To mark World Animal Day 2014, Wildlife Reserves Singapore announced the arrival of some of the world’s rarest babies.
Between January and August 2014, over 400 animal babies were born or hatched in Jurong Bird Park, Night Safari, River Safari and Singapore Zoo. Nearly one in four births belong to animals listed as threatened in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species and these include the Bali mynah, Javan langur, proboscis monkey and giant anteater.
The birth of a critically endangered Sunda pangolin in Night Safari is one of the most iconic births for WRS as the species is native to Singapore and is the logo for the Wildlife Reserves Singapore Conservation Fund. This is the third successful birth of a Sunda pangolin in WRS since 2011.
Another exciting highlight comes from the giant river otters at River Safari which displays the rare species for the first time in Asia. Although their first pup in 2013 did not survive, the giant otters are now parents of two new pups.
Over at Jurong Bird Park, a Goliath palm cockatoo is successfully bred for the first time. Goliath palm cockatoos have one of the lowest hand-rearing success rates among the parrot species due to their specialised diet. The park also successfully bred eight critically endangered Bali mynahs. Conservation efforts for the species intensified in 2010 – the year a partnership with Indonesia’s Begawan Foundation began. Bred to increase the off-site numbers of Bali mynahs in the wild, all progenies will eventually be sent back to Bali.
Singapore Zoo welcomed the births of two critically endangered species: the cotton-top tamarin and southern river terrapin. Singapore Zoo also saw the birth of an endangered proboscis monkey in May and the park continues to house the largest collection of proboscis monkeys in the world, outside of Indonesia.
More information can be found via this website.
