Singapore Zoo
www.zoo.com.sg
City: Singapore
Country: Singapore
Opend 23.06.1973
Species 300
Singapore Zoo covers an area of 28 ha. From the beginning, Singapore Zoo followed the modern trend of displaying animals in naturalistic, 'open' exhibits, i.e. with hidden barriers, behind moats and shrubbery etc. It also houses the largest captive colony of orangutans in the world. Among various attractions that the zoo offers,one highlight is the "Breakfast with an Orangutan" programme that allows visitors to meet and interact closely with the orangutans in the zoo. It shows local and typical zoo animals like elephants, but also rare species like the proboscis monkey, babirusa and the douc langur
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Last visited 2023
Singapore Zoo
80 Mandai Lake Road
Singapore 729826
Singapore
Phone number 6269 3411
Opened minimum 8.30am - 6 pm
Entrance fee
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Adult 50$
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Child 3-12 years 36$
Entrance fee for 2 zoos (ticket valid for 7 days)
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Adult 96$
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Child 3-12 years 66$
Entrance fee for all 4 zoosand all rides (ticket valid for 7 days)
Friends of Wildlife (valid for 12 months free visits in all 4 zoos)
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Adult 195$
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Child 3-12 years 95$
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*Family 385$
*Valid for 2 adults and 1 child. The next 4 children cost 10$ each. Above 5 children must pay an ordinary child membership card
The zoo has a children area
History:
In 1968, Ong Swee Law, then chairman of the Public Utilities Board, decided to open up more of the large protected water catchment areas on the island for public use. Ong mooted the idea of a zoo as he felt that there were insufficient venues for family outings at the time. He also observed that even domesticated animals had become a novelty for some Singaporeans. A steering committee led by Ong was formed in the same year to study the idea of establishing a zoo to meet the recreational, social and educational needs of Singaporeans. In late 1969, the government authorised the formation of a public limited company, Singapore Zoological Gardens, to establish and operate a zoo. Ong was appointed the chairman of the company. The government also contributed S$9 million towards the zoo’s development cost and set aside 260 acres (1.05 sq km) of land for the project. In November 1970, Lyn de Alwis, who was then the director of the Dehiwala Zoo in Sri Lanka, was appointed as consultant on a one-year term to plan, design and develop the Singapore zoo project. Ong was impressed by de Alwis when the two had met earlier at the Dehiwala Zoo. A. G. Alphonso, then director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, was also engaged as landscape advisor for the zoo project.
The Singapore Zoo was officially opened by then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Goh Keng Swee on 27 June 1973. Situated on 70 acres (0.3 sq km) of land extending into the Seletar Reservoir, the zoo adopted some of the most advanced zoo designs of the 1970s. For example, the zoo was developed in a garden setting and the “open zoo” design was adopted. Instead of cages, most of the animals were displayed in open enclosures that were landscaped to resemble their natural habitats. Barriers such as moats and walls were used to contain the animals. The zoo had an initial collection of about 300 animals housed in some 50 enclosures. While the emphasis was on animals from the Southeast Asian region, there were also animals sourced from other parts of the world.
