Jurong National Park, Asia's largest bird park closes today!

Jurong National Park is a bird park and a tourist attraction in Jurong, Singapore. The national park is managed by Mandai Wildlife Reserve. According to the Mandai Wildlife Reserve, Jurong National Park was first opened in 1971. Furthermore, it has become Asia’s largest bird park after five decades. The park is stretched across 20.2 hectares and hosts 850 thousand of visitors annually. The park is home to 3,500 birds across 400 species, of which 20% are threatened. 

Jurong Bird Park has the most comprehensive collection of hornbills in the world. In addition, they have been at the forefront of research and conservation for this iconic group of birds. The park is also dedicated to Asian songbird conservation. It is accredited by two of the top international regional zoo associations- the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) and the Zoo and Aquarium Association of Australia (ZAA). It is also a member of the Southeast Asian Zoo and Aquarium Association (SEAZA) and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA)

Closing of the Park

On 30th August 2022, Mandai Wildlife Reserve announced that Jurong National Park will close its operations on 3rd January 2022, exactly 52 years after the opening of the National Park. The Park’s 3,500 avian residents and staff will be moved to a brand new home in Bird Paradise at Mandai Wildlife Reserve. 

The Strait Times, a Singapore-based daily newspaper reports that people have been flocking to Jurong Park ahead of the last day of operations on 3rd January. The park had its peak with 8,000 visitors in a single day on 26th December. It is four times the daily average of about 2,000 visitors.

Bird Paradise

According to the Mandai Wildlife Reserve press release, the new Bird Paradise is set to open in the second quarter of 2023. Visitors will be able to explore eight large walk-through aviaries which reflect different biomes of the world. This includes dense African rainforests, South American wetlands, Southeast Asian paddy fields, Australian dry eucalypt forests, and more.

Additionally, this new Bird Paradise will also include an avian hospital. Furthermore, other operating parks become leading centers of animal conservation, education, and research.

The new bird park will also have the world’s largest living genetic reserve of hornbills under human care with over 20 species including Knobbed Hornbill and Sulawesi Hornbill. There will also be 75 ex-situ managed breeding programs represented, as well as several species that are directly linked to field conservation projects.

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