Baby takes a big step forward for Night Safari

Baby takes a big step forward for Night Safari

He's just five-months-old but like most babies, is cute and very much attached to mum, even as he steps into the limelight at the Night Safari.

The park’s first baby elephant in nine years makes his first public appearance at the April launch of an exhibit on the Asian elephant, whose population in the wild is dwindling fast. It's estimated that there are now only some 30,000 to 50,000 left in the forests of India, Sri Lanka, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.

In Singapore, the latest addition to the Night Safari’s brood of endangered Asian elephants is the first to be born at both the Night Safari and Singapore Zoo in almost a decade.

Visitors will witness the close bond between mother 'Sri Nandong' and baby ‘Nila Utama’ a name derived from the island's ancient history, when a Sumatran prince Sang Nila Utama, landed in 1324 and named it Singapura.

The bold and inquisitive elephant born on 23 November 2010, was sired by 'Chawang', the sole bull elephant at Night Safari.

"He is not afraid to leave his mother's side to explore his surroundings and we have seen the little one even getting into the pool of water himself" notes Ms Fanny Lai, Group CEO of Wildlife Reserves Singapore.

Now 125cm tall and weighing a hefty 318 kg, 'Nila Utama' has two bothers raised by his mother, 'Sang Raja' (Noble One) born in 1999 and 'Sang Wira' (Brave One) born in 2001.

This is the 11th addition to the family of Asian elephants under the care of Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) which manages the Night Safari as well as Jurong Bird Park, Singapore Zoo and the upcoming River Safari.

"WRS hopes his birth will go towards sustaining and increasing the population of Asian elephants both in captivity and in the wild,” said the Group CEO of Wildlife Reserves Singapore.

WRS runs breeding programmes across all its parks, and has successfully bred endangered animals such as the pangolin, Malayan sun bear, and orang utans.

It also works with partners to increase the gene pool of captive animals through various exchange programmes with zoos overseas and engages groups such as the Wildlife Conservation Society to limit habitat loss for the elephants in places such as in Sumatra, Indonesia due to logging and urban and agricultural development.

-News courtesy of Channel Newsasia-