River Wonders River Safari details revealed

Pico-Sanderson, a Singapore-Australia joint venture, is doing the theming works for River Safari. Their most recent project was Universal Studios Singapore and they did a good job, so I have high expectations for River Safari.

The park's boat ride system will be supplied by amusement-ride manufacturer Intamin.

Ride designers set sights in Asia - Channel NewsAsia
 
that's brilliant! I've never seen a cock-of-the-rock before. I'm very impatient now....
 
with the water rapids dropped, does it mean that the malayan tigers will not be in river safari? its been a long time since i saw an orange tiger in the day time, night safari opening hours are too short to be able to spend enough time looking at them
 
@Dennis: my understanding is that the rapids ride is deferred to the next phase of development, but I'm not sure if the tigers will still be featured. Below is the test site for the rapids attraction:

River Safari

The white tigers at the zoo are also getting old, and they could be replaced by orange tigers once they die.

In other River Safari news, it was reported in the local Chinese press that the park received several Sturgeons from Ocean Park Hong Kong earlier this year. No species was mentioned, but I believe Ocean Park only stocks Chinese Sturgeon. The best part? The fish were supposedly obtained in exchange for Capybaras!
 
With less than a year to the opening of River Safari in October 2012, the new animals have been steadily arriving. Here's a species list for the park that I've tried compiling based on what I know. It's definitely incomplete and may not be fully accurate. Most of the supposed 500 species to be displayed are small freshwater fish.

Mississippi River zone:
American Beaver
Alligator Snapping Turtle*
Alligator Gar*
Spotted Gar*
American Paddlefish
Bowfin*

Congo River zone:
African Dwarf Crocodile
Giraffe Catfish*
Mbu Puffer*
Congo Tetra

Nile River zone:
African Arrowana
African Tigerfish
Cichlids

Ganges River zone:
Indian Gharial*
Narrow-headed Soft-shelled Turtle
Red-crowned Roofed Turtle*
Mahseer
Goonch Catfish

Murray River zone:
Saw-shelled Snapping Turtle*
Long-necked Turtle*
Australian Lungfish
Rainbow Fish

Mekong River zone:
Crab-eating Macaque*
Elongated Tortoise*
River Terrapin (B.baska/affinis)*
Asian Soft-shelled Turtle*
Giant Snakehead*
Giant Gourami*
Mekong Giant Catfish*
Giant Freshwater Stingray*

Yangtze River zone:
Giant Panda
Red Panda
Big-headed Turtle*
Striped-necked Turtle*
Giant Salamander
Sturgeon*

Amazon Sunken Forest exhibit:
Caribbean Manatee*
Arapaima*
Red-tailed Catfish*
Pacu*

Amazon River zone (including the boat ride exhibits):
Brazilian Tapir*
Guanaco*
Capybara*
Giant Anteater*
Tamandua*
Brown-nosed Coati*
Giant Otter
Jaguar*
Ocelot*
Jaguarundi
Maned Wolf*
Venezuelan Red Howler*
Black Bearded Saki*
White-faced Saki*
Common Squirrel Monkey*
Golden-headed Lion Tamarin*
White-lipped Tamarin*
Emperor Tamarin*
Silvery Marmoset*
Black-eared Marmoset*
Pygmy Marmoset*
Caribbean Flamingo*
Scarlet Ibis*
Scarlet Macaw*
Toco Toucan*
Andean Cock-of-the-Rock*
Dwarf Caiman*
Red-footed Tortoise*
Yellow-footed Tortoise*
Green Anaconda*
Silver Arrowana*
Leopard Catfish*
Red-bellied Piranha
Electric Eel
Freshwater Stingray*

*Denotes animals that are already in Singapore.
 
condor said:
Anyone know where they are from in Thailand? Wild captured, pond raised, captive bred or something else?
Click to expand...

