The Night Safari, Singapore is the world's first

nocturnal Nocturnality is an ethology, animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have ...

zoo located in Mandai,

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. One of the most popular tourist attractions in the country, it forms part of the Mandai Wildlife Reserve along with the River Wonders,

Singapore Zoo The Singapore Zoo, formerly known as the Singapore Zoological Gardens or Mandai Zoo, is a zoo located on the margins of Upper Seletar Reservoir within Singapore's heavily forested central catchment area. Opened in 1973, the zoo was built at ...

and Jurong Bird Park. The concept of a nocturnal park in Singapore was suggested in the 1980s by the former executive chairman of the Singapore Zoo, Dr Ong Swee Law. Constructed at a cost of S$63 million, the Night Safari was officially opened on 26 May 1994 and occupies of secondary

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfo ...

adjacent to the

and Upper Seletar Reservoir. The Night Safari currently houses over 900 animals representing over 100

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

, of which 41% are

threatened species Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...

. The Night Safari is managed by Mandai Wildlife Reserve, and about 1.3 million visitors visit the safari per year. The Night Safari received its 11 millionth visitor on 29 May 2007.

History

Unlike traditional nocturnal houses, which reverse the

day-night cycle A diurnal cycle (or diel cycle) is any pattern that recurs every 24 hours as a result of one full rotation of the planet Earth around its axis. Earth's rotation causes surface temperature fluctuations throughout the day and night, as well as we ...

of animals so they will be active by day, the Night Safari is an entire open-air zoo set in a

humid Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity dep ...

tropical forest Tropical forests (a.k.a. jungle) are forested landscapes in tropical regions: ''i.e.'' land areas approximately bounded by the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, but possibly affected by other factors such as prevailing winds. Some tropical fo ...

that is only open at night. It is divided into six

geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

zones, which can be explored either on foot via four walking trails, or by

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

. The animals of the Night Safari, ranging from axis deer and African buffalo to Indian rhinoceros and pangolins to lions and Asian elephants, are made visible by

lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing dayli ...

that resembles

moonlight Moonlight consists of mostly sunlight (with little earthlight) reflected from the parts of the Moon's surface where the Sun's light strikes. Illumination The intensity of moonlight varies greatly depending on the lunar phase, but even the ...

. Although it is brighter than full moonlight by a few orders of magnitude, it is dim enough not to disturb nocturnal and

crepuscular In zoology, a crepuscular animal is one that is active primarily during the twilight period, being matutinal, vespertine, or both. This is distinguished from diurnal and nocturnal behavior, where an animal is active during the hours of dayli ...

animals' behaviour.

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

based lighting designer Simon Corder created the lighting for Night Safari. The naturalistic enclosures simulate the animals' native habitat. Animals are separated from visitors with natural barriers, rather than caged, similar to the

's open concept. Instead of vertical prison-like cages, cattle grids were laid all over the park to prevent

hoof The hoof (plural: hooves) is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, which is covered and strengthened with a thick and horny keratin covering. Artiodactyls are even-toed ungulates, species whose feet have an even number of digits, yet the ru ...

ed animals from moving one habitat to another. These are grille-like metal sheets with gaps wide enough for animals' legs to go through.

Moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

s were designed to look like streams and rivers to enable animals to be put on show in open areas, and hot wires were designed to look like

twig A twig is a thin, often short, branch of a tree or bush. The buds on the twig are an important diagnostic characteristic, as are the abscission scars where the leaves have fallen away. The color, texture, and patterning of the twig bark are ...

s to keep animals away from the boundaries of their enclosures. Food and beverage outlets in the Night Safari include Ulu Ulu Safari Restaurant, Bongo Burgers, and Casa Italia. Visitors can dine in the "Evening in the Wild" at Night Safari's only Tepee Tent. Also experience dining on the move with the Cocktail Safari Express and Gourmet Safari Express.

Exhibits

Tram Safari

The tram takes visitors across the whole park, allowing visitors to view most of the park's larger animals. *

Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus '' Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in ...

Asiatic lion The Asiatic lion is a population of '' Panthera leo leo'' that today survives in the wild only in India. Since the turn of the 20th century, its range has been restricted to Gir National Park and the surrounding areas in the Indian state of Gujar ...

