River Safari

River Safari

Artist's Impression of the park
Date opened	2012[1]
Location	Singapore
Land area	12 hectares[2]
Number of animals	5000+[1]
Number of species	500+[1]
Website	Official website

The River Safari (Chinese: 河川生态园） is an upcoming river-themed zoo located in Singapore to be opened in 2012^[1] with construction set to be completed in late 2011.^[2] The attraction built over 12 hectares of land, and will be nestled between its two counterparts the Singapore Zoo and the Night Safari.^[1] It will be the first of its kind in Asia and will comprise mainly freshwater attraction combined with river boat rides as its main highlights. The safari will be built at a cost of S$180m with an expected visitor rate of 820,000 people yearly with tentative admission rates at S$28 to S$30 per person.^[3] The attraction would be the fourth zoo in Singapore, alongside the Singapore Zoo, Jurong Bird Park and Night Safari, all three are managed by the Wildlife Reserves Singapore.

Attractions

The park boasts a tropical rainforest setting^[4] along with as river theme with various animal attractions, theme park rides and other major exhibits including:

Animal Exhibits

The park will feature a total of 10 different ecosystems around the world, including the River Nile, Yangtze River, Mississippi, Amazon as well as the Tundra. It features over 5000 animals and 500 species including numerous endangered species, these include the Anacondas, Electric eels, ^[4] Mekong freshwater stingrays, Manatees, the critically endangered Mekong giant catfish,^[1] Giant Pandas,^[4] as well as a pair of Japanese Raccoon Dog who are part of an exchange program with the Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaidō, Japan.^[5]

Giant Pandas

One of the main attractions will be a pair of male and female Giant Pandas - Kai Kai (凯凯) and Jia Jia (嘉嘉)^[6] - who will be housed in a specially constructed climate-controlled enclosure which can rotate through the four seasons emulating their original environment.^[7] The zoo will also grow its own 8000 sq metre plantation of special bamboo specially for feeding the giant pandas, these pandas are on loan to Singapore from the China Wildlife Conservation Association.^[8] The pandas are a sign of the twentieth anniversary of friendly Sino-Singapore relations and the exhibit will also receive a conservation donation from CapitaLand.^[9] The names of the 2 Pandas were selected from entries of a public naming competition organized in 2010.^[10] The pandas are on a ten year loan to Singapore^[1] beginning when they arrive in Singapore in the third quarter of 2011.^[4]

Frozen Tundra

(This attraction has been removed from the River Safari and this attraction will be part of the Singapore Zoo come late 2012.)

The Frozen Tundra will be a 1,400 sq metre exhibit which will house the Polar Bears Sheba and Inuka who were previously located at the Singapore Zoo.^[1] The exhibit is three and a half times larger than their current exhibit and will also feature climate-control features simulating the Arctic so that the polar bears will no longer have to endure the tropical climate. The exhibit will also feature three viewing elevations for visitors to see the polar bears including an underwater view. It aims to educate visitors on the importance of glaciers as well as semi-frozen freshwater ecosystems which is one of the most threatened of the world's biomes.^[11] The exhibit was conceptualized after a study in 2006 determined that it was the best for the polar bears to remain in Singapore due to their familiarity with their current level of care. Other key features of the exhibit include "ice rocks: where the polar bears can lie on top of frozen rocks as well as an ice cave which are produced by a large freezer unit dedicated to produce blocks of ice for the bears. The current exhibit of the polar bears in the Singapore Zoo has since been closed with effect from August 31, 2010 and the polar bears will not be seen by the public until the Frozen Tundra exhibit is opened in 2012.^[12]

Theme Park Rides

(White water rafting,including those animals plan to be exhibited there,will currently not be included in the River Safari until further notice according to the official River Safari's website.)

The park will feature two major theme park rides, a white water rafting as well as a boat ride.^[4][13] The white water rafting attraction will feature Malayan Tigers as its main animal attraction while the Amazon slow boat ride will feature over 20 species of animals from the Amazon River.^[4]

Construction

Conceptualization of such as River Safari began in early 2007, and its construction was officially announced to the public on February 11, 2009 with an estimated completion date of late 2011.^[13] The project began with an estimated budget of S$140 million as well as an annual visitor rate of 750,000,^[13] however since the original announcement in 2009 the budget has since increased by S$40 million in 2010, due to rising construction costs, to S$180 million and the annual visitor rate has also increased to 820,000.^[4] The park will be built within the current 89 hectare compound already shared by the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari,^[13] the park will occupy a total land space of 12 hectares which is less than half of the 28 hectares Singapore Zoo and three times less than the 40 hectare Night Safari making it the smallest park in Singapore.^[3]

See also

• Singapore Zoo
• Jurong Bird Park
• Night Safari
• Underwater World, Singapore
• Marine Life Park

References

External links

• Official website