900 newborns across 160 species born at Singapore’s 4 wildlife parks last year

SINGAPORE — Jurong Bird Park, Night Safari, River Wonders and the Singapore Zoo saw a productive 2021 for its wildlife population, with around 900 newborns across 160 species at these parks, almost doubling in number from the previous year.

Of these births, 44 species are listed as threatened under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species, Mandai Wildlife Group said in a statement on Wednesday (Feb 23).

The list includes scientific information on the global conservation status of wildlife.

Among the births last year were:

• Singapore’s first giant panda cub, which was named Le Le after a public vote. The cub was born in August last year, nine years after first-time parents Kai Kai and Jia Jia arrived in Singapore. It was a significant breakthrough for the threatened species and for wildlife breeding efforts here
   
• Two new foals to Singapore Zoo’s herd of Grevy’s zebras. There are only around 3,000 zebras of this species left in the wild
   
• A Sunda slow loris on Christmas Day. This is a species threatened with extinction due to the growing demand in the illegal pet trade and supposed healing properties in traditional medicine
   
• Four African painted pups at the Singapore Zoo
   
• A Negros bleeding-heart dove chick at the Jurong Bird Park