Jurong Bird Park, which is planning to shift to Mandai by 2020, has decided to stop conducting shows in its open amphitheater. Instead, the shows will be held in mesh-covered platforms to prevent the show birds from mingling with the surrounding habitat.
This measure will help birds from frisking away towards sensitive habitats in the neighboring Central Catchment Nature Reserve, without interrupting the ecological balance, along with reducing aggression or conflict between wild animals and the show birds in the reserve.
The decision was taken after consulting Mandai Park Holdings (MPH), which is a home for Singapore zoo, night safari, and river safari, scientific experts and nature enthusiasts.
Jurong Bird Park is a tourist aviary attraction in Jurong, Singapore and is managed by Wildlife Reserves covering an area of 0.2 sq km on the western slope of Jurong Hill, one of the highest points in the Jurong region.
The bird park, which is currently situated in Jurong, has an open amphitheater, but nature enthusiasts raised concerns over the habitat clash between wild birds and show birds. As a result, the Mandai Park Holding decided to revamp the park with mesh in order to create a different experience for the visitors and preventing the show birds from escaping to the sensitive habitats surrounding the park.
The MPH conduct shows take place under controlled setting and adapting tracking technology with extra protective measures.
Earlier, the environment reports stated that all new birds, including the show birds, should be conducted within meshed aviaries, in order to prevent birds from escaping into the neighborhood habitat.
"The key concern was that this could have an adverse impact on the behaviour of the native birds," Mr. Philip Yim, senior president at developer Mandai Park Development MPH's arm told The Straits Times. He also added that keeping in mind the risks in the park regarding the safety of birds, Yim decided to choose mesh over an amphitheatre.
