Singapore's Night Safari Opens New Pangolin (Anteater) Exhibit

By Isabel Cheng 

Singapore - Night Safari has opened the first pangolin exhibit in the world; now home to two scaly anteater. The new exhibit boasts an estimated area of 17sqm plus two separate viewing galleries with a total area of 11 sqm and an 8.5 sqm gallery for interpretive. The new exhibit with a generous space for viewing allows ample room for visitors to view the nocturnal species as they go about their nightly routine. “As part of our conservation efforts, Wildlife Reserves Singapore will be spearheading our research work on pangolins here, as very little is known about them worldwide. We feel that it is important to protect our native animal,” said Ms Fanny Lai, Group CEO Wildlife Reserves Singapore.

The exhibit which took two months to complete is also equipped with informative displays and enrichment burrow for the pangolins which will allow them to forage for food similar to how they would in the wild. “Asian pangolins are found mostly in tropical forests of Asia including Singapore. In the wild, pangolins are becoming rare and because of that we hope to create awareness for this species,” said Mr Kumar Pillai, Assistant Director, Zoology, Night Safari.

Last year Wildlife Reserves Singapore and Traffic Southeast Asia collaborated and organized a pangolin conservation workshop to discuss the threat facing pangolin populations in Asia. In the wild, pangolins are poached for their meat and some Chinese also believe that pangolin scales have medicinal properties. Deforestation has also led to a large decrease in their numbers. To protect the vulnerable species, parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) called for a complete ban on international trade of pangolins in 2000. Having no teeth and an inability to chew, pangolins feed mostly on ants and termites using their long tongue to catch them. They are solitary, nocturnal creatures and are known to be good climbers. Learn more about the pangolins; its diet, habits and characteristics through the interpretive displayed along the „Fishing Cat Trail

ABOUT NIGHT SAFARI Night Safari, the worlds first wildlife park for nocturnal animals is a seven-time winner of the Best Leisure Attraction Experience, awarded by Singapore Tourism Board. It aims to preserve biodiversity and to undertake public education, research and collaboration as well as maintain and update the exhibits in the most humane, naturalistic and yet efficient manner. This internationally acclaimed leisure attraction embodies innovation and creativity in products and services, and service quality, thus attracting more than 1.1 million visitors yearly. The attraction offers eight geographical zones, which can be explored either on foot via three walking trails, or by tram. Over 1,000 animals from 120 species (of which almost 30% are threatened species) inhabit the 40-hectare park. Night Safari is part of Wildlife Reserves Singapore. The Park is a designated wildlife rescue centre by the governing authority