Marine Life Park director to make dolphins 'ambassadors'

Ex-zoo GM moves from land to marine life with ease
Tan Dawn Wei Straits Times 11 Jul 12;

FOR 18 years, Singapore Zoo stalwart Biswajit Guha tended to land creatures, but he has since moved on to taking care of sea animals.

The former general manager of the zoo quietly joined the new Marine Life Park of Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) in March as its director of education and conservation.

He had quit the zoo last December under a cloud of controversy, when its parent company Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) appointed its board member Isabella Loh as its group chief executive.

Mr Guha, 44, makes no bones about there having been a 'strong push factor' for him to up and go.

'The direction had changed. It was not in sync with what I want to do and am capable of contributing,' he said.

When the new management took over, the emphasis became producing scientific papers with a more academic bent, he said, which 'won't have much impact on real-world conservation issues'.

With his exit, others from WRS also joined Marine Life Park as frontline operations personnel and keepers.

He is well aware that his joining the Marine Life Park means plunging into another controversy - RWS' sticking to its decision to showcase 27 wild-caught bottlenose dolphins for its oceanarium, the world's largest, despite protests from animal activists.

Two of those dolphins died of a bacterial infection last October in a holding facility in Langkawi, Malaysia.

The invertebrate zoologist, who who has spent the last four months settling in before granting this interview, said: 'Yes, I did think about it, but to me, that was not an issue that would create a barrier for me to join this organisation.'

He said that he wants to pursue wildlife education and conservation work - something he had been doing since he joined the zoo as a keeper in 1993, after graduating in zoology from the National University of Singapore (NUS).

He said of the dolphin controversy: 'I thought the negative publicity had clouded a lot of important issues that people needed to focus on.

'For me, the dolphin issue was taking a turn that wasn't very scientific. It was tugging at people's heartstrings.'

Instead, the focus should be on making the dolphins ambassadors to inspire visitors to make a difference. Data collected from managing animals in captivity can also go a long way in helping those in the wild, he said.

He is targeting schools, from nursery schools to junior colleges, in his education and conservation programmes; students will be allowed to interact with the animals and learn from aquarists and marine mammal specialists.

Eventually, there will also be a classroom, a laboratory and a lesson plan developed by his team that will tie in with the Education Ministry's curriculum.

Families can also sign up for sleepovers and camps, and technology will figure hugely to hold young visitors' interest.

The park has already signed an agreement with the non-profit United States-based Sea Research Foundation to develop the Jason Project, a multimedia marine environmental curriculum designed to connect students with top scientists to learn about real-world situations.

Mr Guha is also looking at partnering researchers and non-governmental organisations to do conservation work in the field.

These organisations can tap RWS' Marine Life Conservation Fund, which has dished out undisclosed sums to anti-poaching and shark conservation efforts in the Galapagos Marine Reserve and China since 2008.

Resorts World Sentosa spokesman Robin Goh said that Mr Guha's network of contacts in the wildlife industry landed him the job.

There were a few contenders from here and overseas for the position, but he was the front runner for the post because of his knowledge and experience, said Mr Goh.

To get up to speed on marine wildlife, Mr Guha has spent the last few months researching and talking to marine environment experts at NUS.

'I want to make sure we are addressing issues that are relevant, and we can make that difference,' he said.

RWS' Marine Life Park likely to open by year end
Straits Times 11 Jul 12;

THE last piece of puzzle for the $7 billion Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) will be in place by the final quarter of this year.

Workers are putting the finishing touches to the integrated resort's Marine Life Park, which, at more than eight hectares - or the size of about 13 football fields - will be the largest oceanarium in the world.

RWS declined to say how much it cost to build the park, located in the west zone of the integrated resort. But the new attraction will come with separate zones featuring more than 100,000 marine creatures from 800 different species.

The park has received about 10 per cent of them, which have arrived from all over the world. Visitors will be able to see those marine animals in, among other facilities, an aquarium with a travellator.

Getting top billing will no doubt be a pod of 25 bottlenose dolphins, which will be marketed as a separate attraction, said RWS spokesman Robin Goh. But he said there will also be other 'heavyweights', although he declined to say more.

While animal activists objected to the captivity of the wild dolphins and had lobbied for RWS to release them back to their natural habitat, Mr Goh said the dolphins are in good shape.

'While there is a group of people opposed to them coming here, there is also a large group who can't wait to see them,' he said.

RWS said there will be opportunities for visitors to interact with the dolphins, which will be in a large interconnected enclosure made up of different pools and passages.

They are now housed in Subic Bay in the Philippines. No date has been set for their arrival, said Mr Goh.

RWS has ruled out live shows featuring the dolphins and instead will focus on educating the public about the marine mammals. It also has no plans to bring in more dolphins, but hopes the resident ones will breed.

Education and conservation will be a cornerstone of the park, which will run rescue and rehabilitation as well as breeding programmes.

About one-third of the current 300-strong staff are foreigners, who mostly work as veterinarians, marine mammal specialists and marine curatorial staff. Staff strength is expected to hit 500 by the time the park opens.

The Straits Times understands that former Wildlife Reserves Singapore chiefs Bernard Harrison and Fanny Lai were considered for roles at the new Marine Life Park. But Mr Goh declined to comment, citing RWS' policy of not discussing potential hires.

With the opening of the Marine Life Park, RWS - with its six hotels, Universal Studios Singapore, Maritime Experiential Museum, spa and casino - will be completed.

It has not, however, decided on ticket prices for the upcoming park.

TAN DAWN WEI