ZooCheck in Singapore Zoo on 5 April!

On 5 April 2009, ACRES ZooCheck volunteer team conducted a ZooCheck on the Singapore Zoo.

We regret to note that no improvements had been made for the cougars and ocelots, despite the Wildlife Reserves Singapore Welfare and Ethics Committee agreeing in March 2009 that these enclosures "are smaller than the dimensions recommended by the various associations like WAZA and AZA" and that they will upgrade them.

We also observed species such as the ocelots, polar bears, jaguars and leopards pacing, a clear sign that the enclosures did not meet the animals' species-specific needs.

We will be uploading the videos of these pacing behaviours shortly.

Here are some comments from the volunteer ZooCheckers:

When I was younger, I loved the zoo. I liked to just watch the animals walk around or just laze in the shelter away from the heat. And I loved the animal show. It was not till the day I went with the ACRES team for the ZooCheck that I realised that everything I knew was a lie.

I started to see the animals suffering and not happy as I thought in my younger days. The reality of the animal shows I loved started to dawn on me that actually the performing animals were doing unnatural acts.

The Singapore Zoo disappointed me greatly and they showed that they are no better in taking care of the animals than any other zoos in Asia, where I’ve seen untreated wounds on lions and elephants.

I think if Singapore Zoo does not want to change their ways in treating the animals, then they should transfer those who cannot cope with our tropical weather or the small size of the enclosures, to a better zoo.

Without the ACRES ZooCheck Team, I would still be ignorant. I will do my best to fight for the animals.

Kellynne Liong


The ZooCheck was an eye-opener for me. We went through the various enclosures including that of the white tigers and the polar bears, identifying the things that contributed to a good enclosure. The enclosures in the zoo are mostly built such that the public has a good view of the animals at most times, which means the animals do not have many private areas.

This may be good for the visitors but gives unnecessary stress to the animals. It would be good if there are private areas for the animals for hide from each other and the public’s view if they wish to. Enrichment is present for the elephants, primates and polar bears, who were seen using it, but is absent in some enclosures such as that of the white tigers, who were observed lying in the same positions for the entire duration we were at the enclosure (~30min).

Apart from the elephant enclosure, the other enclosures we went to did not appear to have been equipped with sufficient enrichment for all animals to use. Perhaps more can be done so that the animals will have sufficient enrichment.

Shermaine Eng


We’ve been to the zoo many times. Being teachers, it’s one of the mandatory learning journeys that we have to bring classes of excited kids on. This was, however, our first time going to the zoo on a mission. By the end of the day, we had learnt more things than we ever had from all those other times at the zoo.

We went to the zoo and were briefed on what we would be looking at. Tigers, polar bears, cheetahs, lions, leopards, jaguars, sun bears, elephants and, lastly, a behavioural study on the ocelots and cougars.

We went through the ZooCheck checklist with each enclosure. It was a pretty detailed list that graded the enclosure on aspects such as substrates to shelter. After a couple of enclosures we realized that most enclosures lacked a decent shelter for the animals. During thunderstorms the animals evidently had very little space within their enclosures to seek shelter from the hard rain and lightning.

Each enclosure had little bites of information for us to digest on. And these bits of information were so ironic. In the cheetah enclosure, the board proclaimed the cheetah to be the fastest animal, that it could cover some distance in a couple of leaps. When we looked into the cheetah enclosure, it was evident that the cheetah would never be able to run like he should and that we would have to simply make do with them being absolutely bored and simply lazing around in a corner of its enclosure.

After a couple of enclosures we got the hang of it and got more confident filling the checklist up on our own. We went on to the polar bear exhibit where there had been some positive changes made. The presenter at the exhibit mentioned that there was an air-conditioned room inside for the polar bears that they could slip into whenever they wanted. However, on closer inspection, we realized that the bears would keep going to that corner but retreat back, like something was obstructing their entrance into the room. On hindsight, I suppose it was a Sunday and the zoo management probably wanted them to be out and about, in the full view of the audience. To see such majestic creatures, caught and confined to such a small space was pretty depressing. We also saw an animal pacing for the first time. It was just this senseless, pointless, walking up and down that seemed even desperate at times. How selfish human beings are to make another intelligent creature reduce herself to being absolutely pointless.

The behavioural study was also very interesting. We were delegated to do the ocelots. All we had to do was take down the animals’ behaviour at two minute intervals. It was hard to swallow, but for the entire hour, one of the ocelots, or Ocelot 1 as we called him, paced up and down, the whole way through. It was just unbelievable to see an animal reduce to pacing its day through. The ocelots were confined to this tiny cage and that’s where they did everything. Three ocelots sharing a tiny cage, trapped, unable to run, to hunt, only able to do the mundane and reduced to pacing their lives away was a terrible thing to watch.

Even though the animals deserve to be at home and nothing could replace their natural surroundings, we walked away from the zoo feeling that the zoo had done a great job in providing a clean, relatively decent home for the animals. However there are some aspects that can improved. Like better enclosures for the big cats, as well as ample shelters for the animals in their enclosures. We hope that the zoo strives to be a place for animals rather than simply for human entertainment.

Samuel Mok & Jessintha Sasayiah


We were the first batch of volunteers to participate in the ZooCheck on 5th April 2009. Upon entry into the zoo, we were given a list of enclosures to go to. At every enclosure, we were taught how to assess and check the enclosures. I learnt how to determine if the size and structure of an enclosure is suitable for housing a certain animal. We also looked at the animals to check on their physical health. Through the Zoo Check, I find myself looking deeper than just spotting these beautiful animals; their environment and surroundings play a part too.

Also, we were taught how to do behavioural studies. We had to note down the actions of the particular animal within the time frame of an hour. This requires a great amount of patience as we could only stand or sit around the enclosure and observe the animal. I felt that it was a good experience because when we normally visit the zoo, we hardly stay for more than ten minutes at an enclosure. The behavioral study has taught me how to really watch and admire the animals, and learn about their habits at the same time.

Though we were all tired at the end of the Zoo Check, I thought that I learnt a lot more about the zoo and the animals, and this is something that school textbooks can never teach.

Phylisia Loh