Baby Boomz for Singapore Wildlife

One thing I am sure of... the baby bonus is effective for animals in the Singapore!

More than 400 animal babies were born in Wildlife Reserves Singapore's (WRS) four parks between January and August, including Asia's first giant river otter baby.

The yet unnamed male pup was born on Aug 10 at the River Safari, said WRS, which today celebrates World Animal Day. It weighs 1.6kg and measures 60cm now, but can grow to a length of 1.8m and weigh up to 34kg.

Found in South American rivers, giant otters are among the rarest otters in the world, often hunted extensively for their fur and threatened by the loss of their natural habitat. Other animals born in Jurong Bird Park, Night Safari, River Safari and Singapore Zoo this year include threatened species such as the orang utan, manatee and malayan tapir.

Through the years, WRS parks have exchanged many of these animals with other reputable zoos for breeding purposes. "With increasing threats such as habitat destruction and poaching, captive breeding programmes play a pivotal role in conserving threatened species for our future generations," said WRS' chief life sciences officer, Dr Cheng Wen-Haur.

This one month old squirrel monkey clings on to it's mother's back at River Safari's Squirrel Monkey Forest.

Asia's 1st Giant River Otter Baby: This 'otter-ly' cute baby was born on 10 August, just after Singapore's National Day.

Male manatee Sundae, born on 19 May, swims with his 22-year-old mother, Eva, at River Safari's Amazon Flooded Forest exhibit.

Malayan tapir Putri, born on 3 June, have stripes (resembling a watermelon) to act as camouflage the forest. It is one of the most endangered animals in SE-Asia.

Joko, a male Bornean orang utan born on 21 January, clings on to his mom, Miri, at the Singapore Zoo.

Born on 17 August, this baby Linne’s two-toed sloth wraps itself around its mother, Alba.

Big Bundle of Joy: Born on 27 April, Zina, a white rhino, walks next to her mother Donsa at Singapore Zoo’s Wild Africa zone.

This baby squirrel monkey is 1 month old.

Baby porcupines, or porcupettes, have soft quills at birth which harden within a few days. This porcupette was born on 1 Sept at Night Safari.