Over 700 animals born in Singapore parks last year

Over 700 animals across 150 species were born last year in four parks in Singapore, according to the Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) on Tuesday.

These animal babies were born or hatched in Jurong Bird Park, Night Safari, River Safari and Singapore Zoo, with over one-third being native or Southeast Asian species, and over 40 species listed as threatened under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

"Each of these births and hatchings is significant and is part of Wildlife Reserves Singapore's efforts to conserve threatened wildlife, particularly in Singapore and Southeast Asia," said Dr Cheng Wen-Haur, deputy CEO and chief life sciences officer, Wildlife Reserves Singapore.

"Breeding under human care allows us to maintain sustainable populations without having to collect from the wild, and our living collection serves to inspire positive actions in people to conserve our environment and biodiversity," Cheng said.

Among the most exciting births of the year is that of a critically endangered Sumatran orangutan born in September. The primate is the great-grandson of Singapore Zoo's late icon, Ah Meng.

To date, over 40 orangutans have been born in Singapore Zoo.

2015 also saw the births of critically endangered cotton-top tamarins, a species of tiny primates, endangered Southern white rhinoceros and the hatchings of unusual amphibians like the fire-bellied newt, a species of small newt native to China. Endit