Seems like the giant stingrays were wild caught as the article below states that the species has never been bred in captivity before. And it also looks like 2 of the 5 specimens acquired by River Safari have either died or been returned to Thailand.

Its good to hear that they're funding an in situ project in Thailand though:

WILDLIFE RESERVES SINGAPORE AND CHULALONGKORN UNIVERSITY JOIN HANDS ON GIANT FRESHWATER STINGRAY INITIATIVE Wildlife Press
 
the list of species is tantalising Zooish; I am waiting impatiently for October. There's quite a few animals on there I've never seen before.

Quick question: with the giant pandas scheduled to arrive in March (in this article Singapore Zoo's GM quits after 18 years of service) but the River Safari not due till October, will the pandas actually be on exhibit before the River Safari is ready, or will they be kept off-display to everyone for seven-odd months? Seems a bit harsh for Singaporeans if that is the case.

Another question, if you know: any idea on how far along the construction of the new polar area is? (Wolverines and raccoon dogs are beckoning me!)
 
@Chlidonias: You can imagine my impatience since its so near yet so far for me! Personally I really really want to see the manatee/arapaima flooded forest tank. If its as good as it looks in the plan (think Dallas World Aquarium's exhibit but several times bigger), it will be amazing.

A quick update that the paddlefish have arrived, 30 of them in all, but smallish specimens. Bought from a breeder in Malaysia that farms them as food fish.

On the pandas, discussions by the management to have a "panda preview" before the whole attraction opens have been ongoing, but they're concerned about the loss of the wow-factor come October. Although official statement so far is that the pandas can only be viewed in October, I'm betting there will be a preview in June since the public will no doubt be constantly asking to see them after they arrive in March.

Tundra exhibit construction is finally picking up, but realistically it looks like it won't be completed till year's end. Officially stated opening is "2nd half of 2012". It will be zoned as part of the Zoo.
 
its worth checking out the photos of scale models of several of the River Safari's exhibits that Zooish has recently added here: River Safari Gallery

The Flooded Forest tank looks like it will be quite fantastic!
 
Hi everyone Im new.Just wondering if american alligator will be included in the river safari under the Mississppi River area?...:)
 
@Zooston: Hi, welcome to the forum. From what I know, alligators will not be part of the Mississippi zone.
 
Oh,i see,it is such a pity,may I know why they do not want to housed american alligators in the Mississppi zone?..American alligators are found in the Mississippi river right?,so why they do not want to housed it,I really want to see an american alligator up close,it really is such a pity,it would be amazing if they housed the american alligator...anyway,may I also ask what other animals are confirmed being housed in the River Safari?...:)
 
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ZoOsToN said:
anyway,may I also ask what other animals are confirmed being housed in the River Safari?
Click to expand...
Zooish has put a good list of what he knows is arriving/has arrived on post #87 on page 6 of this thread (the previous page)
 
ZoOsToN said:
Oh,i see,it is such a pity,may I know why they do not want to housed american alligators in the Mississppi zone?..American alligators are found in the Mississippi river right?,so why they do not want to housed it,I really want to see an american alligator up close,it really is such a pity,it would be amazing if they housed the american alligator...)
Click to expand...

i'm guessing it is a space issue. The area allocated for Mississippi isn't very large and is mostly taken up by 2 key exhibits for beavers and paddlefish/gar.

I don't work for Wildlife Reserves Singapore by the way, so this is purely my personal assessment.
 
Zooish said:
The area allocated for Mississippi isn't very large and is mostly taken up by 2 key exhibits for beavers and paddlefish/gar.
Click to expand...
and I know I'd personally much rather see a beaver than what basically amounts to an overgrown lizard! :D
 
well I've seen lizards as big as alligators before, but the biggest rat I've seen was only the size of a fat tom-cat....so yes! :p

(Seriously though, I've never seen either beaver species so I'm really looking forward to the opening of River Safari -- there will be quite a few new animals in there for me!)
 
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