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Animals
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This is one of the many scenic spots in the Singapore Zoo - African landscape set against the backdrop of the Seletar reservoir with groups of animals grazing away leisurely.

Wild Africa boasts a collection of over 10 species, with many of them exhibited together, as they would occur in the wilderness of Africa. The highly endangered white rhinoceroses coexist happily with the elands, the greater kudus with the bonteboks, the white-tailed gnus with the springbok, nyalas and gemsboks, etc. Carnivores including the cheetahs, lions and leopards are also located within close proximity.

Polar Bear

The opening of the Polar Bear Underwater Viewing Exhibit in 1988 marked the beginning of a new concept in displaying aquatic animals. It is a great thrill for guests to be able to observe the seldom-seen underwater behaviour of the bears and to `rub noses' with them.

Polar bears are endangered creatures of the Arctic. They have a thick coat of hollow hairs and a thick layer of body fat to insulate themselves against the cold. So, how does a tropical zoo like ours keep our polar bears and bred a male cub in 1990, the first such birth in the tropics?

Polar Bear The answers lie in having a large, 3.5-metre deep pool to allow the polar bears to cool off, an air-conditioned den and a separate cubbing den for rearing cubs.

Our success with the polar bears can also be attributed to the provision of behavioural enrichment. Live fish are released so that the polar bears can go `fishing' as they would in the wild. Pieces of fruit and meat frozen in ice blocks are thrown in for the bears to toss and discover the goodies as the ice melts away, not forgetting toys such as traffic cones for the bears' amusement as well.

As a physiological reaction to the warm climate, our polar bears have a thinner coat and they moult more often than their counterparts in cold countries.

 

 

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