Asian small-clawed otter The Asian small-clawed otter (''Aonyx cinereus''), also known as the oriental small-clawed otter and the small-clawed otter, is an otter species native to South and Southeast Asia. It has short claws that do not extend beyond the pads of its web ...

* Axis deer * Barasingha *

Bharal The bharal (''Pseudois nayaur''), also called the blue sheep, is a caprine native to the high Himalayas. It is the only member of the genus ''Pseudois.'' It occurs in India, Bhutan, China (in Gansu, Ningxia, Sichuan, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia ...

Bornean bearded pig The Bornean bearded pig (''Sus barbatus''), also known as the Sunda bearded pig or simply bearded pig, is a species in the pig genus, '' Sus''. It can be recognized by its prominent beard. It also sometimes has tassels on its tail. It is found ...

* Cape buffalo *

Dhole The dhole (''Cuon alpinus''; ) is a canid native to Central, South, East and Southeast Asia. Other English names for the species include Asian wild dog, Asiatic wild dog, Indian wild dog, whistling dog, red dog, red wolf, and mountain wolf. ...

* Eld's deer *

Greater flamingo The greater flamingo (''Phoenicopterus roseus'') is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. It is found in Africa, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and in southern Europe. Taxonomy The greater flamingo was desc ...

Himalayan tahr The Himalayan tahr (''Hemitragus jemlahicus'') is a large even-toed ungulate native to the Himalayas in southern Tibet, northern India, western Bhutan and Nepal. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, as the population is declini ...

Hippopotamus The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two exta ...

* Indian hog deer * Indian muntjac * Indian rhinoceros *

Malayan tapir The Malayan tapir (''Tapirus indicus''), also called Asian tapir, Asiatic tapir and Indian tapir, is the only tapir species native to Southeast Asia from the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra. It has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List si ...

* Markhor *

North Sulawesi babirusa The North Sulawesi babirusa (''Babyrousa celebensis'') is a pig-like animal native to Sulawesi and some nearby islands (Lembeh, Buton and Muna) in Indonesia. It has two pairs of large tusks composed of enlarged canine teeth. The upper canines pen ...

Sambar deer The sambar (''Rusa unicolor'') is a large deer native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 2008. Populations have declined substantially due to severe hunting, local ins ...

Sloth bear The sloth bear (''Melursus ursinus'') is a myrmecophagous bear species native to the Indian subcontinent. It feeds on fruits, ants and termites. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, mainly because of habitat loss and degradatio ...

Spotted hyena The spotted hyena (''Crocuta crocuta''), also known as the laughing hyena, is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus '' Crocuta'', native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as being of least concern by the ...

* Striped hyena *

White lion The white lion is a rare color mutation of the lion, specifically the Southern African lion. White lions in the area of Timbavati are thought to have been indigenous to the Timbavati region of South Africa for centuries, although the earliest r ...

Fishing Cat Trail

The Fishing Cat Trail features a variety of nocturnal animals mostly from Asia and South America. *

Binturong The binturong (''Arctictis binturong'') (, ), also known as the bearcat, is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. It is uncommon in much of its range, and has been assessed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because of a declining po ...

Black-crowned night heron The black-crowned night heron (''Nycticorax nycticorax''), or black-capped night heron, commonly shortened to just night heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, including parts of Europe, Asia, and N ...

* Brazilian porcupine *

Fishing cat The fishing cat (''Prionailurus viverrinus'') is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia. Since 2016, it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Fishing cat populations are threatened by destruction of wetlands and have declin ...

Gharial The gharial (''Gavialis gangeticus''), also known as gavial or fish-eating crocodile, is a crocodilian in the family Gavialidae and among the longest of all living crocodilians. Mature females are long, and males . Adult males have a distinct ...

* Giant Asian pond turtle *

Giant anteater The giant anteater (''Myrmecophaga tridactyla'') is an insectivorous mammal native to Central and South America. It is one of four living species of anteaters, of which it is the largest member. The only extant member of the genus ''Myrmecoph ...

Great cormorant The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), known as the black shag in New Zealand and formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and the large cormorant in India, is a w ...

* Gray-handed night monkey * Indian muntjac *

Kinkajou The kinkajou ( /ˈkɪŋkədʒuː/ ''KING-kə-joo''; ''Potos flavus'') is a tropical rainforest mammal of the family Procyonidae related to olingos, coatis, raccoons, and the ringtail and cacomistle. It is the only member of the genus ''Poto ...

