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In the Tree Tops
Singapore Zoo is as renowned for its orangutans as it is for its rainforest jungle environment and ‘open concept’ design.
I love a good zoo – and Singapore Zoo is one of the best.
I know there are ethical concerns around keeping animals in captivity, and I’ve talked about these before (see: A Tale of Two Tarongas). Singapore Zoo ticks all the positive boxes: it actively works towards wildlife protection and conservation of biodiversity, it focuses on actual and virtual education projects, it has adopted sustainable consumption practices, and it prides itself on world-class animal care and welfare.
Originally called the Singapore Zoological Gardens or Mandai Zoo, Singapore Zoo is particularly beautiful. First opened in 1973, it benefited from modern planning and a substantial original grant from the Government of Singapore. It is set into 28 hectares of lush rainforest, and features naturalistic, ‘open’ exhibits. The barriers – often featuring moats and glass – between the animals and visitors are designed to be unobtrusive. It is like being in a giant aviary: lemurs wander freely, and orangutans and gibbons swing high above the ground from tree to tree and through overhanging wines and ropes, while the visitors watch from below.
We were there to have breakfast with the orangutans. This was the second time I’d visited the zoo and had arrived early for what they call: Jungle Breakfast with Wildlife. The first time we went, several years before, the orangutans were having a month off as part of their animal welfare program, so we missed meeting them. In the intervening years, we had actually visited a colony of semi-wild orangutans in Gunung Leuser National Park, North Sumatra (see: Meet the Locals). But, I was still eager to check out the zoo again – and you have to breakfast somewhere, right?
Modern zoos try to approximate natural habitats, and to help animals simulate instinctive behaviours they would use in the wild. This is most obvious at feeding times. As much as we were able, after we (and the orangutans) had breakfasted, we followed the keeper-talk and animal-feeding times around the zoo. This made the animals more interesting and entertaining to watch. I also loved the unique glass enclosures – especially when combined with water – and the way they added an added dimension to photographic challenges.
I walked around the zoo with the dual goals of enjoying the animals in their pseudo-natural environments, and of making pictures that I thought interesting or artistic. I ended up with so many photos, that I’ve split the file in two.
Do join me for part one:
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Mother and Child in the Tree Tops
From the minute you enter the park, you can spot animals free-ranging through the tree tops.
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Orangutan in the Trees
The orangutans know it is breakfast time, and they make their way into the feeding platform.
Eye Contact
It is so easy to feel a connection with these beautiful, gentle creatures.
Orangutangs
Watching them interact with each other is lovely.
Focus on the Hand
Orangutan Eating
Those Expressions!
Young Sumatran Orangutan
It is anthropomorphising, but those long gangly arms and expressive hands give the animals an insouciant look.
Picking Seeds
They have such manual dexterity. I loved watching their concentration as they cracked their sunflower seeds.
Almost Abstract: Polar Bear Swimming
Our first stop after breakfast was at the Frozen Tundra – which I found stunningly beautiful.
Polar Bear in a Waterfall
The glass barrier allows a wonderful split view of the enclosure, …
Around the Polar Pool
… and elevated platforms allow you to look down over the icy pool.
Mickey Mouse Plant – Ochna Serrulata
Back out in the heat of the tropics, colourful plants are all around …
Yellow-Cheeked Gibbon – Nomascus Gabriellae
… and monkeys swing in the trees overhead.
Babirusa
Under the tree-top gibbons, a wildly improbable-looking male babirusa, also called a deer-pig or pig-deer, shows off his crazy tusks. Listed as threatened, they are native to nearby Indonesian islands.
Oriental Small-Clawed Otter – Amblonyx Cinerea
These were my favourites! The smallest member of the otter family, the Asian small-clawed otter is a feisty little thing with sharp teeth and partially webbed feet. I spent ages watching their antics.
Oriental Small-Clawed Otters – Amblonyx Cinerea
Native to South and Southeast Asia, they live in extended family groups.
Otter Enclosure
The otter complex gives the animals plenty of varied terrain for running and swimming. I thought the glass and the water made for interesting reflections and layers.
Almost Abstract: Water and Glass
The otters are almost invisible as they whizz around their waters.
(ISO800 21mm f/2.8 1/30sec)
Feeding Time
In the wild, Asian small-clawed otters live in mangrove swamps and wetlands, and feed on on molluscs, crabs and other small aquatic animals.
Pole Dance
To keep their minds engaged, the zoo animals have to prise their food out of a bamboo pipe.
Whiskers
They seem to be helping each other as they extract their breakfast from the tube.
One and Half Turtles
All around the zoo, I found myself fascinated by the split images created by water and glass.
Hippo Dreaming
Distorted reflections put people in with the animals they have come to see.
Feeding the Black Howler Monkeys
Monkeys are always a joy to watch – and they were clearly eager for their fruit.
Black Howler Monkey
I couldn’t resist a few portraits! Howler monkeys have been called the loudest animals on earth. The males are only ever quiet when sleeping, or like this one, distracted by food.
Bliss!
A female black howler monkey enjoys her watermelon.
Patas Monkey – Erythrocebus Patas
Douc Langur
The wonderfully colourful grey-shanked douc langur is critically endangered in its native Vietnam.
Keeper Anne
The animal talks were engaging and informative.
Javan Langur
Javan Langur
It was Chinese New Year when we visited, and it was the Year of the Monkey – so it seems only apt that I end this set here, with some of the gentle and intelligent faces in the Primate Kingdom exhibit.
How lucky it is for us that these animals have such a beautiful space, where they are protected against the incursions of the modern world against their wild habitats, and still accessible to us.
Until next time,
Happy Travelling!
Photos: 15February2016
[…] I have visited the zoo twice; the first time was back in the days of film, and when I was not yet used to the tropics. Aside from the fact that I was introduced to a python instead of an orangutan at the Jungle Breakfast with Wildlife, I don’t remember much about it. For my second visit, years later, I made sure the orangutans would be in attendance before I booked our breakfast tickets (see: Hands, Teeth, and Almost Abstract). […]