Night Safari

Night Safari Review

Right next to the Singapore Zoological Gardens, the safari is the world's first wildlife park designed exclusively and especially for night viewing. Here 80 acres of secondary jungle provide a home to 1,200 animals (100 species) that are more active at night than during the day. Some 90% of tropical animals are, in fact, nocturnal, and to see them do something other than snooze gives their behavior a new dimension. Night Safari, like the zoo, uses a moat concept to create open, natural habitats; areas are floodlighted with enough light to see the animals' colors but not enough to limit their normal activity. You're taken on a 45-minute tram ride along 3 km (2 mi) of road, stopping frequently to admire the beasts (some of which, like deer and tapirs, can get quite close to the tram) and their antics. On another kilometer or so of walking trails you can observe some of the small cat families, such as the fishing cat; primates, such as the slow loris and the tarsier; and the pangolin (scaly anteater). Larger animals include the Nepalese rhino (the largest of rhinos, with a single, mammoth horn), the beautifully marked royal Bengal tigers, which are somewhat intimidating to the nearby mouse deer, babirusa (pig deer with curled tusks that protrude through the upper lip), gorals (wild mountain goats), and bharals (mountain sheep).