TORI TAN TAKES US BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE NIGHT SAFARI TO SEE A LOVESICK LEOPARD, A SAMBAR DEER SEEKING REVENGE AND A FAMOUS BULL ELEPHANT NAMED CHAWANG
Consider yourself a party animal and in need of a different type of night-life?
For a totally unique night experience, get up close and personal with nearly 1,000 different animals at the Singapore Night Safari.
As the sun sets behind the trees deep in the island’s forested interior, an African-style safari lodge greets visitors to this very unique one-of-a-kind attraction. A rustic trail lit by fl aming torches opens up to a large enclosed “campsite” which comprises eating outlets, souvenir shops and private gardens, with a constant veil of “rainwater” showering down. Groups of tourists shuffl e past like migrating herds of buffalo. A few stragglers here and there pause to take photographs, and a frantic tour guide rounds them up as if predators are lurking behind the Ben and Jerry’s outlet.
The Night Safari in Singapore welcomes up to 2,500 visitors every week night; 3,000 on weekends; and as many as 5,000 in one night during holidays like Chinese New Year.
As the last straggling tourist gallops off to join the main herd, enjoy dinner under the darkening sky with ethnic tribal dances and blow-pipe demonstrations, courtesy of Borneo’s Thumbuakar tribe.
As the drums pound, the fl ame-throwers’ heat fans your face and you look forward to continents full of wild animals to meet; you’ll be glad you didn’t just go to a boring nightclub.
TREK AND TRAM BY NIGHT
The idea for a dedicated night wildlife park arose following the success of night tours conducted by the Singapore Zoo in the late 1980s.
Wildlife Reserves Singapore – the parent company of the Night Safari – had originally planned to build an elephant safari park. However, nearly 200 elephants would be required, and an adult elephant can consume 140 to 270kg of food a day, 60 per cent of which leaves the elephant’s body undigested… Do the math and you’ll discover why that idea was quickly scrapped.
Singapore has cool nights, low rainfall and an obligingly punctual sunset at 7.30pm every day, and considering that nearly 90 per cent of all tropical animals are nocturnal anyway, conditions for a Night Safari were ideal.
This world’s fi rst night zoo comprises eight geographical regions, each carefully maintained by an entire horticultural department.
If you’re taking the ever-popular tram ride, the journey begins in the mountain gorges, rocky outcrops and grassy meadows of the Himalayan foothills. The transition to trickling streams and tall grass in the Nepalese river valley, then to the grassy plains stretching across the African habitat is seamless.
“SCREW GOAT”
Boulders in the habitats are created using glass-fi ber-reinforced concrete, which are hollow if you knock on them. But the fi rst animal on the route, the Markhors (also called “screw goat” because of their corkscrew horns, to the amusement of American tourists) don’t seem to notice.
What matters to them is the texture of the boulders because the feet of hoofed animals need a rough surface for traction and to fi le down their hooves.
These natural-looking habitats are the animal’s permanent homes, but because the Night Safari is only open from 7.30pm until midnight, they don’t have to endure the constant public scrutiny that riles other handsome celebrities.
After the last visitor has gone home, the animals are placed in dens, affording keepers and the team of fi ve vets the opportunity to spot overgrown hooves or any other illnesses and conditions that the animals may develop.
Ironically, for nocturnal animals, it is during the day that they are released into their enclosures to graze and prowl at leisure.
“HI, DEAR”
Free-roaming Sambar deer are the next highlight of the Nepalese valley. Usually friendly, the deer were recently startled by a tourist who leapt from the tram and tried, for mysterious reasons of his own, to grab a nearby Sambar deer.
Tourists are strictly forbidden from exiting the tram, for their own good. A Sambar stag once tried to attack a passing tram to protect nearby females and their young. Maybe it recognized the over-keen tourist.
EMPOWERED
The Indian sub-continent is home to the striped hyena – the only species of hyena in Asia, the critically endangered Gir Lion, the Sloth Bear, and the Barasingha – also known as the Indian swamp deer. Despite the tall trees and jungle looming up in all directions, all the animals appear to be bathed in the light of a full moon. The source is actually over 2,000 specially designed incandescent lights, powered by over 50km of steel cables that run unseen beneath the forest fl oor.
