How Singapore Zoo is ensuring survival of endangered animals

Straits Times 8 Sep 10;

I REFER to the letter ('Polar bears and zoo's green contradiction'; Sept 1) by Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) executive director Louis Ng, which argued that polar bears Sheba and Inuka should be moved out of Singapore.

First, both mother and son polar bears were born in captivity, with Inuka being the first polar bear to be born in the tropics at Singapore Zoo close to 20 years ago.

Both bears have neither the necessary skills nor training to be released into the wild.

Sheba is now 33 years old, which is eight years above the average lifespan of a polar bear in captivity and almost double the longevity of a polar bear in the wild (15 to 18 years).

Second, we would like to reiterate that Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) has been consulting the Animal Welfare and Ethics Committee (Awec) and adhering to its recommendations.

It was Awec's strong recommendation in 2006 - under the chairmanship of Professor Tommy Koh - that the polar bears should remain here, considering their age, familiarity with their keepers and environment, and the uncertainty of whether other facilities would be able to provide the same high level of care.

It was also at this time that WRS started the conceptualisation of the Frozen Tundra exhibit at River Safari, as an upgrade to the polar bears' habitat.

All through this process, WRS had continued to upgrade their existing habitat, with new air-conditioners, misting fans and net shades.

On Mr Ng's point about the carbon footprint of the polar bear enclosure, we would like to highlight that WRS will be using currently available green building technology to ensure that energy use and carbon emissions are kept at minimal levels.

Environmentally friendly and energy-efficient cooling towers will be used to cool the new habitat, and independent experts will be assessing the construction of River Safari when it is built.

In fact, it is worth noting that all our parks are the first zoological institutions in South-east Asia to achieve both ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certifications, which indicate compliance with the highest standards in environment, health and safety.

Established and well-run zoos play an important part in ensuring the survival of endangered animals such as the polar bears. WRS remains deeply committed to running world-class wildlife institutions and ensuring the long-term survival of earth's biodiversity.

Fanny Lai (Ms)
Group CEO
Wildlife Reserves Singapore

Sheba and Inuka thriving well in Singapore
Straits Times 8 Sep 10;

I APPRECIATE the views expressed in the letter ('Polar bears and zoo's green contradiction'; Sept 1) by Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) executive director Louis Ng.

In 2006, the Animal Welfare and Ethics Committee (Awec) undertook an extensive review of whether we should keep the polar bears, Sheba and Inuka, in Singapore. After careful consideration, the committee decided it was against the best interests of the bears to be released into the wild or moved out of Singapore Zoo.

First, the natural habitat of polar bears is extremely resource-sparse, and cubs are trained from a young age to swim and travel vast distances to hunt for prey. Having been raised in captivity, both Sheba and Inuka do not have the necessary skills or knowledge to hunt for their own food. In addition, climate change has caused the melting of the ice caps, resulting in more wild polar bears dying of starvation. Both bears will not be able to survive the introduction into such a harsh environment.

Other options were also considered, namely to relocate Inuka to a different zoological institution after the passing of Sheba. We recommended that Inuka should remain here and not be sent to a temperate country because it would cause him more stress, with the move having its own share of risks.

On the one hand, logic prevails that Arctic animals should reside in temperate climates. On the other hand, Sheba, who is 33, has lived eight years past her average lifespan, and Inuka, who was born here, will be 20 years old by end 2010. This shows that they are thriving well in this environment.

Nevertheless, Awec will continue to keep an open view. With new discoveries in veterinary science, as well as improvements in captive animal breeding and management around the world, there will be a need to assess the situation again.

Captive habitats provided by wildlife institutions have enabled polar bears to successfully reproduce and raise their young as in the case of Sheba and Inuka.

We are glad that Wildlife Reserves Singapore has decided to move the bears to their new enclosure at the River Safari, which will serve as a better living environment. We believe both of them will continue to be provided with the best care and facilities here.

