Flat-headed cats? I've never heard of this species being in Singapore, but it they indeed are and if they go on-show in the new parks, that is excellent news. I'm not sure when I will be able to visit Singapore (could be earlier than I think since my mother has many business trips out there and I could tag along and explore WRS on the cheap!). I can't wait to see how this will turn out. An outdoor Masoala in tropical climate? Or is it indoor and a large greenhouse just like Masoala or Gondwanaland. Do you think the new plans will bring in new species or mean the departure of species they had before, or both? Will pangolins be kept for example?
It is supposed to be an upgraded version of the current Fragile Forest biodome set in the new Rainforest Park, a "Fragile Forest Mark II" if you will. The design will be influenced by the Masoala Halle, and there have been projects going on to see if this is a feasible idea to bring to life, the re-introduction of Ruffed Lemurs into the current Fragile Forest being an example. Keepers have also been wearing civilian clothing and monitoring what guests do in the absence of, well, themselves. They're collecting data to see whether guests are able to remind one another to be mindful of the animals there, their behaviour whenever they get too close to the animals, how the guests interact with the environment, etc. All of it will be form a part of the determining factors as to whether they should go ahead with the project or develop others instead. A mixture of both. This development of the Mandai area will be a major reshuffle of what each park has to offer. For example, as the two new Rainforest Parks will primarily focus on species coming from their namesake habitats, the other parks will be able to place more emphasis on other habitats like grasslands, temperate forests, highlands, coastal areas and etc. Exciting new developments include a mega-habitat for Asian Elephants, Indian Rhino and Malayan Tapir, a possible re-building of the parks' hoofstock collection, etc. The organisation will be seeing a lot of animals going in and out of the country, and to answer your question regarding pangolins, yes, they will be retained. The Night Safari serves as sort of the main rehabilitation centre for the native Sunda Pangolin.
Thank you for all this information, it is very enlightening. The new habitats for elephants and rhinos will be in the original zoo itself, right? And what species do you think will be brought in to represent these habitats? For now, WRS deals mainly with rainforest species and only keeps a few species from other habitats, so will this result in bringing in more ABCs or more rarities?
@amur leopard @BucerosKeeper these are the projects planned for each of the existing parks in the next 5 to 10 years (these were plans made before the pandemic hit, so they may change): Zoo: - Revamp of the old polar bear exhibit into a coastal habitat for Sealions and Penguins - Re-landscaping of the existing Orang Utan island exhibit - New Kidzworld children's zoo/play area (built from scratch) - New Asian Elephant habitat (taking over the 3 hectare space currently occupied by Kidzworld) Night Safari: - New Indian Rhino habitat (at the old giraffe exhibit; possibly with deer or water buffalo mixed in) - Introduction of new "iconic" species along the walking trails, like Tasmanian Devil, Kiwi, Aardvark - New Amphitheatre and extensive remodelling of the Entrance Plaza - New Asian Elephant habitat with other hoofstock mixed in River Safari (likely for the next decade - 2030s, since this is the newest park among the 3): - New Nile Hippo habitat with underwater viewing - New Amphitheatre
Zooish pretty much nailed it. Just note that the new Elephant enclosure at Kidzworld is actually a mega-habitat that will co-habit Asian Elephants, India Rhinoceros (the old female from Night Safari will be housed here), and for some reason, Malayan Tapir. It will be their take on an "Asian-style African savannah" habitat, which usually features the more popular megafauna like African Elephants, Giraffes and other hoofstock in the mix. WRS has had staff go all over to different zoos to learn about their most popular exhibits there and see how other zoos maintain some of the more obscure species in their collections as well. And as a result the curatorial team has been drafting up a pretty huge list of species that are being considered, the aforementioned "iconic species" are an example. And as I've mentioned previously, the team is also proposing to bring back some of the old hoofstock species. So a nice mix of your typical ABCs as well as rare finds are being planned. Though, as always, by process of elimination, we'll most likely see a mere fraction of what is being considered actually showing up in the final product. At the very least I do not think there will be any major changes to the reptile and invertebrate roster as the man behind the building of Reptopia and planning of the new biodome at Rainforest Park, as well as acquisition of rarer species for this section, is no longer working for the organisation.
@BucerosKeeper, does this mean they have only one female Indian rhino left? (There used to be 2 older females ...)
I would wish they do something about that! Separate program for Sumatran elephant. No point in hybridising the population (BTW: in taxonomy Indian and Sri Lankan are same ssp.)
I am not sure, at least the last time I was working there I only saw one, unless the 2 are being rotated for display.
There are still 2 females at WRS. A 40 year old imported from India (I think), when the Night Safari first opened, and a 30 year old imported from Oklahoma Zoo in 2009. Edited to add that WRS recently joined the EEP for Indian rhinos, so they may receive new blood from Europe.
WRS doesn't intend to breed the Sumatrans and the Sri Lankan female is extremely elderly. I've always known the Indian mainland race as E.m.indicus and the Sri Lankan race as E.m.maximus, so I'm surprised by your comment.
I know the WRS have become accredited with EAZA (as well as ZAA): It has been much discussed in their last annual report as well. What have been surprised about is that they seem to have not endeavoured to acquire Indian GOHR from India or Nepal yet (correct me if I am wrong). WRS would be better placed given its cultural attachment with the Indian Subcontinent to have good contacts with Indian zoos. Allthough, I must add that not too long ago WRS-Singapore Zoo sent 1.1 southern white rhino to Mysuru Zoo in India. So, perhaps they will be able to do so in future now (if and when the new rhino habitat is finished - planning / timeframe?).
Had WRS to leave the Asian Zoo Organisation SEAZA when it became a member of EAZA? I mean, when they could still be a member of ZAA, why should there be a problem to join a third organization? (No offense, just a question)
So i've heard from WRS staff that acquiring animals from Indian zoos is not easy, something to do with the bureaucracy i think. The new Asian rhino exhibit was slated to be completed in the first half of this year, but the coronavirus had other plans. All building works have been suspended for 2 months and counting. Plus with limited international flights operating in the short term, freight costs are extremely high at the moment. I don't think any animal transfers will happen anytime soon.
@Zooish: Thank you for the info. @all: I noticed that there are some marine fishes in the list. In which park(s) are they exhibited?
Thanks again. Couldn't remember that there was a touch pool when my family and I have visited River Safari (and met you the next day for Zoo and Night Safari - what a great day we had!). Is this a newer exhibit? And where in the park is it located?
The touch pool is at the Mary River zone which opened in December 2015. It's between the Ganges and Mekong zones.
RepTopia's Oriental whipsnake might actually be the South Asian Ahaetulla nasuta. At least morphologically, it appears to be one.
