the city and the adjacent Gardens by the Bay. At the base of the Marina Bay Sands is a mall containing one of the most decadent attractions ever – an indoor canal system with gondolas! Totally bizarre. Having had another busy day, we returned to the hotel to relax, before the following day’s trip to Singapore’s wild side. Photos below show: a Saddle-billed Stork in the Jurong Bird Park Wetlands exhibit; one of the many feral Green Iguanas that have taken over Jurong; Coppersmith Barbet in Jurong’s fantastic Wings of Asia aviary; the Live Turtle & Tortoise Museum’s covered area with terrariums behind the lake area – note the many Red-eared Sliders; and a view of the Singapore cityscape from Marina Bay Sands observation deck.
The Bird Park is apparently moving to a site nearer the rest of the WRS parks. It isn't clear if it would exist as a separate attraction there, or be subsumed into the others. Having visited Jurong just two days ago I find this to be incredible. The sheer amount of infrastructure on the current location is just massive. Huge arenas, gigantic walkthrough aviaries, large visitor buildings. It sounds like a good idea on paper but when you are at the site it seems crazy. That said it wasn't exactly busy when I was there.
The infrastructure on site is impressive and much of it could not be transferred to a new site, but the site itself is definitely not in the best location and moving it would be sensible. It was busy when I visited, especially noticeable at the arenas. Wikipedia says annual attendance is 900,000 - this seems quite respectable. If the collection were to be subsumed into the other Zoos (and potentially into a new park as well) at Upper Seletar Reservoir, I can't see all the diversity being retained. On the other hand, I'm not sure a relocated bird park would be able to compete with the other on-site attractions, and foreign tourists especially may be less keen to return to the site (distant as it is from the main city) for a second day of zoo visiting. Not sure what the solution here is (except maybe relocate it to Sentosa Island...).
The existing WRS trinity (Zoo, Night Safari and River Safari) and the new developments (relocated bird park plus other new attractions) are being subsumed under the "Mandai" banner, after the name of the location. An environmental impact assessment of the development sites was conducted last year, so the plans are probably being reviewed now and more information will be shared later this year. A website has been set up, but not much information is available beyond the broad concepts and philosophies. Mandai Project ? Singapore?s home, sanctuary and heritage.