The Night Safari even has its own sewage treatment plant, due to its proximity to a natural reservoir. The prospect of a few tons of animal waste drifting into the reservoir prompted the digging of a massive concrete canal that completely surrounds the park.
WALKING TRAILS
It is possible to get on and off the tram at different stops. At East Lodge station, grab a hotdog, admire the beautiful uncontaminated Upper Seletar Reservoir, then take your pick and explore one of the three walking trails: the Fishing Cat trail, Leopard trail, or the Forest Giants Trail.
The leopards are usually oblivious to visitors and often stretch against the viewing window, back pressed against the thick glass, much to the delight of excited kids, and the relief of their parents who, in normal “safaris”, might expect to have to point out vague movements to repeated cries of “I can’t see it!”.
They should thank the clever zookeepers at the Night Safari who have a whole bag of tricks up their sleeves to keep both the animals and visitors from getting bored. This could involve smearing zebra dung all over the lion enclosure while they’re sleeping, rearranging the “furniture” in the enclosures, like logs and fallen tree trunks, or spraying perfumes at strategic locations – such as in front of viewing windows on the walking trails.
LOVESICK LEOPARD
Their efforts to keep the animals happy and stimulated are paying off. The Night Safari has been extremely successful with match-making, and new births are regularly celebrated.
Unfortunately, the young and inexperienced male clouded leopard is getting nowhere with the older “been there, done that” female, who casts disparaging looks at him from her position high in the trees while he forages in the bushes below.
What makes it worse for young Romeo is that he’s being watched 24 hours a day by CCTV cameras. How can any self-respecting male expect to perform with zookeepers and curators studying all his “moves”, he’s asking himself wistfully as he glances up at the female.
The cameras are actually installed for his own safety. The female may decide one day that she’s had enough of his clumsy advances and try to attack him, and zookeepers will then be able to rush to his aid. It’s perhaps a good thing the male leopard doesn’t know this, or he would really start to feel the pressure.
HIGH BITES
The nearby giraffes and zebra of equatorial Africa are separated from the visitors by a deep pond, which proved irresistible to a giraffe one night. He sauntered into the pool and went for a late-night “skinny” dip, standing knee-deep, fl icking pond scum onto nearby tourists with each twitch of his tail.
When the giraffes are dry, you can lean forward with confi dence to get a closer look at them munching their daily ration of leaves. The drooping clumps of vegetation are hoisted up on a pole by a pulley system. Growing trees wouldn’t be feasible because the giraffes would simply decimate the trees in one sitting.
FOOD SUPPLY
The food for the animals comes from various suppliers. Perishables are delivered fresh every day.
A farm in Singapore grows fruit trees, and leaves are sourced by the horticultural department. Hay is imported from Australia and kept in air-conditioned containers at a central kitchen.
Such imported luxuries don’t come cheap – the Night Safari and Zoo spend about SG$1.5 (PHP48.36) million each year just on feeding the animals alone.
Some of the more unusual sources of meat include donations of “retired” horse meat from the Singapore Turf Club.
The Night Safari also practises “cropping” of species when they become over-populated. The older, weaker Axis deer are picked off and redistributed to neighbors like the golden jackal, who have no doubt been smacking their lips with each gust of wind that carries the scent of these brown-spotted snacks with legs.
Carnivores such as the nearby hyenas are surrounded by a deep trench, but as they eyeball you in the tram, they look quite capable of attempting the high-jump or pole-vault required to reach the visitors’ pathways.
In fact, one male hyena did attempt a great escape. He didn’t succeed, however, and landed ignominiously at the bottom of the trench (which he found comfortably cushioned with leaves and bushes), where he was later rescued by his keepers.