Professor Leo Tan
Chairman
Animal Welfare and Ethics Committee

Conservation the catchword for zoos today
Fanny Lai for the Straits Times 8 Sep 10;

OVER the years, I have visited more than 200 zoos and aquariums. They range from the world's oldest zoo - in Vienna, Austria - to an exotic zoo built on the volcanic slopes at the source of the Amazon River in Banos, Ecuador, and a conservation-focused zoo in the Bronx, United States.

I have also seen many bad zoos that should be closed down and whose owners should be prosecuted. I once saw a tiger at a well-known zoo being kept in an old office with a wooden door and glass window. I have observed a heavily-sedated lion being used for tourist contact; the poor lion could not walk on all fours. In another zoo, I learnt of monkeys being traded as food in the zoo's backyard.

Only 10 per cent of the estimated 3,000 zoos and aquariums in the world are members of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (Waza). All Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) parks - Jurong Bird Park, Night Safari and Singapore Zoo - are Waza members. They were the first zoological institutions in South-east Asia to achieve both ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certifications, which indicate compliance with the highest standards in environment, health and safety.

What puzzles me is that zoos remain popular attractions, with 650 million visitors worldwide annually, though many of them do not meet even the most basic of standards.

Does it have to do with society's low expectation of zoos?

History has shown that humans instinctively desire to control the beasts around them. Some 5,000 years ago, Egyptian pharaohs kept hippos, hartebeests, elephants, giraffes, baboons, cheetahs, leopards and monkeys. A Chinese emperor built a 'Garden of Intelligence' to keep deer and birds, and Admiral Cheng Ho returned from Africa with giraffes and zebras to please his ruler.

Today, in some societies, zoos remain places for the exhibition of exotic animals to satisfy the curiosity of people - a circus to entertain people at the expense of the animals. But good zoos today have evolved into places for conservation and education.

At WRS, we have changed our mission from providing recreation to promoting education; from captive breeding to habitat conservation; and from animal husbandry to animal science advancement.

We welcomed 3.6 million visitors last year, of which 250,000 were students using our parks as living and learning classrooms. Living animals are powerful tools to help bond children with nature.

For formal education, we work with the Ministry of Education to complement mainstream classroom lessons, and we subsidise student admission fees. We conduct workshops for teachers, and sponsor seminars for zoo educators in Asia.

We increased the learning opportunities in our parks by replacing commemorative plaques with educational material for children. We weave engaging stories about the animals at feeding sessions, and conduct tours of our rescue, nutrition, and health care and research centres. We publish educational magazines and have revamped our animal presentations to reinforce a conservation message.

True respect for wildlife can be stimulated only by learning about animals in their natural habitats. We design our exhibits with minimal confinement to let people respect our animals in their natural habitats. We adhere to, and in most cases surpass Waza's standards of animal welfare and ethics, and requirements for enclosure size, features and amenities. WRS is also at the forefront of developing animal enrichment activities to expose our animals to generous doses of mental and physical stimulation.

WRS parks are renowned for breeding critically endangered animals and the study of South-east Asian rainforest animals. To help revive the endangered wildlife populations, we use our experience in breeding critically endangered animal species and releasing them into the wild. Our collection acts as insurance in the event that wild populations go extinct. We succeeded in reintroducing the oriental pied hornbill, which was believed to be locally extinct in 1991. Today, a healthy population of 80 birds thrives.

Our parks have also taken on the roles of official wildlife rescue centres to help reduce incidences of illegal wildlife trade. We have rescued, rehabilitated and repatriated more than 20,000 wild animals. We have also trained staff from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority to identify and handle endangered wildlife.

The role of zoos has changed. We have to be an active player in the conservation of our ecosystems. We have to be the catalyst in promoting a sustainable lifestyle to preserve our biodiversity. We have to instil a respect for wildlife and turn people into active conservationists.

However, our progress will be constrained by problems: The number of threatened species is greater than what zoos can accommodate. Zoos have limited financial resources and success in maintaining large populations of endangered animals. Zoos cannot conserve wild behaviour and fully replicate natural habitats. Some zoo visitors just want to have fun and are not ready to learn.

We need time and commitment, and public as well as private support, to realise our vision.

The writer is the group CEO of Wildlife Reserves Singapore.