Zoos of Singapore Trivia Quiz

Answer: River Safari

The Amazon River is only one of the ten different ecosystems in this zoo (not all of them aquatic). Most can be visited on dry land, including the large aquarium called the Amazon Flooded Forest, which houses manatees as well as a range of fish from South America.

The boat ride takes you on a guided tour past a number of the Amazon basin animals, including capybaras (the world's largest rodent), howler monkeys (reputed to be the world's loudest land mammals), and jaguars, as well such colourful tropical birds as the scarlet ibis.

Answer: Mandai Zoo

Mandai Zoo is the usual name used for the Singapore Zoo, formerly the Singapore Zoological Gardens, which is located in the suburb of Mandai. Set in a rainforest, it is an open concept zoo, meaning that it has the animals on display kept in areas that come as close as possible to their natural settings.

This display has a range of domestic animals, many of them abandoned pets. They have been trained to do such things as act out the stereotypical cat chases bird or dog chases cat routine we know from cartoons (with no more risk to any of those involved than is the case for a cartoon animal). Not only do the animals get to display their natural, sometimes quite impressive, skills, but the audience gets to interact with them afterwards.

Answer: Mandai Zoo

As you eat your breakfast on the terrace of the Ah Meng Restaurant on Orangutan Island, the free-ranging orangutans are certain to gather and observe, leading to fantastic photo opportunities. If you are lucky, they will come close enough to be offered a chance to share a bit of your food. For many years, Ah Meng was the star of this show, but she died in 2008.

Her granddaughter, Ishta, is said to resemble her, both in appearance and in friendly behaviour.

Answer: Mandai Zoo

While these Asian elephants do apply themselves to such heavy-duty tasks as lifting logs, the sort of work in which they are traditionally engaged in their native rainforests, the mahouts also get them to perform stunts such as playing dead and spraying each other (and the members of the audience in the front rows) with water.

At the end of the show there is a feeding session, but only those who arrived early enough to purchase one of the carefully rationed portions of food for that show can feed one. If you miss out on this during your daytime visit here, perhaps you should go to the Night Safari in the evening, where one of the highlights of the Safari Adventure Tour is a chance to have your picture taken as you hand-feed an elephant.

Answer: River Safari

These two giant pandas are actually just on loan from China, for an original ten-year period starting in 2012, but zoo managers hope to either have their visit extended or be offered a replacement pair. They have built a special climate-controlled enclosure that simulates the seasonal changes of the area in which giant pandas are naturally found, so their natural annual biorhythms can continue uninterrupted.

They also planted a large bamboo plantation to provide fresh food for the visitors. The zoo site lists their favourite activities as taking a nap after eating (Kai Kai) and eating bamboo up a tree (Gia Gia).

Answer: Night Safari

Night Safari, unlike the other Singapore zoos, opens at night and is closed during the day. It has special lighting designed to simulate a moonlit night rather than complete darkness, so the animals proceed about their activities as they would on a normal night.

While you can walk or ride a buggy around the area, you can also opt for the tram ride, which features gourmet food served in candlelit surrounds. The trip includes a stop for the Creatures of the Night show, where you can watch animals ranging from otters to hyenas in action.

Answer: Jurong Bird Park

Jurong Bird Park is located some distance from the other three zoos, but a move is planned for 2020 to bring it closer to the others, on the shore of Upper Seletar Reservoir. At that time, a change of name is planned, but at the time of writing this quiz (2018) it is still on Jurong Hill.

This spectacular show is sure to make the move, even if some of the current display areas are not replicated. It features a range of displays, some involving just observing the birds flying freely, while others are more staged: a battle of wits between a couple of parrots, a parrot (Amigo, a yellow-naped Amazon) who sings in three languages, and more. The finishing touch is the moment when an immense flock composed of a mixture of bird species fly over the audience to reach the stage. Volunteers can participate at some points, and there are plenty of photo-worthy moments.

Answer: Mandai Zoo

To be honest, the animals (which include orangutans, lemurs, pea-fowls, otters and cockatiels) mostly just do their thing, while the people carry the narrative forward. As well as educating viewers about the importance of safeguarding the rainforest habitat, the fact that these cute and cuddly-looking animals are not domesticated, and do not make good pets, is clearly made.

At the end of the show, some audience members get a chance to handle one of the animals - lepidophobes should probably not volunteer for this bit. (They probably also will not want to visit RepTopia.)

Answer: Mandai Zoo

The name should warn you to choose your seat carefully - there is a designated wet zone, but when the sea lion gets going, he can spread the water a bit further on occasion. The show includes the standard stunts - graceful diving and swimming, catching a fish that is tossed in the air, balancing balls on noses, leaping through hoops, and more.

More includes (at the moment) Pedro the California sea lion doing his best to produce water, water, everywhere.

Answer: Jurong Bird Park

Pelicans, hornbills, storks, spoonbills, ibis - all these and more can be seen in the wetlands zone, but I chose the shoebill as the focus for this question, because its appearance is so amazing. They are also called whaleheads, and look rather line a stork, with a height up to 150 cm (about 5 feet) but with an amazingly large bill, the source of its name.

The fanciful may see its shape as resembling that of a shoe, possibly a lady's dance slipper. Only pelicans and storks have longer bills, but the shoebill's has a larger circumference than either.

They originate in tropical wetlands in the east of Africa, and one of their more 'interesting' behaviours is a way they help keep themselves cool: they defecate on their own legs, so that, as the liquid evaporates it cools them down, in a fashion similar to the evaporation of sweat from our bodies.