The Singapore Zoo quickly gained popularity and welcomed its one-millionth visitor on 13 November 1974 – less than two years after it opened to the public. The zoo constantly strives to improve its programmes and facilities. One of the innovative programmes initiated by the zoo in May 1982 was the highly popular Breakfast with an Orang Utan. On 9 November 1985, the zoo opened its first amphitheatre for holding animal performances. The popular animal shows staged by the zoo, such as the sea lion, elephant, orang utan and snake shows, have evolved into professional and entertaining programmes that are highly educational in nature. In November 1998, the zoo’s first walk-through exhibit, Fragile Forest, was opened to the public. One of the world's largest ecosystem enclosures, the exhibit is a re-creation of the rainforest and features animal species such as lemurs, sloths, flying foxes and butterflies. A series of major revamps took place after 2000. These included the creation of a free-ranging orang utan habitat in April 2006 for visitors to get up close and personal with the orang utans, and the construction of the new Splash Amphitheatre in 2007, with a new Splash Safari Show unveiled on 26 May. July 2007 saw the opening of a new Sumatran orang utan exhibit, as well as the completion of a new and much larger sun bear exhibit. Rainforest Kidzworld, which occupies the area of the former Children’s World Animal Land, opened on 14 November 2008. The S$8-million Frozen Tundra – new home of Inuka the polar bear – was unveiled on 29 May 2013. It was designed to resemble the arctic habitat. Bernard Harrison, then executive director of the Singapore Zoo from 1981 to 2002, played an instrumental role in many of the zoo’s key developments. Drawing from the experience of numerous zoos around the world, Harrison initiated more open-zoo exhibits and conceived new display themes such as the Fragile Forest and the Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia. Following the successful development of the Singapore Zoo, the Night Safari was established in its vicinity in 1994. It is the world’s first night zoo that allows visitors to observe nocturnal animals in a natural habitat. The Singapore Zoo, along with the Night Safari and the Jurong Bird Park, is managed by Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), a holding company that was formed on 1 August 2000. Harrison was appointed as WRS’ chief executive officer in addition to his role as executive director of the Singapore Zoo. He left the company in September 2002. The River Safari, a river-themed wildlife park featuring Singapore’s first pair of giant pandas, was added to the company’s fold when it officially opened in February 2014.
The Singapore Zoo has achieved numerous breakthroughs in its captive breeding programmes in the last 40 years. The birth of its first baby orang utan took place on 20 January 1975, a rare event for orang utans in captivity at the time. The first known eland birth in Southeast Asia also occurred in the same year. On 26 December 1990, the zoo witnessed the birth of Inuka, the first polar bear cub born in the tropics. On 15 November 2009, the first Komodo dragon was successfully hatched in the zoo after many unsuccessful attempts to breed the endangered reptile. The hatchling was the first in Asia outside of the reptile’s natural habitat – Indonesia. In addition, the zoo has been successful in breeding a number of critically endangered species, including the river terrapin, Sumatran orang utan and cotton-top tamarin. Another significant milestone achieved by the zoo was the opening of the S$3.6-million Wildlife Healthcare and Research Centre on 13 March 2006. The centre has a viewing gallery for visitors to observe the animal surgery and treatment areas as well as interactive displays to educate visitors on the work of zoo vets.
After paying the entrance fee you folow the sheltered path and meet the cotton-top tamarins. At the crossing go to the right to see the proboscis monkey. Head back to the crossing you hear and see small-clawed otters. Across is a bridge from where you can see the Siamang and false gavial. Following the path behind the otters we meet malayan tapirs, babirusas and white tigers. Then its time to follow the path down to the pygmy hippo and red river hogs.. Back on the main path go reight so that you cab ebter the great rift valley of Ethiopia. Here we meet baboons, ibex and small carnivores. Across we find Australasia, home to cassowaries, kangaroos and tree kangaroos. Opposite we have the primate kingdom, home to douc langurs, crested macaques and colobus monkeys. Back on the main path we enter the elephants of Asia area. At the orang utans we turn left. At theire enclosure we can take a picture with them. opposite we find African penguims and California Sea Lions. Behind the orung utan house is a path bringing us to the reptile area, it is home to komodo dragons, indian gahrials, giant tortoises and a snake house, Strangely you also find the sun bears here. At the gigantic estuarine crocodile we turn on the main road so that we cab reach the childrens zoo. Here there is a big play ground ponys, goats and rabbits. Across we find the chinpanzee and the nandrill. Following the main road we again see proboscis monkeys abd the pygmy marmosets. Then it is time to enter Fragile forest with fruit bats and ring-tailed lemurs. Back on the main path lets then meet the leopards, lions, cheetahs and african wild dogs- Across are herbivores like giraffes, zebras and whithe rhinos.Let's then enter the Frozen tundra wih wolverines and raccon dogs. Following the sheltered path again we meet ruffed lemurs and gibbons.
DE: Dieser zoo zeigt Seltenheiten wie Nasenaffen, Kleideraffen und Baumkänguruhs. Man kann sogar ein Foto mit sich selber und den Orang Utans machen
DK: Der vises sjældenheder som næseaber, kostumelangurer og trækænguruer. Man kan endda få taget et billede med sig selv og en orang utan
