Visits to zoos are among the most popular ways of spending holidays. Most of us don’t miss the opportunity to visit zoos even during our vacations (particularly when traveling with kids); that’s possibly because the majority of the top tourist destinations in the world house zoos. However, there are some zoos that score more heavily in popularity than others. Night Safari in Singapore is one such zoo. It’s the world’s first nocturnal zoo and will make any list of top ten Singapore tourist attractions.
The concept of nocturnal zoo visits is primarily a brainchild of Ong Swee Law, the executive chairperson of the Singapore Zoo. He came up with this idea during the 1980s. However, it took the zoo authority several years to implement the idea. The Singapore Night Safari was inaugurated officially on May 26, 1994. A total of S$63 million were spent for building it. The Night Safari was constructed at the secondary rainforest located beside the Singapore Zoo. The total area covered by the zoo at present in 86 acres.
About the Singapore Nocturnal Zoo
Right now, the Nocturnal Zoo is home to more than 2,500 animals belonging to more than 130 species. What makes the zoo even more special is that as much as 38% of the species housed by it are endangered. That’s probably the reason it’s one of the most visited zoos in the world. According to numbers obtained during a recent survey, the zoo gets around 1.1 million visitors each year.
The zoo has been set amid a tropical humid forest, which has been divided into seven different geographical zones. Depending on your preference, you will be allowed to explore each of these seven zones either by tram or on foot; the zoo authority organizes a total of four fascinating walking trails.
Why Night Visits to Zoos Are Special?
The nocturnal zoos operate in a much different manner than the conventional zoos. The traditional zoological houses manage the animals’ day-night cycle in a way so that they become active by daytime. Nocturnal zoos remain open only during the night; so, they follow a different sleeping rule for the animals; this ensures that the animals remain fresh and active during the nighttime. That’s possibly the main reason why visits to nocturnal zoos are special.
The natural sleeping time of the majority of the animal species is before sunset. However, as they are brought into human habitat, they are trained to sleep during the night so that they can remain awake during the day. This usually prevents the animals from being their normal self. By allowing these creatures to enjoy their normal sleep cycle, the moderators of nocturnal zoos ensure that they remain as lively as they would have been in their natural habitat.
In addition, a large number of people who have visited nocturnal zoos say that exploring such zoos during moonlit nights offer an absolutely surreal experience, something no day visit to zoos could have ever offered. As the majority of these zoos are constructed amid natural setups, you will feel as if you are walking or traveling across a forest when exploring a nocturnal zoo.