To add on, River Safari will be renamed River Wonders and all the parks will get new logos with a consistent design aesthetic and font - though i'm not sure if the new Bird Paradise (this is apparently the new bird park's official name) logo will be used for Jurong or if it will stick to its existing logo till the end.
….. ….. Nope. I’m going to call it Singapore Bird Park. Or Mandai Bird Park. Or New Jurong. Or literally anything else.
I’m hoping that international travel between Australia and Singapore restarts soon and my family and I can travel there next year. Is there any news on the opening date of the new bird park? I hope it’s early 2022.
Official launch video introducing Mandai Wildlife Reserve, comprising 5 wildlife parks - Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, River Wonders, Bird Paradise and Rainforest Wild. There will also be indoor nature-themed attractions, green public spaces and a resort to complete the precinct.
More information on the new attractions will follow in time to come. They have to get people used to the new identity first.
Assuming that polar bears and gorillas are never returning to Singapore, do you see any new species or exhibits coming in the new developments that would be exciting to zoo nerds? From the conceptual plans that have been released, does it look like the new Rainforest Wild will primarily have species already exhibited at the other parks?
Imagine if there was an attempt at getting long-beaked echidnas. I can't see it happen in this timeline sadly.
A bit more information on the new developments at Mandai Wildlife Reserve in the article below. Bird Paradise expected to open in 2022 and Rainforest Wild in 2024. River Wonders & Bird Paradise: Parks get new names in Mandai Wildlife Group rebrand From what little I know of Rainforest Wild, I'd guess about 60-70% of its animal collection will be species from the existing parks. It will be split in 2 halves - one themed after Asia and the other Africa. There are plans to bring in new primate species (langurs, gibbons) for the Asia half, and there are plans to acquire duikers, okapi and sifaka (as part of a large Madagascar walk through) in the Africa half. For the Zoo, the biggest project underway now is a new children's zoo. When that is ready in 2023, the existing children's zoo site will be turned into an Asian elephant habitat. At Night Safari, the Asian elephant exhibit will be expanded and the plan is to mix them with hoofstock like blackbuck and maybe sambar deer. The Wallaby Trail will have a new Tasmanian devil exhibit soon, woylie were recently acquired and there are plans to bring in kiwi. River Wonders won't see much change in the coming years, being relatively new. I've come across potential long term plans (5 to 10 years later) for a new African zone with Nile hippos, but that's about it.
Hopefully RW won’t feel redundant and be able seem distinct from Singapore zoo to the average zoo visitor.
Sharing a bit more about Rainforest Wild (Africa) based on plans I've come across from public sources. These plans might not be final and certainly may be subject to changes. The park is roughly 8 or 9 hectares and will supposedly have 7 sections - Journey Upstream, The Hinterland, Riverine Camp, Rangers Retreat, Forest Escape, Lemur Land and Primal Forest. A large section of the park will be a camp site. Adventure elements (like ziplines and rope bridges) will be interspersed throughout the park. Lemur Land will be a very large walk-through "aviary" (for lack of a better word) that I estimate to be more than 1 hectare. Some of the animals planned are Otters (no species indicated), Pygmy Hippos, Colobus Monkeys (no species indicated), Crocodiles (no species indicated), Okapi, Bongo and Lemurs (no species indicated). Both halves of Rainforest Wild are currently planned for completion in 2024.
Reckon there's any chance of the bird park (I can't quite bring myself to use its announced name yet) being open by mid-year?
Arghhhh, why do I gotta wait until 2024 to see the whole project bloom and come to fruition? This better be one of the most spectacular experiences one can partake in. If this means potentially seeing species like gorillas, I'm invested. (hopefully gorillas will end up being a big draw for Rainforest Wild, I get the parasite/soil issue but can't that be rectified one way or another? Otherwise, other than some interesting but not "showy" species, these parks may not be as popular as the suits hope it'll be)
Very unlikely. If Covid doesn't throw up new surprises, it could probably open in the fourth quarter.
The soil disease issue isn't trivial and unless an effective vaccine can be developed I don't think Gorillas will ever be displayed in Singapore again. In any case, I've not seen any plans to house great apes in Rainforest Wild (Africa).