Wildlife Reserves Singapore Food Trail 2012 at the Singapore Zoo and Jurong Bird Park

[Part One of Two]

On the morning of 28th July, I boarded a taxi with my sister and asked the driver to take us to the Singapore Zoo. He asked “Zoo? So early?” and I explained that I’m a blogger and had been invited to spend a day at the zoo, bird park and night safari.

Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) had organized a Food Trail and my blogger friend, Alvin from Omy.sg had invited me to join him.

I had heard about Breakfast with Ah Meng. But since Ah Meng is no longer with us, I had no idea what to expect from a Jungle Breakfast with Wildlife.

As it turned out, what awaited us was a buffet spread with local delights like fried noodles, siew mai and porridge, and there were even pastries, cheeses and vegetable sticks!

Sis and I loved the food! We were so busy eating that we forgot there was a ‘wildlife’ segment till we spotted something climbing down the trees…

And before long, all our friends joined us for breakfast!

And in-between mouthfuls of that yummy omelette or siew mai, you can get a photo (or two) taken!

In fact, there are so many photo-taking opportunities, you may neglect your breakfast altogether!

* Am very proud of this picture I took! *

And nope, don’t go yet…

Remember to swing by the Singapore Zoo for a hearty breakfast… and a “serious discussion” about wildlife conservation!

After breakfast, we hopped (haha!) onto a tram and headed to the Fragile Forest where we were to be given a behind-the-scenes tour!

Spot the Proboscis Monkey:

Easy? Now spot the frog!

I didn’t know the Zoo has stingray!

And our guide, Julia, actually managed to catch a butterfly and gently hold it between her fingers! *applause*

I stalked a mousedeer and (what I believe is a)whistling duck <- It doesn’t quack, it whistles. Serious!

And as that saying goes… Birds of different feathers walk together…

Ok, I made up that saying.

And awaiting the screening of the latest Batman movie…

Everywhere you walk within the Fragile Forest, you are being watched! Does the angmoh know that there are many pairs of eyes watching him??

Whatcha lookin’ at, huh?

And now we move on to the real behind-the-scenes aka science lesson where I refuse to touch anything except my camera:

Did you know that spiders moult? I didn’t (>_<) but here’s the result of their moulting:

Want to touch what’s in the tub? Well, the expression on this guy’s face echoes my sentiments exactly:

A tank with lots of mice, presumably for some snake’s dinner:

Here, Alvin’s checking out the Hissing Cockroaches:

Julia shows us a millipede:

Then a stick insect…

And this insect looks and feels like a twig:

And (fear factor segment)… a hissing cockroach *silently vows never to be a zookeeper*

We also get to see the kitchen where the meals for the animals are prepared:

Calcium powder is added to the food…

Unfortunately for us, we did not get to see the White Tigers that day.

But we did go for a leisurely (battery-powered)boat ride up the Upper Seletar Reservoir…

Lunch was yet another interesting affair at the Bird Park, where we got up close and personal with the birds and the presenters during our ‘Lunch with Parrots’. And when I mean ‘close’, I mean real close…

(From where I was seated)

Again, the food was served buffet-style and interestingly enough, the prawns served tasted really good! Here’s what was on my lunchplate:

When I last visited the Bird Park, the birds performed tricks such as cycling. Now they do somersaults, recycle paper & plastic, and even paint!

And of course, there was photo time…

At the ‘Birds n Buddies’ show at the Pools Amphitheatre, it was a visual feast… with lots of audience participation:

Unfortunately, my photographs didn’t turn out too well as the birds were often caught mid-flight and all you see is a blur. So head down yourself and enjoy the show!

The next show – Kings of the Skies – involved falconry. And we even spotted a horse and a dog…

Most interesting, perhaps, was the owl which stubbornly refused to look in the direction of the cameras, and its handler had to resort to manually turning its head to face the camera!

After our owl encounter, we headed to the Breeding & Research Centre

It was feeding time when we got there…

And for those who like interesting pictures… look no further than the entrance of the BRC where an empty nest and giant eggshells await (humans not included):

The Food Trail was concluded at the Night Safari – read about the experience here in this blogpost (Part Two).