What’s Happening at Wildlife Reserves Singapore this May and June

With June holidays creeping up on us, there’s a slew of things to do at each of the four Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) Parks. And we don’t mean taking the usual tour of stalking tigers, bamboo-chewing pandas and waddling penguins.

Here’s why you should visit the WRS Parks with your little ones in the coming days.

1. Circle of Life Festival

Location: Singapore Zoo, 80 Mandai Lake Road Singapore 729826
Date: 1 Jun – 12 Aug 2019
Hour: 10.00 am – 10.30 pm
Admission: $37/adult | $25/child

Guess who came to visit at Singapore Zoo? The real-life counterparts of the animals in Disney’s The Lion King! There’s Mufasa and Simba, the lions, the warthog and meerkat duo, Pumbaa and Timon, as well as the cackling spotted hyenas.

Around the zoo are three photo spots inspired by the movie (including the pride scene) where you can take pictures, re-enacting your own versions of the scene.

There’s plenty to do aside from that. You can take part in the Zoolympix to complete a series of African-themed activities, try your hand at making a spin drum or an animal face mask, and immerse yourself in an interactive storytelling session.

If you join in the Circle of Life Tour, you’ll get the rare opportunity to feed a Cheetah, Rhino and Meerkats, and even witness the might of the king of the jungle with the lion tug challenge.

Don’t think that the festival ends at Singapore Zoo, it continues on to Night Safari where things get even more exciting. How could it not with Night Safari’s Thumbuakar performers twirling fire to the beat of the drums?

Get yourself in the spirit with Glow-in-the-Dark Face Painting, whether you want it to be the spots of a hyena or the stripes of a tiger.  

You’ll also get to witness the live feeding session of Scar and his clan of hyenas (i.e. lions and spotted hyenas).

2. Play at River Safari

Location: River Safari, 80 Mandai Lake Road Singapore 729826
Date: 1 Jun – 30 Jun 2019
Hour: 10 am – 7 pm (last entry: 6.30 pm)
Admission: $34/adult | $23/child

Pop into River Safari with your little ones for playtime. You’ll get to see Archerfish shoot down its prey, Manatees enjoying belly scrubs and Squirrel Monkeys solve puzzle feeders to unlock treats. Befriend Hedgehog, Snake and Bearded Dragon.

Put your skilful hands to work at the Discovery Booth where you’ll learn to build enrichment devices with recycled materials. You can either bring home your masterpiece for your pets to play with or donate it to the animals at River Safari.

At the Kids’ Play Zone, little ones will be able to pit their skills in balancing, accuracy and sense of smell against the Red Panda, Archerfish and Giant Panda with activities such as ‘Agile Adventurers’, ‘Super Snipers’ and ‘Who Nose Best?’. 

3. Night Safari Turns 25 Years

Location: Night Safari, 80 Mandai Lake Road Singapore 729826
Date: 25 May – 31 Jun 2019
Hour: 8.15 pm – 12.00 am (11.15 pm)
Admission: $25/adult or child (Normal: $49/adult | $33/child)

Can you believe that it has been 25 years since the world’s first nocturnal wildlife park, Night Safari was opened?

In celebration of Night Safari’s 25^th birthday, admission charges has been reduced to $25 for all visitors! Grab this opportunity to get up and close with Pangolins and Wallabies, and listen to interesting stories about them from their keepers.

Stalk alongside the Malayan Tiger, keep an eye out for the fishes together with the Fishing Cat, and stroll through the trees as Malayan Flying Foxes flap past you, but don’t just go home after that.

Be sure to catch a new rendition of the Creatures of the Night Show, starring otters, binturongs, raccoons, wolves, many others!

4. The Singing Forest at Jurong Bird Park

Location: Jurong Bird Park,
Date: 1 Jun – 30 Jun 2019
Hour: 8.30 am – 6.00 pm (last entry: 5.30 pm)
Admission: $30/adult | $20/child

Fill your day with the cheery sounds of birds chirping over at Jurong Bird Park.

Owners of beautiful melodies, songbirds have been highly sought after by illegal trade, bringing them to the brim of extinction. You can learn more about some of the critically-endangered species such as the Bali Myna, Black-winged Starling, Greater Freen Leafbird, Blue-crowned Laughing-thrush, and Straw-headed Bulbul at Jurong Bird Park.

The Silent Forest Experience Booth is where you can experience the melodies of the songbirds in their habitat through an immersive audio-visual presentation. It shows us the reality of a world without songbirds.

Aside from guided tour and forest trail, you can learn to craft your very own musical instrument using everyday materials and immerse yourself in interactive storytelling and sing-a-long session.

You also can test how sense of hearing is with the Do You Hear What I Hear? Challenge. How it works is, first you have to listen to the enchanting calls of various songbirds, then you try to match the sound to the right species at the sound station.  

Photo credits Wildlife Reserves Singapore