* Large flying fox *

Little pied cormorant The little pied cormorant, little shag or kawaupaka (''Microcarbo melanoleucos'') is a common Australasian waterbird, found around the coasts, islands, estuaries, and inland waters of Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Thailand, Myanmar, Singapo ...

Maned wolf The maned wolf (''Chrysocyon brachyurus'') is a large canine of South America. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, and Paraguay, and is almost extinct in Uruguay. Its markings resemble those of foxes, but it is neither a fox nor a wo ...

* Southern three-banded armadillo * Spectacled owl *

Spotted whistling duck The spotted whistling duck (''Dendrocygna guttata'') is a member of the duck family Anatidae The Anatidae are the biological family of water birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring o ...

Leopard Trail

The Leopard Trail houses a variety of nocturnal animals from the rainforests of Asia like clouded leopards, a flying fox walkthrough aviary, and habitats for some native animals. The Asiatic lions are also visible from a boardwalk on the edge of the trail. *

Asian palm civet The Asian palm civet (''Paradoxurus hermaphroditus''), also called common palm civet, toddy cat and musang, is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. Since 2008, it is IUCN Red Listed as Least Concern as it accommodates to a broad ran ...

* Buffy fish owl *

Clouded leopard The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called the mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China. In the early 19th century, a ...

* Collared owlet *

Fossa Fossa may refer to: Animals * Fossa (animal), the common name of a carnivoran mammal of genus ''Cryptoprocta'' endemic to Madagascar * ''Fossa'', the Latin genus name of the Malagasy civet, a related but smaller mammal endemic to Madagascar Pla ...

Giant pangasius The giant pangasius, paroon shark, pangasid-catfish or Chao Phraya giant catfish (''Pangasius sanitwongsei'') is a species of freshwater fish in the shark catfish family (Pangasiidae) of order Siluriformes, found in the Chao Phraya and Meko ...

* Greater hog badger * Indian crested porcupine * Large flying fox * Leopard cat *

Lesser short-nosed fruit bat The lesser short-nosed fruit bat (''Cynopterus brachyotis'') is a species of megabat within the family Pteropodidae. It is a small bat that lives in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It weighs between , and measures . It occurs in many types of habit ...

Malayan porcupine The Malayan porcupine or Himalayan porcupine (''Hystrix brachyura'') is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae. Three subspecies are extant in South and Southeast Asia. Geographical distribution The Malayan porcupine ranges from Nepal th ...

Masked palm civet The masked palm civet (''Paguma larvata''), also called the gem-faced civet, is a palm civet species native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List since 2008 as it occurs in many ...

Senegal bushbaby The Senegal bushbaby (''Galago senegalensis''), also known as the Senegal galago, the lesser galago or the lesser bush baby, is a small, nocturnal primate, a member of the galago family Galagidae. The name "bush baby" may come either from the a ...

* Small-toothed palm civet * Spotted wood owl *

* Sunda pangolin * Sunda scops owl * Sunda slow loris *

Swamp eel The swamp eels (also written "swamp-eels") are a family (Synbranchidae) of freshwater eel-like fishes of the tropics and subtropics. Most species are able to breathe air and typically live in marshes, ponds and damp places, sometimes burying t ...

East Lodge Trail

Aardvark The aardvark ( ; ''Orycteropus afer'') is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It is the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. Unlike ...

Bongo Bongo may refer to: Entertainment * ''Bongo'' (Australian TV series), on air from August to November 1960 * Bongo Comics, a comic book publishing company * Bongo (''Dragon Ball'') or Krillin, a character in ''Dragon Ball'' media * ''Bongo'' ...

* Malayan tiger *

Northern white-faced owl The northern white-faced owl (''Ptilopsis leucotis'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. The southern white-faced owl (''P. granti'') was formerly included in this species and the two were known as the white-faced scops-owl. It is fou ...

Red river hog The red river hog (''Potamochoerus porcus'') or bushpig (a named also used for the ''Potamochoerus larvatus''), is a wild member of the pig family living in Africa, with most of its distribution in the Guinean and Congolian forests. It is rar ...

