Asia’s only river-themed wildlife park, River Safari houses over 6000 specimens from 200 species, of which 40 are threatened. River Safari is designed after freshwater habitats from some of the most recognizable rivers of the world such as the River Nile.
In 2012, Singapore welcomed to her shores 2 pandas: Jia Jia and Kai Kai.
Since then, these pandas have become icons of the local River Safari, bringing in large amounts of visitors and selling many products. The River Safari has built a special habitat for the Giant and Red pandas, called the panda forest.
Efforts
- Sponsors
The River Safari has worked closely with sponsors, such as CapitaLand, to raise money for panda conservation. The money collected offsets the costs of renting pandas and with this extra money, the River Safari
- Breeding Program
The River Safari has set up a conservation and breeding program for the pandas. However, as of now, it has not shown much result, with no panda cubs born.
One of the significant measures taken is the construction of an endocrine lab in the Panda forest. This is used to monitor hormone levels of the pandas to determine things like their stress levels and whether they are able to breed. This close eye on their health allows the pandas to receive the best care possible, especially with regards to their reproduction.
- Raise awareness
The River Safari has worked together with other agencies and the media to promote the pandas, even before the arrived in Singapore. For example, before the pandas came to Singapore, there was already a six-month long competition to decide on the names of the pandas. Thousands of entries were collected from the public. Numerous public figures were asked to form a panel of experts and vote on the best name. This all happened before the pandas even came to Singapore.
This awareness of pandas is great since this would make more people interested in the pandas and thus, garners more publicity and support for panda conservation issues.
- Host talks and conferences
The zoos in Singapore often host conferences and talks that allow the exchange of information and ideas between the international community. This would help them to remain current and up to date and to share any advancement made.
In 2014, a talk on Panda conservation was held. There, the deputy head of the animal management department of China conservation and research center for Giant Pandas (CCRCGP) shared about conservation efforts under taken by China and the evolving threats that pandas face.
- Education
Connected to the River Safari website is a specialized site for the pandas, which contains a lot of information on pandas. This allows the public to gain more understanding and exposure to pandas.
Additionally, books for children have been written, telling them more about pandas and what they are.
