Cover Ah Meng, named after her late grandmother, is the face of Singapore Zoo (Image: Wildlife Reserves Singapore)

Animal lovers can contribute to animal care and the conservation of wildlife with a symbolic adoption of the zoo’s featured creatures. There are also plans to include animals from Jurong Bird Park, River Safari and Night Safari

Almost everyone in Singapore has visited the Singapore Zoo at least once. As one of the most popular tourist attractions in Singapore, the park also serves as a valuable resource for children and adults alike to see animals up close and learn more about wildlife.

And if you have ever left the park feeling like you want to do more for the animals, now’s your chance.

Adopt an Animal is a new initiative introduced by Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), allowing guests at the park to symbolically adopt an animal from a selection of 10 featured species: Ben and Bella the African penguins; Coco the Aldabra giant tortoise; Rambo the Eastern grey kangaroo; Matahari the Malayan sun bear; Ah Meng the Sumatran orangutan (the late Ah Meng’s granddaughter); Psota the Pygmy hippopotamus; Ronnie the Rex rabbit; Pedro the California sea lion; Bosco the red-ruffed lemur, and Bunny the two-toed sloth. According to the WRS, the animals were chosen for their strong personalities and charisma.

“The living collection in our parks are animal ambassadors for their wild cousins. After visiting us and making a connection with these species, many have followed up to ask how they can do something for wildlife and make meaningful contributions towards our animals and the conservation work we do around the world,” explained Isabel Cheng, senior director of partnership development at WRS.

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Above African penguins Ben and Bella are the most popular animals in the Adopt an Animal programme (Image: Wildlife Reserves Singapore)
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Above Bunny the two-toed sloth has his very own Instagram account @bunnythesloth (Image: Wildlife Reserves Singapore)

“Initiatives like Adopt an Animal provide them with accessible ways in which they can play active roles in conservation and be inspired to care for wildlife. We believe that bringing the community with us on our mission to protect wildlife will bring big wins for wildlife. We have started with the animals in Singapore Zoo and there are plans to expand the list with our animals from Jurong Bird Park, River Safari and Night Safari.”

Previously only available to corporations in the form of annual sponsorships such as the adoption of the Fragile Forest exhibit by Hong Leong Foundation as well as giraffes Marco and Jubilee by Tan Chong International, Isabel shares that the new programme is an accessible platform for anyone who wants to contribute.

The year-based adoption comes in three tiers—$200 for Wildlife Ranger, $800 for Wildlife Guardian, and $1,500 for Wildlife Ambassadors. All adopters will receive online recognition, an adoption e-certificate, a fact sheet of their selected animal, as well as exclusive invitations to WRS events and previews. Depending on the tier of adoption, privileges also include discount vouchers for admission, admission tickets, as well as a membership pass. Wildlife Ambassadors, especially, will be acknowledged on the Adopters’ Wall within the parks.

Since its soft launch in June 2020 to WRS’ members and subscriber database, Adopt an Animal has received nearly 200 individual sponsorships. The most popular animals for the programme are Ben and Bella the African penguins, with 41 adopters. They are closely followed by Bunny the two-toed sloth with 30 adopters, and Matahari the Malayan sun bear with 20 adopters.

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Above Adopters Samuel Yap, 40; Weng Huang Ling, 37; and Anna Jubilee Yap, 5, share a moment with Rambo the kangaroo (Image: Wildlife Reserves Singapore)

Funds from Adopt an Animal will go towards an overall resource pool that contributes to the care of the Zoo’s animals, including providing nutritious meals, supporting the purchase of medical equipment, and the general upkeep of animal habitats. The contributions will also support research and education programmes across WRS’ parks as well as conservation projects to protect threatened species in Singapore and the region.

Asked about the warm response to the programme, Cheng shared that they felt very encouraged.

“We know that there are many causes and charity organisations out there who are also in need of contributions. Typically, animals would not feature very high on the list of where people want to put their money towards, so we are really grateful to everyone who has contributed towards the programme. Animals are very important to the eco-system, and the Zoo has a part to play as well because there are animals in the wild that are getting extinct and having their habitats eroded by activities such as deforestation.” she said.

“What we do as a zoo is that we take care of these animals, and for some of the endangered animals, we try to breed them to propagate their species. And when school children come into the parks, they get to see these live animals and understand them better. We do our part in hoping to change the minds of the people coming in and trying to make them appreciate wildlife more.”

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