Animal Attraction: More than just Entertainment
Zoos have come a long way since the early 1800s. In the beginning, zoos focused on entertainment and making profits at the expense of the animals’ welfare. However, most zoos now are designated centres for rescued wildlife where all members of public can appreciate the animals and reflect on the actions they can take to conserve them!
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Author: Isabel Liang
Screeech! Hisss… ROAR!
Do you know where we can hear all these sounds in Singapore? That’s right, it’s The Singapore Zoo of course! Home to over 4,200 animals from more than 300 species, this open-concept zoo boasts spacious enclosures carefully landscaped to mimic each creature’s natural habitat. With interactive animal shows and live feeding sessions, it comes with no surprise that this zoo receives an average of 1.9 million visitors each year! However, zoos didn’t always exist as an oasis for both the common and exotic animals alike. For example, the Surrey Zoological Gardens trapped their animals in small cages and kept them in conditions that were considered poor, even in the 1800s. Performances included the use of a fake volcano that let off rumbling and explosive noises, which left the stressed-out animals traumatised. Let us explore how The Singapore Zoo goes beyond the spectacle, and functions as a site for wildlife education and conservation!
Fighting human-induced climate change and its resultant increasing number of endangered species is challenging, but The Singapore Zoo has taken the bull by the horns! A portion of its revenue is donated to support wildlife conservation projects in Southeast Asia. Since 2012, Mandai Nature, the zoo’s parent company, has been supporting SwaraOwa, a foundation dedicated to cultivating shade-grown coffee to conserve the endangered Javan Gibbon and its habitats in Central Java. It funds the fieldworks and surveys needed to determine the primate populations, the resources needed for their outreach and educational projects, and the sustainable coffee and honey production projects they initiated. Additionally, it has supported their coffee company’s product development efforts by providing industry-level expertise to improve the yield and quality of their coffee. Besides this, The Singapore Zoo directly backs SwaraOwa’s business venture by serving their coffee at Ah Meng Restaurant. Apart from SwaraOwa, Mandai Nature partners with and supports the conservation efforts of 12 other projects! What an incredible move made by this non-profit organization!
While there are no monkeys parachuting from hot air balloons or smoking and liquor-drinking mandrills unlike Surrey Zoological Garden (thankfully!), the animal shows at The Singapore Zoo are not only spectacular, but also insightful. Although exotic animals such as the white tigers and the Asian elephants tend to get the lion’s share of the attention at the zoo, the Animal Friends show shines a spotlight on household pets. These domesticated animals at The Singapore Zoo are adopted from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and will remain in the zoo until they are found suitable homes. Through displaying their receptiveness towards performing challenging tricks despite the often-times ruff circumstances they have undergone such as abuse and abandonment, the show encourages its audience members to adopt, not shop for, their next furry companion.
To go the whole hog, The Singapore Zoo also takes advantage of their animal shows to educate the masses on why animal conservation is crucial and how we can protect the environment without having to engage in philanthropy. In Rainforest Fights Back, the audience is introduced to a wide variety of animals ranging from threatened to critically endangered, including ring-tailed lemurs, which demonstrate their agility as they jump across the railings, and an Oriental pied hornbill which showcases its ability to fly silently. Suddenly, fake trees can be seen sawn down and some of the animals we saw previously are running back and forth to the whirling of a chainsaw’s engine, seemingly trying to escape from the ongoing deforestation that is destroying their habitat. Moments later, a sombre tune fills the amphitheatre, and the show’s presenter steps forward. He explains how deforestation costs the entire species of up to 150 organisms, and the lives of thousands of wildlife more every day. If the audience weren’t already at the edge of their seats, mouths wide open in shock at the animals running across the stage in seeming fear, they are now at this revelation. The presenter then brings out a recycling bin and litters the ground with plastic and paper trash. A small-clawed otter then scurries out and begins picking up each piece of trash with its little mouth and paws before disposing them one by one in the bin. Not only are the audience swooned over by its adorableness, but they are also forced to reflect on the extent to which they have been actively recycling their trash. The presenter also brings out a reusable water bottle and tote bag and encourages the audience to use them instead of single-use ones. He explains how doing so will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and our contribution to pollution around the globe. This presentation just goes to show how we can show our love for nature, and by extension our Earth’s wildlife animals, through the simplest of actions, right at home!
The Singapore Zoo truly teaches us how education can be just as entertaining when the needs of the animals are given top priority, and that tourist attractions do not have to earn a revenue at the expense of its inhabitants’ welfare. Instead of moaning about the cruelty towards animals witnessed at Surrey Zoological Gardens until the cows come home, we should reflect on how we treat our animals from now onwards. Whether you wish to invest in a tote bag, donate your money to WRS or adopt your next pet, the choice is yours! The world is your oyster, after all!
Read more about the evolution of zoos over time in the BBC Earth Magazine (Asia Edition) Volume 15 Issue 3!
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