Twilight tails

What goes on after hours at the Singapore Zoo? The Straits Times goes behind the scenes to find out.

By DESMOND FOO | Published: OCT 18, 2023

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Dusk falls.

Like a scene straight out of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, animals gather around senior keeper Noor Najilah Anifah.

She gives the animals in the Fragile Forest biodome one final feed before she ends her day at the Singapore Zoo.

Mimicking a tropical rainforest habitat, the 20,000 cubic m biodome is home to more than 40 animal species, including Malayan flying foxes, eclectus parrots and two-toed sloths.

All the mousedeer usually meander around the keeper access gate where they receive a light supper, making it easier for the closing keeper to do a headcount.

Evening feeds are a little more intimate – free from the gaze of curious onlookers.

A ring-tailed lemur feeds on some fruit given by senior keeper Noor Najilah Anifah before she closes the biodome at 6pm.

With a rodent-like face and a rabbit-size body, the delicate and shy mousedeer feeds throughout the day on shoots, leaves, shrubs and vegetables.

While the Night Safari next door comes alive when it opens its doors at 7.15pm, the Singapore Zoo drifts into sleep mode after it closes at 6pm daily.

A view of the 165m-long bridge over Upper Seletar Reservoir at night, as seen from River Wonders. The river-themed zoo and aquarium, formerly known as River Safari, is part of the Mandai Wildlife Reserve.

This is the time when the zoo’s more than 4,200 animals from over 300 species settle into the peaceful rhythm of the night.

Intan (left) and Aprila relax by the pool at the Elephants of Asia enclosure. These critically endangered Sumatran elephants are the same age, and half-sisters with the same father. Elephant habitats often have large pools of water where the elephants can bathe and cool off in a relaxing environment.

The sounds become vastly different as the ebbing daylight and bustle of visitors are replaced by a dark veil of calm and tranquillity, save for sporadic panted grunts and chattering of primates, and occasionally the powerful roar of a lion, that punctuate the night.

Gibbon Island, with its ring of flora, illustrates the zoo’s open concept where animals are exhibited without visible barriers.

The Singapore Zoo, rated as the best in Asia, celebrated its Golden Jubilee in June.

A pod of great white pelicans stand like steadfast sentries on Gibbon Island, one of the Singapore Zoo’s first exhibits.

It has welcomed more than 60 million visitors over the last 50 years, or over a million visitors annually.

Ms Natalie Chan of the Animal Behaviour and Programmes team cycles past Houbii Spot Singapore, a rope course located at Garden With A View inside the Singapore Zoo, on her way out at the end of the day.

Zoos typically close early so that the animals can rest, and staff can carry out cleaning and maintenance and prepare for the next day’s operations.

A zoo maintenance worker repaints and varnishes a fence at night with the help of a powerful lamp.

Keepers feed the animals and help them get ready for the night.

White rhinoceros rest in their habitat just before dusk. Keepers scatter pellets and leaves on top of grass on the ground to suit the animals’ grazing habits. Fruits are sometimes given as treats.

Most animals can have some activity periods at dawn and dusk, and this is true for many species at the Singapore Zoo.

A keeper does a last check on Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia after the Hamadryas baboons are confined for the night. This ensures that there are no foreign objects within the vast habitat that could potentially harm the species, which number close to 100 at the zoo.

Here, big cats, kangaroos, wallabies, frogs and snakes are known to have some periods of activity at night – although they are not nocturnal.

By day, this sheltered rest area, nestled between Pavilion by the Lake and the Australasia zone, provides respite from the sun for visitors and the opportunity to tank up with a cool drink. By night, it becomes a beacon of light for any wild animals going about their nightly activities.

The primates are the only group that sleeps for longer periods of time at night.

Many other species alternate between periods of sleep and wakefulness.

For example, the zoo’s elephants sleep an average of four to six hours daily.

Because there are many open enclosures, the zoo needs to be mindful of the animals’ safety as well.

This herd of Grevy’s zebras is one of the few groups of animals allowed to roam freely in their habitats at night. Also known as the imperial zebra, this species is the largest living wild equid – the family of mammals that includes horses and donkeys – and the most threatened of the three zebra species.

Species such as primates that can be targeted by wild nocturnal predators such as snakes and owls are taken into dens each evening and released the following day.

The popular Orangutan Island & Boardwalk, the world’s first free-range orangutan exhibit, looks eerily quiet when all the primates retire to their den, otherwise known as the back-of-house, for the night.

Species that can be dangerous – lions, tigers, bears, chimpanzees and orangutans – are also taken into their dens, to prevent them from escaping should there be unforeseen incidents, such as heavy rain that floods moats, or trees falling across moats.