River Safari soft opening in Singapore

SINGAPORE - Visitors from India can look forward to discovering the exotic wildlife found in iconic river habitats with the opening of River Safari, located next to the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari. The 12-ha River Safari is the newest addition to Wildlife Reserves Singapore's portfolio of award-winning parks and will showcase animals from freshwater habitats inspired by the world's iconic rivers including the Ganges, Nile, and Amazon rivers. The park will be home to 5,000 animal specimens, including one of the world's largest collections of freshwater animals. 

At the Ganges River zone, visitors can come up close to rare freshwater creatures of India's longest river. Inspired by the temples along Varanasi, this zone features the critically endangered Indian gharials -- one of the world's longest crocodiles -- and the goonch catfish, also known as the giant devil catfish.

Other unique animals featured are endangered river giants such as giant freshwater stingray and Mekong giant catfish. River Safari is the only park in Asia to feature the giant river otter, the world's largest otter that can grow up to 1.8 metres.

As the first and only river-themed wildlife park in Asia, River Safari aims to bring visitors up-close to the fascinating wildlife that live in river habitats which are disappearing faster than forest and marine environments, highlight the importance of freshwater ecosystems, and inspire positive actions for conserving them. It also seeks to play a part in global captive breeding programmes for endangered freshwater species.

Visitors can walk through River Safari's freshwater galleries and immersive exhibits, including the world's largest freshwater aquarium at the Amazon Flooded Forest and the Giant Panda Forest. The park's boat rides will not be available until later this year as they are undergoing technical adjustments.

Sourced: TravelDailyNews