The enclosures may look completely open and natural, but this is just a result of clever landscaping. Not only are there deep trenches surrounding them, but there are “hot” wires to discourage the animals from hatching any plans. The enclosures are also constructed with the animal’s entire resume of jumping, burrowing and leaping capabilities in mind.
A HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMP
The celebrity icon is Chawang, an Asian bull elephant among the few bull elephants in captivity. He is the largest and heaviest animal at the Night Safari, weighing 3,480kg.
Chawang is famous in Singapore for mauling his keeper back in 2001 while he was in musth, the Hindi word for madness, common in bull elephants, characterized by over-excited aggressive behavior and lasting about three to six months. Chawang underwent reconditioning following the attack and ever since, he has been kept in protected contact, which means that there is no direct contact with his keeper.
On a recent occasion of musth, Chawang charged from one side of his enclosure to the other as a tram (which instantly revved into top gear) raced past. He is well known for throwing mud, branches (and anything else he can get his trunk on) at white-faced passengers cowering in the open trams. His aim has proved to be surprisingly good.
At the moment, however, Chawang is brooding over his girlfriend who stands suggestively in the opposite enclosure.
The keepers at the Night Safari suspect she’s pregnant. This will be Chawang’s third conquest – he is quite the ladies’ man. (If only he could give some tips to the frustrated clouded leopard nearby…)
At the Night Safari, there are scandals, dangers, thrills and unwanted advances – it’s got everything you’d expect in a nightclub… and more!
Getting There
Taxis in the city are plentiful. A trip from the center of town could cost up to SG$25 (PHP814.70).
Buses are cheaper, but the journey takes over an hour. Bus 171 brings you from the city to the Night Safari’s doorstep, and a quick change to Bus 927 takes you the remaining distance.
The Night Safari’s own shuttle bus service stops at a selection of big hotels in the city between 6.30 and 8.10pm each night; and for the return journey, there are four time slots available at 8.30, 10 and 10.45pm daily and 11.45pm on Fridays, Saturdays and the eve of public holidays. It’s cheaper than a taxi at only SG$4 (PHP130.20) per person for a one-way trip, but seats fill up quickly, so allow plenty of time.
WILD FOR THE CATS
One of only eight female staff in the zoology department, Cynthia C hiang is a junior zookeeper who is assigned to the Fishing Cat Trail. She works with mouse deer, otters and the fi shing cat, Cynthia’s favorite. “Each cat has its own distinct personality!” she says.
Every day at the zoo brings a diff erent experience. Once, while cleaning the otter enclosure, she came face to face with a blackspitting cobra. “I dropped everything in my hands and ran out so fast!” Cynthia exclaims.
With the help of a colleague, Cynthia returned to the enclosure to retrieve the snake using a pair of snake thongs and then released the unwanted visitor into a far corner of the Night Safari.
Zookeepers like Cynthia are in charge of nearly every aspect of caring for the animals. “In the morning, we clean the enclosures, change the water, inspect the animals to make sure that they are fi ne, and check the enclosur es to see if repairs are needed. We also prepare the food and are involved in behavior enrichment for the animals.”
Behavior enrichment is a big part of keeping the animals happy and stimulated. The keepers work closely with the Enrichment Offi cer at the Night Safari, Diana Marlena Bte Mohd Idris, to implement and document enrichment programs.
New methods are thought up to keep the animals stimulated, like when Cynthia placed a non-breakable child’s mirror against a wall in the fishing cat’s enclosure, instantly arousing the cat’s curiosity. As each cat crept up to investigate, Cynthia was amused to note the reactions of the more aggressive cats. “The fi ercer the cat, the more frightened he was of his own refl ection!” she says.
Like many keepers at the zoo, Cynthia is passionate about conservation and hopes that one day, she can play a part in re-introducing animals like the Asian small-clawed otter, an indigenous species of Singapore, back into the wild.
What she likes best about her job, says Cynthia, is being able to work outdoors.
“There are days when the sun is shining brightly, there’s a breeze blowing, and the only sound I can hear is the birds singing. It’s so peaceful.”
For anyone who is bound to a desk all day, it sounds just like the perfect job.
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