Singapore’s new River Safari attraction will soft-open next week.
Wildlife Reserves Singapore announced this week that the new 12-hectare park will launch on Wednesday 3 April 2013, offering visitors the chance to view wildlife found in eight river environments around the world – the Amazon, Nile, Mississippi, Yangtze, Mekong, Congo, Murray and Ganges. The park will be home to more than 5,000 animals across 300 species, along with 150 types of plant. Major attractions include endangered river giants such as the giant salamander, giant freshwater stingray and giant Mekong catfish, plus the giant river otter, which can grow up to 1.8 metres. River Safari will be the only zoo in Asia to house the giant otter.
“We look forward to welcoming visitors to River Safari and bringing them up-close to the fascinating wildlife that lives in river habitats, which are disappearing faster than forest and marine environments. As the first and only river-themed wildlife park in Asia, River Safari aims to highlight the importance of freshwater ecosystems and inspire positive actions for conserving them. In addition, we also seek to play a part in global captive breeding programmes for endangered freshwater species,” said Claire Chiang, chairman of Wildlife Reserves Singapore.
During the soft opening phase, visitors will be able to walk through several of the River Safari’s exhibits, including the world’s largest freshwater aquarium and the recently-added pair of giant pandas, which will be housed in the Yangtze zone, along with the Yangtze alligator. The park’s boat rides however, will not be available until later this year.
The River Safari becomes the latest addition to Singapore’s portfolio of wildlife attractions. The country’s Jurong Bird Park, Night Safari and Singapore Zoo handle an estimated 3.7 million visitors per year.
