A visit to any of the WRS Parks is a memorable experience – every time – and it has just become even more special ! Children, adults – all animal and nature lovers – should be delighted to learn that in 2018 more than 700 animals across 131 species were born at the four parks (Jurong Bird Park, Night Safari, River Safari and Singapore Zoo) under Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS).

 

Need further reason for pride in Singapore’s conservation efforts ? Among the newborns were 35 species listed as threatened under the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.

 

12 chicks of the endangered Santa Cruz ground-dove were born since late December @ the Jurong Bird Park – a significant step in establishing an assurance population of this species – a colony of a species bred under human care which ensures that the species does not go completely extinct even if it were to die out in the wild. How amazing is that !

The first ground-dove chick was hatched at Jurong Bird Park on December 31st. Photo: Wildlife Reserves Singapore / Straits Times.

 

Other babies born included a chimpanzee, a Celebes crested macaque (a critically endangered species threatened by habitat loss and natives hunting for bush meat), a pair of sloth bear cub twins (@ the Night Safari, successfully hand-raised by zookeepers to maximise their chances of survival) and Malayan horned frogs (five tadpoles successfully reached froglet stage – the stage before becoming an adult frog – and two have survived and grown into juveniles).

 

Singapore Zoo’s chimpanzee baby Nini holding on to Rah, another female chimpanzee. In the enclosure with them is Nini’s mother Bianca. The one-year-old is ready to start exploring and playing with other members of the troop, but still spends most of her time clinging on to her mother. Straits Times Photo by Joseph Chua.

 

Sloth bear cub Shreya @ the Night Safari. She and her twin sister Zara were hand-raised to maximise their chances for survival. Straits Times Photo by Joseph Chua.

 

A Malayan horned froglet beside a five-cent coin. Straits Times Photo by Joseph Chua.

 

Agung, a Celebes crested macaque, being groomed by his mother. The first such macaque to be born @ the Singapore Zoo in seven years. Straits Times Photo by Joseph Chua.

 

The main goal of breeding wildlife @ the Wildlife Reserves Singapore Parks is to achieve sustainable populations of species in human care, create assurance colonies to safeguard against their extinction in the wild and return some of these zoo-born progenies to their wild habitats some day, when it is safe to do so.

 

With the added bonus of creating awareness among communities and children through our very own babies !

 

Information and pictures from the Straits Times and AsiaOne.