Singapore Diaries: Nature and Wildlife

Cheers to my first blog entry about my recent Singapore trip.

And today's feature is Singapore's Nature and Wildlife

First stop: Singapore Zoo

Rainforest near busy cities.
Animal encounters. Various species of wild animals.
Animal habitats at your foot steps.

(from Singapore Zoo Official website)  

For 40 years, Singapore Zoo has been known to have among the most beautiful settings in the world, where animals roam freely in open and natural habitats. Covering 26 hectares, the park is home to over 2,800 animals representing over 300 species.

Singapore Zoo boasts the world’s first free-ranging orang utan habitat in a zoo. This environment showcases the charismatic apes, which are the Zoo’s flagship species, in natural surroundings. 

Other not-to-be missed highlights include Fragile Forest and Elephants of Asia. 

Australian Outback and the Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia are other fascinating areas where guests are immersed in habitats representing the respective geographical region.

Let's start the adventure! Singapore Zoo Map

Treetops Trail

The zone welcomes guests with the Rainforest Courtyard leading to an elevated platform through the forest canopy which brings guests closer to nature and its wildlife.

Remember! Keep your eyes open for the free-ranging treetop friends swinging from trees to trees or even walking at your footsteps.

Siamang
acrobatic and agile gibbons
photo from: treetops trail

False Gavial
They are good at concealing themselves in the murky depths of their naturalistic habitat with their dark colored scales and their eyes and nose on top of the head that enables them to see before submerging
photo from: treetops trail

Tiger Trek

One of the highlights of the zoo is the tiger trek where guests will be able to view White Tigers inches away from it's habitat. 

These Tigers have rare and uncommon characteristics like blue eyes, pink noses, their creamy white fur with brown stripes, and strong staring eyes.

White Tiger

The Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia 

The zone depicts life in the Great Rift Valley which begins with a walk trough the tribal entrance, rock landscape that is reminiscent of the majestic mountains, rugged terrain and waterfalls. 

Moreover, be wowed with carved effigies of heroes at the entrance of the Konso village and be acquainted with how Ethiopian tribes lived through huts, tribal utensils, tools and storage containers and their discovery of coffee.

One of the rarest attraction in this zone is the replica of Lucy -- one of the oldest hominids ever discovered.

Nubian Ibex
Mountain Goats with a great sense of balance dwelling on the sheer rock cliffs

Hamadryas Baboon

Australian Outback

Enter the vast, dry bush lands and golden wilderness of Down Under and see hopping kangaroos and wallabies as you walk on the trail.

Agile Wallaby
Kangaroos and wallabies are unique in being one of the few large animals that can hop.
Their long tails helps them to keep balance.
photo from: australian outback

Primate Kingdom

Singapore Zoo houses 39 species of primates each has its own island so as species can have kingdoms to rule.

Be entice with their natural habitat (the tall trees, wild grasses, palms and bamboos) where these primates swing, run, and do their "monkey" business.

Patas Monkey
This monkey is probably the fastest runner of all primates

Lion-tailed Macaque
Macaques' name came from the tuft of their tails and silvery mane that resembles a lion.
Their cheek pouches that can store large amount of food in a short period of time.

Elephants of Asia

The Asian elephants, valued for their size and strength, were once integral to logging the jungle, but now because of deforestation and poaching, a large number of their population is endangered in the wild.

Free-Ranging Orang Utan

This zone in the zoo really amazed me. 
The experience of walking through the natural habitat of these Orang Utans-- Animal encounter at its best.

With the zoo's two free-ranging areas have been created for their flagship species. Moreover, to stimulate the natural rainforest environment, multi-layer platforms have been created for these arboreal friends to swing, climb, and play around.

photo from: free-ranging orang utans

Wild Africa

See the combination of the grass-grazing mammals and the predators in one habitat fashioned after the grassy plains of Africa. 

The zone in the zoo which probably I can say is the most adventurous one, simply because of the clawed and fierce mammals inches away from us. 

Nyala

White Rhinoceros
Because they are hunted because of their horns, there are only 8,500 remaining of these second largest land mammal in the wild today.

Zebra
The eye-catching stripes, more than making their herd distinct, serves as protection against predators.

Cheetah
In the zoo, a spacious area is where this fastest land animal is housed, a resemblance of their natural habitat in the wild, with low lying branches and fallen trunks. Their lines, aside from being a distinctive characteristic, also function to block out glare from the sun.

Leopard

African Lion
And yes, unfortunately the King of the jungle is not in the mood when we visited the zoo.
We got the chance to have a closer look with the big cats (including the leopard) in the indoor viewing gallery.
photo from: wild africa

Meerkat

Giraffe
This one's my favorite, it's the first time I saw a real giraffe and they're really really awesome, except for their smell.
Their loooooong neck, loooooong legs, loooooong tongue, loooooong eye lushes and I think everything's long with them.

(forgive me but I'm really not a fan of these cold-blooded species)

Reptile Garden

A collection of cold-blooded species crawling around their reptilian habitat.

Wide range of reptiles including Komodo dragons, tortoises, turtles, false gavials and wide range of snakes.

Komodo Dragon
The largest lizard

Iguana

Aldabra Giant Tortoise
Longest life span

Frozen Tundra

A cool temperature, ice cave, a large pool filled with giant ice blocks and an igloo -- resemblance of the Arctic habitat.

Inuka -- the first polar bear in the world born in the tropical region.
Bears may look cute but being the largest land carnivores, they are smart hunters.
Their keen sense of smell allows them to sniff their prey as far as 64km and also, they are great wanderers in search of food.

Igloo

Second stop: River Safari

Asia's first and only River-themed wildlife park, Singapore's River Safari!

Embark on a journey of discovery into one of the largest repositories for river dwelling animals. 

Explore the Rivers of the World, Dive into a whole new wildlife adventure in one of the world's collection of freshwater fauna and almost 5,000 largest land and aquatic animals.

Let's start the adventure! River Safari Map

Mississippi River 

The largest river system in North America, which flows through 10 states, and the world's 4th longest river. The Mississippi has been a home to a large number of wildlife species, human communities and migrating birds.

Beaver
The nature's greatest architect and the scond largest rodent is prized for their dense, water-resistant and chestnut-colored fur.
photo from: mississippi river

Nile River

"River of Life"

The lifeblood of the ancient Egyptian civilization and the world's longest river is a habitat for creatures both spectacular and savage. 

Mekong River

Yangtze River

Asia's longest river, the world's third largest and China's longest river is home to some of the world's most critically endangered wildlife. 

One of our favorite pose, haha.

Yangtze Alligator

Chinese Alligator
One of the world's rarest predominantly found in slow-moving bodies of water.
 This alligator has a fully armored body with bony plates protecting its belly and upper eyelids.

Giant Panda Forest

The largest Panda exhibit in Southeast Asia and meet Kai Kai and Jia Jia, China's gift to Singapore. 

Remember to turn off those camera flash and maintain silence upon entering the exhibit.

Red Pandas
Also known as firefox because of its rust-colored furry coat and fox-like face.

Giant Pandas
We arrived at the panda exhibit a little bit before its closing so the pandas were already nesting themselves preparing for rest.

The River Safari viewing deck

the real cute Panda sculpture

sorry but we're allowed to be cheeesy