Hi everyone! I will be spending two weeks in Singapore in September and intend visiting the zoological gardens, The Night Safari and Jurong. What would you guys consider to be the best, stand out exhibits at each site which I simply must not miss?! What are the more interesting/unusual mammalian and reptile species over there?
Visiting Singapore...
- Thread starter vs0u2086
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have a look back through the Singapore threads because there's a few similar ones you can get ideas from.
At the Zoo, don't miss the Fragile Forest exhibit (walk-through aviary mixing all sorts of birds, mammals and butterflies); the free-ranging primates; the Small Mammal House is one of my favourites for the species inside but the size of the enclosures is not great. Keep an eye out for wild colugos in the zoo grounds.
At Jurong, the Waterfall Aviary is a must, and especially try to be in there at one of the scheduled feeding times because that's when all the starlings etc come out; the penguin exhibit; the hummingbird aviary (although I don't think there's any left in there now, so its more a Neotropical aviary; the Southeast Asian aviary; the bird of paradise aviaries; the hornbill/toucan aviaries; shoebill......hell, the whole place really is just one big dont-miss-it (although you can safely miss the Nocturnal House)
I haven't been to the Night Safari. If you're in Singapore for two weeks and have the time, I'd also recommend visiting the aquarium and insect place on Sentosa, and the turtle museum. Also (as usual) I recommend the Botanic Gardens, Pulau Ubin, Sungai Buloh, Bukit Timah, MacRitchie Reservoir, Bukit Brown Cemetary, etc etc for wildlife. The Raffles Museum is also interesting (I can't remember the proper name off the top of my head: its a small natural history museum at the university).
Unfortunately you're probably going to be just a fraction too early for the opening of the new River Safari and the Marine Life Park.
At the Zoo, don't miss the Fragile Forest exhibit (walk-through aviary mixing all sorts of birds, mammals and butterflies); the free-ranging primates; the Small Mammal House is one of my favourites for the species inside but the size of the enclosures is not great. Keep an eye out for wild colugos in the zoo grounds.
At Jurong, the Waterfall Aviary is a must, and especially try to be in there at one of the scheduled feeding times because that's when all the starlings etc come out; the penguin exhibit; the hummingbird aviary (although I don't think there's any left in there now, so its more a Neotropical aviary; the Southeast Asian aviary; the bird of paradise aviaries; the hornbill/toucan aviaries; shoebill......hell, the whole place really is just one big dont-miss-it (although you can safely miss the Nocturnal House)
I haven't been to the Night Safari. If you're in Singapore for two weeks and have the time, I'd also recommend visiting the aquarium and insect place on Sentosa, and the turtle museum. Also (as usual) I recommend the Botanic Gardens, Pulau Ubin, Sungai Buloh, Bukit Timah, MacRitchie Reservoir, Bukit Brown Cemetary, etc etc for wildlife. The Raffles Museum is also interesting (I can't remember the proper name off the top of my head: its a small natural history museum at the university).
Unfortunately you're probably going to be just a fraction too early for the opening of the new River Safari and the Marine Life Park.
Well, an absolute must at Singapore Zoo are the proboscis monkeys (two exhibits) and the douc Langurs. And I recommend you also to see the elephant show (because of their realistic logging-work demonstration).
For Jurong Bird - as Chlidonias already mentioned - whatch for the shoebill storks, the birds of paradise species, the (as far as I know) richest collection of hornbills in the world. There are also many seldom seen kingfisher, dove and parrot species.
Night Safari is awesome. I promise you, you will be excited. With the perfect Illumination and with very good hidden barriers and moats, you will have the imagination to be in the wild. Use the safari train. Most interesting species: hog badger, pangolin, flying squirrels, cape giraffe and gharial.
By the way: Zoo and Night Safari could be done at the same day, because they are adjacted to each other (so you can safe once the cost for transfer from the city).
Finally, a good advice for all parks: Take an umbrella or - better - raincoat with you as well as moskito repellant, sunscreen and a lot of water. Believe me, you will need the stuff.
For Jurong Bird - as Chlidonias already mentioned - whatch for the shoebill storks, the birds of paradise species, the (as far as I know) richest collection of hornbills in the world. There are also many seldom seen kingfisher, dove and parrot species.
Night Safari is awesome. I promise you, you will be excited. With the perfect Illumination and with very good hidden barriers and moats, you will have the imagination to be in the wild. Use the safari train. Most interesting species: hog badger, pangolin, flying squirrels, cape giraffe and gharial.
By the way: Zoo and Night Safari could be done at the same day, because they are adjacted to each other (so you can safe once the cost for transfer from the city).
Finally, a good advice for all parks: Take an umbrella or - better - raincoat with you as well as moskito repellant, sunscreen and a lot of water. Believe me, you will need the stuff.
Adding on to the previous posts, try to visit these attractions, especially Night Safari, on weekdays. Avoid Fridays and Saturdays for Night Safari as the crowds can be maddening.
For the Zoo, the orang utans are extremely popular and you can watch them climb in the trees above you. Fragile Forest as Chlidonias pointed out is a walk-thru experience where you can get really close to lemurs, sloths, flying foxes, mousedeer, a variety of birds and butterflies. There's also a decent display of SE Asian frogs and toads there.
For Jurong, don't miss the 4 big walk-thru aviaries (for Lories, African, S.American and Asian birds). The free-flight bird shows are worth watching too.
Night Safari itself is a pretty compact experience combining a 40-minute tram ride and 4 walking trails. The animals seen on the tram don't overlap with the trails so do both. The 2 walk-thrus for bats and giant flying squirrels are must dos. Naracoorte Cave is very thematic and great if you like creepy crawlies. A new Australasian Trail might be open by September, not sure what will be on display though.
I'd recommend doing the Gardens by the Bay, a massive new botanic garden opening in June in the heart of the city. Highlights are the 2 cooled conservatories. The larger of the 2 (at 1.2 hectares) replicates dry climates and has a grove of baobabs and 1,000-year old olive trees. The other slightly smaller conservatory replicates wet, mountainous cloud forests. Welcome to Gardens by the Bay
For the Zoo, the orang utans are extremely popular and you can watch them climb in the trees above you. Fragile Forest as Chlidonias pointed out is a walk-thru experience where you can get really close to lemurs, sloths, flying foxes, mousedeer, a variety of birds and butterflies. There's also a decent display of SE Asian frogs and toads there.
For Jurong, don't miss the 4 big walk-thru aviaries (for Lories, African, S.American and Asian birds). The free-flight bird shows are worth watching too.
Night Safari itself is a pretty compact experience combining a 40-minute tram ride and 4 walking trails. The animals seen on the tram don't overlap with the trails so do both. The 2 walk-thrus for bats and giant flying squirrels are must dos. Naracoorte Cave is very thematic and great if you like creepy crawlies. A new Australasian Trail might be open by September, not sure what will be on display though.
I'd recommend doing the Gardens by the Bay, a massive new botanic garden opening in June in the heart of the city. Highlights are the 2 cooled conservatories. The larger of the 2 (at 1.2 hectares) replicates dry climates and has a grove of baobabs and 1,000-year old olive trees. The other slightly smaller conservatory replicates wet, mountainous cloud forests. Welcome to Gardens by the Bay
I may have to have a look at these gardens myself next time I'm over there!