Singapore Zoo revamps Elephant Presentation

Singapore Zoo’s herd of five female elephants has given resounding trunks up to their additional roles as scriptwriters and directors for the revamped elephant presentation. The revised show features various enrichment options which allow the elephants to voluntarily participate—which means they get to decide when and what they would like to do.

Keepers will play supporting roles outside the exhibit, serving mainly to interpret the elephants’ actions to guests. Aside from introducing the audience to the elephants’ personalities and quirks, keepers will demonstrate positive reinforcement methods to engage the elephants and encourage them to display natural behaviours such as laying in the water or leveraging on a log to reach their favourite fruit. To make the show more interactive, a new volunteer segment has been included, where a lucky visitor will get to enjoy a close encounter with one of the modern day mammoths.

The reimagined elephant presentation, which was officially launched in celebration of Elephant Appreciation Day, is part of Wildlife Reserves Singapore’s (WRS) continuing efforts to provide world class care for her animals through improved animal welfare. It is also in line with WRS evolving the care of her elephants towards the protected contact elephant management system.

Protected contact management means there will always be a physical safety barrier between the keepers and the elephants, which allows caretakers to continue providing quality care for the elephants while ensuring a greater level of safety for both elephants and humans.