Love wildlife? You can now adopt an animal at the Singapore zoo

Love wildlife? You can now adopt an animal at the Singapore zoo
PHOTO: The Straits Times

To share their love and support for wildlife, members of the public can now adopt animals at Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS).

Launched yesterday, the Adopt an Animal programme lets adopters select from nine featured species, including Ah Meng, the Sumatran orang utan; Bunny, the two-toed sloth; and Matahari, the Malayan sun bear.

They can choose from three tiers of adoption contributions, comprising one-off donations of $200, $800 and $1,500.

All tiers include free admission tickets to the Singapore Zoo, discount vouchers for admission tickets and online recognition of the adopters.

Ms Isabel Cheng, senior director of partnership development at WRS, said the programme was introduced after people visited its parks and asked if they could do something for wildlife and "make meaningful contributions towards our animals and the conservation work we do around the world".

"Initiatives like Adopt an Animal provide people with accessible ways in which they can play active roles in conservation and be inspired to care for wildlife."

Besides the Singapore Zoo, WRS manages the Jurong Bird Park, Night Safari and River Safari.

Funds collected will go towards an overall resource pool that contributes to the care of animals. This includes providing nutritious meals, purchasing medical equipment and the general upkeep of animal habitats.

The contributions will also support research and education programmes across WRS parks, as well as conservation projects to protect threatened species in Singapore and the region.

Adopters will receive an adoption e-certificate, an animal fact sheet and invitation to WRS events and previews.

Wildlife ambassadors, which are the highest tier, will further receive a Friends of Singapore Zoo membership pass, a redemption voucher for animal plush toys and be acknowledged on the zoo's Adopters' Wall.

In the lead-up to the official launch, the adoption programme was shared with WRS' members and subscriber database in June.

It now has nearly 200 individual sponsorships.

Ms Gunjan Kalra, 42, said she looks forward to visiting the African penguins - Ben and Bella - that she adopted.

She said: "When the opportunity to adopt an animal came up, I knew my daughter would be thrilled to be a part of it because she absolutely loves penguins.

"I'm glad that we are able to contribute to it and the zoo's conservation efforts."

Her daughter is six years old.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.

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