Singapore. » Singapore Zoo

28-06-2006

lories are pretty much an australasian family, but it not entirely unlikey.

just recently a photo-trap discovered an animal with a remarkable similarity to a brown lemur. of course with no lemuroids known outside madagascar the animal is muc more likely to be a new species on mongoose. its a large creature wih a very thick chocolate brown hair and a very long tail.

29-06-2006

Borneo is just fantastic, with so many endemic species. But its forests are being destroyed really rapidly, mostly by slash and burn farming and plantations.

It is estimated that there will be no more rainforests left in Southeast Asia in less than 50 years if the destruction carries on at the current rate. Some scientists are capping the number at around 20 years, well within our lifetimes.

29-06-2006

Makes ya wonder hay, i mean some ppl on here like me and ben , are in our teens, so our life time may still be 60 years wht will be around then,

... sorry to make some of you feel old ... hehe

29-06-2006

yes borneo has the most sizable tracts of rainforest left in SE asia. and whilst i think its very important to protect biodiversity everywhere, i wish that indonesia would at least just save one big chunk of rainforest on that island.

they are decimating all of west papua as well, letting the american mining companies turn the jungle on the worlds largest island into a nothing but a giant whole in the earth.

50 years is being way too generous in my opinion. i am of the 20 year view on things.

meanwhile the brazilians are considering actually legislation that will half what is left of the amazon rainforest.

and the world bank is encouraging the DRC (the sole country which own the largest chunk of the congo rainforest) to become the biggest exporter of rainforest timber in africa.

Free Ranging Orang Utans
05-07-2006

The free ranging orang utan programme has been very successful and well-received, so a second free-range area is being set up. There have been critics who gave us flak for our method of direct management of the orang utans where keepers make full physical contact with the apes, arguing that disease transmission would be likely. But this free-ranging programme is a great benefit to the orangs, and would not be possible without this method of management.

This second area is much smaller, with only 3 large interconnected trees (as compared to the 8 trees of the current area). So fewer animals will be displayed (current free-range site allows 8 - 10 orang utans to be released). But it means more opportunities for the apes to get out of their 'tree-less' island enclosure/holding cages.

Its rather nice to have to crane your neck and look up at the orang utans. That's how it should be really.

05-07-2006

yeah fantastic. i'm veeery interested in methods of displaying the apes in trees and live vegetaion high in the canopy like they should. i supose a liberal draping of sythetic vines over live trees would help take the stress of the branches as well as hot-wires to give trees extended 'rest' or to prevent access to certain parts of the trees. whatever the methods - keep us posted. after elephants, orangs are in my poinion one of those species that suffers in zoos by not being able to be displayed in a naturalistic setting. and advances in exhibit design and management techniques would be of great benifit.

06-07-2006

Pat, surprisingly the orangs aren't too interested in tearing up branches and the trees have just a tiny bit of wear and tear from swinging and rough play. I guess that bringing them indoors in the evening curbs their nest-building instinct. There are vines, but not a lot, mainly just to link the trees together.

The orangs like to just hang out high up in the branches or in the rope hammock/swinging platforms and just watch the world go by below them.

The type of tree chosen is consistent - all are fully mature rain trees (samanea saman). They are the perfect tree for free-ranging, in terms of preventing escape (single trunk which can be ringed with hot wire), robustness of branches, height, visibility of the orangs (dense foliage can obstruct views; spreading crown of rain trees means its easier to see the orangs).

06-07-2006

Would it be possible to have other large primates like this GIbbons?

07-07-2006

Gibbons are probably too dangerous/aggressive to be free-ranged safely. Anyway they don't ruin vegetation so they can still have naturalistic habitats with live trees.

Our orang utans are brought up from infancy with daily interaction with the keepers and so are very comfortable around people. And only the more docile females and juveniles are free-ranged. So even if they manage to escape, they pose little danger to visitors.

07-07-2006

yeah its just as well - fully grown apes, be them chimps, gorillas, orangs or gibbons (especially siamangs!) are much stronger than humans, should they decide to become agressive they are extremely dangerous.

even the gorillas, the 'gentle giants' have been known to (albeit rarely) attack humans - as happened recently at a zoo in the states.

to be honest, though i personally think its great with some species, i was very supprised that zoos take the risk by often having some of their most dangerous species walking around with visitors and keepers. elephants in particular are potentially capable of causing the most damage, but the ones i worry about are exhibits like "tiger island" and "tiger temple" where the keepers "play" with the big cats and walk them around with members of the public.

elephants and orangs might be a risk worth taking, but tigers i personally think is an accident waiting to happen!!

07-07-2006

soz pat to correct you, but the 2 main tiger exhibits, steves and dreamworlds, have there tigers on walks, but tht is b4 the zoo opens. all there animals were hand raised (although they could still hurt some 1), but ppl can join them on walks for a fee ($200-300)

Orang utan photo
14-07-2006

Not my photo, found it on google. Date is wrong, so just ignore it. But i like it cos it shows the view visitors get of the free-ranging orang utans. The one in the photo is a juvenile. You can see the artificial vines linking the trees as well as the rope hammock. The palms in the background are beyond the reach of the orangs.

The second free-ranging area has been opened at another part of the zoo, so now visitors get the illusion that the orangs are wandering around the whole zoo!

About 3 years ago, we also launched a 'cheetah encounter' programme where a certain number of people are allowed into the cheetah enclosure. The programme was cancelled less than half a year later, after strong protest from animal rights groups on the basis of safety.

Phasing out of polar bears
08-09-2006

As noted in the Reuters press release, the Singapore Zoo will eventually phase out the polar bears in our collection. In addition, animals from colder/arctic climates will also not be featured in the zoo's collection

We have 1.1 bears; mother 'Sheba', 29 years old, born in Cologne Zoo Germany, came to Singapore when she was a few years old. Her son 'Inuka', was born in Singapore on Boxing Day 1990, making him the first and only polar bear to be born in the tropics. His dad died several years ago due to a heart ailment. Inuka is much celebrated here in Singapore, and is a star attraction at the zoo. His name, pronounced 'e-noo-ka', means 'silent stalker' in the Inuit language and was chosen from a public naming contest.

The plan now is that once Sheba dies, Inuka will be transfered to a temperate zoo. Inuka is an amazing example of evolution at work. Being a first generation 'tropical' bear, he already shows signs of adaption, eg thinner coat and less fat reserves. He also moults more regularly. Hopefully he will be able to adapt back to the cold climate once he moves out.

This relocation is part of the zoo's redevelopment plan which aims to reposition the zoo as a 'rainforest zoo'. The redevlopment is being carried out in stages with completion expected around 2010.

08-09-2006

I figured people might not see the photo I posted in the news feed forum - so I'll repost it here.

Photo of the polar bear enclosure at Singapore Zoo, taken May 2000.

08-09-2006

eeek! leaves alot to be desired dosn't it?

never seen polar bear shores at seaworld, but the singapore exhibit looks much like all the other polar bear exhibits i've seen - aweful!