Jurong Bird Park celebrates its final flight with an invitation for all to visit

“Jurong Bird Park has been a place that holds special memories for multiple generations of Singaporeans who have grown up with the park.  Many of us associate JBP as a venue for school excursions, family outings and even first dates. While the park has evolved over the decades, one thing has remained constant – JBP has always been a place where Singaporeans can enjoy and connect with nature. From its humble beginning as a place of recreation for the local community, JBP soon became celebrated as a well-loved international attraction. The park has also played an important, purposeful role in conserving threatened bird species, including the critically endangered Negros Bleeding-heart Dove and the Straw-headed Bulbul,” said Mike Barclay, Group CEO of Mandai Wildlife Group. 

He added, “Importantly, the park could not have achieved any of this without the amazing people who have worked there over the years.  We extend our thanks to everyone who has played a part in building JBP into what it is today. As we prepare to close the park on its 52^nd birthday, we invite everyone to visit JBP one last time and embark on A Flight to Remember with us.”

A trip down memory lane

Jurong Bird Park was conceived in 1968 by the late Dr Goh Keng Swee, then Minister of Finance, with a humble ambition to create a safe haven where Singaporeans could escape urban life. Jurong Bird Park soared to great heights with crowd favourites such as the Waterfall Aviary, an immersive walk-in aviary with one of the world’s tallest man-made indoor waterfalls, standing at 30-metres tall.

Jurong Bird Park welcomed its millionth visitor in August 1972 and over the years the park has seen 41 million guests walk through its gates.

In celebration of its accomplishments and to pay homage to the park’s legacy, Jurong Bird Park welcomes guests to relive fond memories at the park. A Flight To Remember takes off from 3 September 2022 with a line-up of activities celebrating the park’s heritage. Embark on a self-guided Heritage Trail of Jurong Bird Park and make pit-stops at a series of heritage displays that illustrate key milestones in the park’s 51-year journey where visitors can learn about the park’s transformation since its official opening in 1971 inaugurated by Dr Goh Keng Swee.

Operating from 1992 to 2012, the park’s old Panorail was a monorail system which offered guests panoramic views as it traversed the park. To mark this iconic piece of the park’s history, the old Panorail Station has reopened to the public, complete with a recreation of the Panorail for nostalgic photo opportunities. 

“I have seen Jurong Bird Park through many transformations in my 40-year-history here, from new amphitheatres to aviaries, but this will be the most significant yet. There are still many of us who joined the organisation in its early days and have been here over the decades,” shared Daisy Ling, Vice President, who started working in Jurong Bird Park in 1982 as an Education Officer. “Jurong Bird Park is like our second home, and it will be a bittersweet time for us. While we commemorate our fondest memories here in Jurong, we also look forward to new beginnings with the Bird Paradise in Mandai Wildlife Reserve and to be a part of another transformative phase of Singapore’s bird park. We hope the local community can join us in the coming months to make this a worthy closing chapter for the park before we turn the page.”

    

Relive old memories and make new ones

Capture lasting memories at the park entrance with a re-creation of the park’s old cuckoo clock tower, which doubles as a countdown timer to the park’s final day of operations. Guests can also contribute their favourite memories of Jurong Bird Park to a ‘living’ Memory Wall at the Penguin Coast and watch their memories pop up on screen in real-time and look back on 51-years of history.

Explore Jurong Bird Park with a different lens through the eyes of Jurong Bird Park’s dedicated team that keeps the park running day-to-day.  Download a staff-curated trail from https://go.mandai.com/insidersguide and learn about their favourite spots and the park’s best kept secrets. From the perfect place to catch sunrays peeking through the luxuriant vegetation in the morning, to the best vantage point to observe the waterfall, and a secret ‘staff-only’ menu item at the Hawk Café, this is the only insiders’ guide you will need for Jurong Bird Park.

Visitors can also bring home a piece of Jurong Bird Park home, with limited-edition merchandise such as Jurong Bird Park-themed terrariums and medallions. To celebrate the park’s milestone, they’ll also enjoy a limited-edition gift with every $40 spent in a single transaction.

Jurong Bird Park will release new programming over the next few months, including the launch of a Nostalgic Signature Tour in November. Let seasoned guides cast your mind back in time through the park’s storied history. Learn little-known anecdotes about the park’s avian friends and architecture, while engaging in exclusive feeding sessions and avian encounters in African Treetops and Waterfall Aviary. Bookings for the tour will open on 19 October 2022.

Also launching in November is a nostalgic dining experience with traditional pushcarts selling local hawker fare and carnival activities to raise the festive spirit. 

Jurong Bird Park’s last day of operations will be on 3 January 2023 but it’s not goodbye, it’s see you later! Updates on the new bird park will be shared next.

Please refer to Annex A or www.birdpark.com.sg/closing for more information on the activities of A Flight To Remember and Annex B for Jurong Bird Park’s milestones.

