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Entrance of the River Safari in Singapore – aamanatullah –

Top 10 Remarquable Facts about River Wonders Singapore

River Wonders, known as the River Safari previously, is an aquarium and a river-themed zoo. The zoo is part of the Mandai Wildlife Reserve and is located in Mandai, Singapore.

The zoo stretches over a 30-acre (12 hectares) piece of land. It was opened in 2012. River Wonders is located between two other zoos, the Night Safari, Singapore, and the Singapore Zoo. 

The River Wonders Zoo and aquarium is the first of its kind in the entire Asia continent. It averages more than 820,000 guests every year.

Its name was officially changed from River Safari to River Wonders on October 31st, 2021. Below is a list of remarkable facts about the infamous River Wonders.

1. It Is the Smallest of Three Zoos Built Together

There are a total of three zoos in Mandai. The three are built together on an 89-hectare (220 acres) piece of land.

These zoos are the Night Safari, River Wonders, and the Singapore Zoo. The Singapore zoo occupies 28-hectare, River Wonders has 12 hectares, and Night Safari has 35 hectares.

River wonders, the smallest and newest of the three is nestled between the other two zoos.

2. Construction of River Wonders Cost Over $160 Million

View on the water during the River Safari tour at Singapore Zoo – By Orderinchaos –

The idea for a project like River Wonders (then known as River Safari) was born in early 2007. On February 11 of 2009, the public was officially informed that it was under development. This project had a completion date of late 2011.

The project originally had a projected budget of $140 million and a projected annual visitor rate of 750,000 people. However, since the project’s announcement in 2009, the budget increased by $20 million in 2010 due to rising construction costs.

This raised the project’s budget cost to S$160 million, and the annual visitor rate also increased to 820,000 people.

3. The Zoo Officially Opened in February 2014

River Wonders was opened to the public on 29th November 2012. $ months later, there was another ‘soft opening’ on 3rd April 2013. This soft opening is said to have attracted about 1500 guests for the day.

Almost 1 year later, the zoo opened officially on February 28th, 2014. At this point, records showed that the zoo had hosted over 1.1 million visitors since the April 2013 soft opening.

4. One of The Main Attractions in River Wonders Is the Giant Pandas

Giant panda – By Lynn Chan –

 Housed in a specially constructed and climate-controlled environment in the zoo is a pair of pandas. There is a male panda Kai Kai and a female panda Jia Jia in the zoo. The two are arguably the main attraction at River Wonders.

The climate-controlled environment is rigged to change throughout the four seasons in emulation of the panda’s original environment. The zoo also grows an 86,000 square foot (8,000 sq Meters) plantation of bamboo that is used to feed the pandas.

The pandas are on a ten-year loan from China and arrived in September 2012. The presence of these pandas commemorates 20 years of friendly Sino-Singaporean relations.

The two pandas’ names were chosen from entries in a public naming contest that was held in 2010. There are ongoing negotiations and discussions to extend the loan period for the Pandas in Singapore.

Kai Kai and Jia Jia welcomed a panda baby on August 14, 2021. It was later identified as a male on September 10. After seven breeding cycles since 2015 that produced no cubs, this was the first one. Artificial insemination was used to create the panda cub.

5. River Wonders Has Several Permanent Exhibitions

Amazon Flooded Forest – By ProjectManhattan –

The zoo has some very well-prepared and organized exhibitions on aquatic and general wildlife from various parts of the world.

One of the main exhibitions in the zoo is the Amazon Flooded Forest. This is a large indoor complex featuring a wide variety of species that are found in the Amazon River. This includes; Giant otters, electric eels, red-bellied piranhas, and several other fish species.

Another large exhibition on the premises is the River of Africa exhibition. This exhibition has four tanks that house different fish species from Africa.

One tank has a shoal of the Atlantic tarpons and another tank houses a school of hornet tilapia. The other two tanks host two species of freshwater elephantfish, Peters’s elephant nose fish, and eastern bottlenose mormyrids.

Other exhibitions include; River Gems, Congo River, Mary River, Ganges River, and the Wild Amazon among others.

6. There are Theme Park Rides Along the River in The Zoo

On 7th December 2013, the Amazon River Quest was started. It is a boat ride that takes visitors through several animals in the zoo.

Visitors see creatures including giraffes and Asian elephants on a 15-minute Reservoir Cruise on the Upper Seletar Reservoir. This cruise travels along the perimeter of the Singapore Zoo and the Night Safari area, which borders the reservoir.

7. The Zoo Is Accessible by Bus and Personal Means

River Wonders is served directly by the MRT system. The nearest station to the zoo is the Springleaf MRT station.

However, there are bus services that drop visitors at the bus stop near the zoo. These buses are operated by the SBS Transit and the SMRT Buses.

Visitors can also access the zoo using their means of transport such as personal vehicles and taxis.

8. River Wonder Is Home to Several Endangered Species

Red panda – By Lynn Chan –

The zoo hosts a plethora of creatures from all around the globe. Some of these animals are endangered are require preservation as well as reproduction techniques.

Some of the endangered animals can be found in the Yangtze River Exhibition. They include; a false gharial, Chinese giant salamanders, red panda, Chinese alligator, and Amur sturgeons.

9. The Zoo Allows Visitors to Have Close Contact with The Animals

Especially in and around the monkey forest, visitors are allowed to interact with animals in close quarters. There are some hyperactive monkeys and rodents that are not particularly violent.

People can therefore interact with them freely and comfortably.