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Bird paradise
Mandai Wildlife Reserve will house 20 species of Hornbills
Singapore is bringing all its nature-based attractions together in a new location at the Mandai Wildlife Reserve, to drive conservation and improve the visitor experience, as Tom Walker explains
The Mandai Wildlife Reserve in Singapore will gain a new visitor attraction in the second quarter of 2023 – a 17-hectare sanctuary called Bird Paradise. The move is part of larger plans to co-locate all of Singapore’s wildlife parks and other nature-based experiences together at the Mandai Wildlife Reserve.
Bird Paradise will be the first of the new wildlife parks located at the reserve to open to the public. The new area will transport visitors into a colourful world that will be home to 3,500 birds from over 400 avian species.
Designed to encourage discovery at every turn, Bird Paradise will welcome visitors into immersive and naturalistic mixedspecies habitats. Visitors will be able to explore eight large walk-through aviaries which reflect different biomes of the world such as dense African rainforests, South American wetlands, Southeast Asian paddy fields and Australian dry eucalypt forests.
Called Bird Paradise, the new area will be home to 3,500 birds from over 400 avian species
An indoor habitat will offer visitors close up encounters with various species of penguins
We’ve designed Bird Paradise to bring visitors as close as possible to some of the world’s most stunning bird species
ENDANGERED SPECIES
Some of the park’s most threatened species will be housed in Winged Sanctuary, a zone specially dedicated to birds of high conservation value including critically endangered species like the Philippine Eagle and Vietnam Pheasant.
In total, 24 per cent of the species in Bird Paradise will be threatened, the highest percentage listed under human care in a single zoological park. The new bird park will also have the world’s largest living genetic reserve of Hornbills under human care, with over 20 species.
The site’s operator, Mandai Wildlife Group, wants to position the park as a unique destination for nature and wildlife activities.
While Bird Paradise will open in 2023, development work for the rest of the large park is also well underway and the remaining features are set to open progressively through to 2025.
CREATING AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE
Mike Barclay, Group CEO of Mandai Wildlife Group said, “When the Mandai Rejuvenation Project was envisioned, we wanted Bird Paradise to exemplify our commitment to operating open, immersive wildlife parks that place animal welfare at the centre of what we do.
“We’ve designed Bird Paradise to offer guests carefully themed and choreographed walkthrough aviaries that will bring them closer to some of the world’s most stunning bird species.
“The support facilities are also of the highest standard, including a state-of-the-art avian hospital and an extensive breeding facility.
“I’m confident that Bird Paradise will provide us with the perfect platform to further our education programmes, capacity-building initiatives and our important work helping to protect threatened bird species across the region. l
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/INDEPENDENT BIRDS Vietnamese pheasants
A key highlight is the reserve’s Heart of Africa zone