Wallaby Trail

Opening in 2012, this trail features a wallaby walkthrough habitat and smaller enclosures for other nocturnal Australian animals. The trail also has a large man-made cave called the Naracoorte Cave, a reconstruction of the Naracoorte Caves National Park, which has several indigenous paintings and holds invertebrates and reptiles. Four female

Tasmanian devil The Tasmanian devil (''Sarcophilus harrisii'') (palawa kani: purinina) is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. Until recently, it was only found on the island state of Tasmania, but it has been reintroduced to New South Wales in ...

s arrived from the Trowunna Wildlife Sanctuary in November 2022, part of an insurance population managed ny the Save the Tasmanian Devil Programme run by the Tasmanian Department of Natural Resources and Environment. *

Asian forest scorpion ''Heterometrus'', whose members are also known by the collective vernacular name giant forest scorpions, is a genus of scorpions belonging to the family Scorpionidae. It is distributed widely across tropical and subtropical southeastern Asia, inc ...

* Cave racer * Chilean rosehair tarantula *

Common brushtail possum The common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula'', from the Greek for "furry tailed" and the Latin for "little fox", previously in the genus ''Phalangista'') is a nocturnal, semi arboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae, native to A ...

Common barn owl The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds, being found almost everywhere except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himalayas ...

* Crested gecko * Madagascar hissing cockroach * Mexican fireleg tarantula *

Morepork The morepork (''Ninox novaeseelandiae''), also called the ruru, is a small brown owl found in New Zealand, Norfolk Island and formerly Lord Howe Island. The bird has almost 20 alternative common names, including mopoke and boobook—many of ...

Red-necked wallaby The red-necked wallaby or Bennett's wallaby (''Notamacropus rufogriseus'') is a medium-sized macropod marsupial (wallaby), common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Red-necked wallabies have been ...

* Woylie

Shows

The "Creatures of the Night Show" is a performance presented by the animals in the Night Safari. A binturong shows off its ability to hang upside down with its prehensile tail, a spotted hyena displays its powerful jaws and otters spread awareness to recycle reusable items.

Cultural Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tylor ...

performances are a regular feature at the safari, and include

tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...

dances, blowpipe demonstrations and

fire eating Fire eating is the act of putting a flaming object into the mouth and extinguishing it. A fire eater can be an entertainer, a street performer, part of a sideshow or a circus act but has also been part of spiritual tradition in India. Ph ...

displays.

Gallery

File:Night Safari, Singapore (32844106997).jpg,

s File:FishingCat-NightSafari-Singapore-20100110.jpg,

File:Night Safari (12547007914).jpg, Indian muntjac File:Night Safari (12547015514).jpg, Striped hyena File:Night Safari, Singapore (47735377252).jpg, Bull

, Chawang

Awards

* ASEAN Tourism Association – Aseanta Awards For Excellence (1995) ** Best New Attraction in ASEAN * Singapore Tourism Awards ** Top 10 Best Family Experience (2006) ** Best Leisure Attraction Experience (2003, 2004, 2006) ** Leisure Attraction of the Year (1996, 1997, 1999, 2000) ** Best Trail Marshall of the Year, Mohammed Munzir Aziz. (2008) ** Best Trail Marshall of the Year, Mohammad Ridhwan Shahril. (2009) ** Best Ground crew of the Year, Vijayeswaran Visvalingam. (2009) ** Best Animal Caretaker of the Year, Hadi Akmal (2015)

Transportation

Night Safari is not served directly by any MRT line, with the nearest station being Springleaf MRT station which opened on 28 August 2021. There are three bus services operated by

SBS Transit SBS Transit Limited (SBST or just SBS) () is a multi-modal public transport operator in Singapore operating bus and rail services. With a majority of its shares owned by Singaporean multinational transport conglomerate ComfortDelGro Corporatio ...

and SMRT and

Tower Transit A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specifi ...

which calls at the zoo or passing by. Bus service 138 and 927 from Ang Mo Kio and Choa Chu Kang respectively calls a bus stop at the zoo. Bus service 171 plies the road along Mandai Road and not into the zoo.

Bus

A shuttle service, known as the ''Mandai Khatib Shuttle'', plies daily between Khatib MRT station and the Zoo. A one-way trip cost $1 for everyone above the age of three.

References

* Lin Xinyi, "Night Safari: From trailblazer to tourism icon", ''

The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was establish ...

'', 31 May 2007

External links

Night Safari official website

Map of Night Safari
{{authority control Safari parks Tourist attractions in Singapore Zoos in Singapore 1994 establishments in Singapore Zoos established in 1994