An artist's illustration of the Australian Outback habitat. - The Straits Times/ANN
Bird Paradise in Mandai Wildlife Reserve is set to open in the second quarter of 2023, following the closure of Jurong Bird Park on Jan 3.
Mandai Wildlife Group said in a media release on Monday that the new park will have eight walk-in aviaries – up from four in the current bird park.
Bird Paradise will feature a variety of “immersive and naturalistic mixed-species habitats” that reflect different ecologies from around the world, said the group.
It added that the new park is designed to showcase the natural behaviour of birds.
At about 17ha, or the size of about 24 football fields, the new Bird Paradise will be smaller than the 20.2ha Jurong Bird Park, but bird keepers at the park had previously said that the facilities housing birds would be bigger in the new park.
The new park will feature about 3,500 birds from more than 400 species – similar to the current mix at Jurong Bird Park – of which 24% are threatened species.
More than 20 species of hornbills will be on display, making the collection the “world’s largest living genetic reserve of hornbills under human care”, the group added.
Mandai Wildlife Group’s chief executive Mike Barclay said the new park will exemplify the group’s commitment to operating open and immersive wildlife parks that “place animal welfare at the centre of what we do”.
“We have designed Bird Paradise to offer guests an array of carefully themed and choreographed walk-through aviaries that will bring visitors even closer to some of the most stunning bird species in the world,” he said. — The Straits Times/ANN