Annex A – Activities for A Flight to Remember

 

Activities	Details
Countdown with us! Reminisce the old entrance of our park and commemorate our swansong with a treasured memento at this photo point.   Remember to share your memories with #JurongBirdPark.	Venue: Park Entrance Date: 3 Sep 2022 – 3 Jan 2023 Time: 8.30am – 6pm
Heritage Trail Explore our park and learn more about our history and 51 years of im-peck-able achievements!   Locate our heritage checkpoints and scan the QR code to embark on your journey to the past. Complete at least 3 checkpoints and redeem a Jurong Bird Park memento*. *Limited to first 100 redemptions daily. T&Cs apply.	Venue: Around the park Date: 3 Sep 2022 – 3 Jan 2023 Time: 8.30am – 6pm   Redemption Details Venue: Membership Services Centre Time: 9am-5pm, daily
#ShareYourMemories Share your emu-tions and favourite park memories on our real-time digital platform. Scan the QR code to start posting!	Venue: Penguin Coast Date: 3 Sept 2022 – 3 Jan 2023 Time: 8.30am – 6pm
Onboard the Panorail Relive our highlights and heritage and check out a replica of the famous Panorail that once offered guests bird’s-eye views around the park.   Remember to take a picture and share your memories with #JurongBirdPark.	Venue: Above Wings Kiosk & Opposite Tram Station 1 Date: 3 Sep 2022 – 3 Jan 2023 Time: 8.30am – 6pm
Insider’s Guide Download a staff-curated trail from https://go.mandai.com/insidersguide to get the Insider’s Guide on the best hidden spots and secrets of Jurong Bird Park.	Venue: Around the park Date: 3 Sep 2022 – 3 Jan 2023 Time: 8:30am – 6pm
A Gift for Every-birdy Bring a piece of history home with our Jurong Bird Park-inspired terrariums! What’s more, enjoy a limited-edition gift with every $40 spent in a single transaction.	Venue: Feathers Shop Date: 3 Sep 2022 – 3 Jan 2023 Time: 8.30am – 6pm

Annex B - Key Milestones of Jurong Bird Park

1968 – The late Dr Goh Keng Swee was in Rio De Janeiro attending a World Bank meeting. He visited the Rio Aviary and was highly impressed. At a time of rapid urbanisation in Singapore, he saw the bird park as an opportunity for Singaporeans to connect with nature. It was also famously reported that when asked why not build a zoo instead, Dr Goh said "Birdseeds cost less than meat.”

 

1971 – The park was built at a cost of 3.5million and Jurong Bird Park officially opened on 3 January 1971. It was Asia’s largest bird park. At the time of opening, the park included 78 display aviaries, an administration block, a transit and quarantine station, a nursery breeding area, as well as facilities such as a tram system, a restaurant and refreshment kiosks.

The crowning jewel of the park was the Jurong Falls Aviary, now known as Waterfall Aviary. The aviary houses one the world's tallest man-made, indoor waterfalls.  Standing at 30-metres-tall, water plunges over the top of a towering cliff at a rate of 140 litres per second. The water is then recirculated through a meandering stream that cascades down over a series of levels, creating an ideal environment for the hundreds of free-flying birds and lush vegetation.

1972 – Jurong Bird Park played host to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh when they visited Singapore as part of their Southeast Asian and Indian Ocean tour. The park also recorded its millionth visitor in August of this year.

1985 – A Master Plan was launched to upgrade Jurong Bird Park for the changing times, as well as improve the living conditions of the birds and give visitors a more complete experience of the park. Plans were implemented to build all new attractions such as the Pool’s Amphitheatre, Flightless Birds exhibit, and the Panorail system. 

1988 – The Fuji Hawk Centre, now known as Hawk Arena, was officially launched and with it, the Kings of the Skies animal presentation. To this day, Kings of the Skies remains a crowd favourite, showcasing the natural behaviours of raptors like the Bald Eagle, Brahminy Kites and Himalayan Griffon Vulture. 

1992 – The Master Plan saw fruition with the opening of the Pools Amphitheatre on 5 Jan 1992, featuring the new All Stars Bird Show, with a capacity of 2,000 pax. At the time of completion, the amphitheatre had the largest canopy in the world.  The year also saw the launch of the Panorail, a monorail system that offered panoramic views of the park. Integration with the Park’s hilly terrain made it the most undulating monorail ride in the world, rising up to the treetops and skimming close to the surface of the lakes.

1992 – Thanks to the research efforts of the hornbill keepers, Jurong Bird Park saw the world’s first Black Hornbill bred under human care. Black Hornbills are a vulnerable species native to Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei.

2001 – Jurong Bird Park saw the world’s first Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise bred under human care, helping the park to clinch the Breeders’ Award from the American Pheasant and Waterfowl Society.

2008 – Oriental Pied Hornbills Sada & Lily were released in Singapore as part of a reintroduction project in collaboration with NParks and Singapore Avian Conservation Project, contributing to the return of the species to the island.

2009 – The Bird Park Flies to School programme was launched, where wildlife ranger Doctor Squawk brings birds to schools for interactive sessions with students to inculcate an appreciation for avian life.

2010 – In 1972, the penguin exhibit was called Penguin Pool and a crowd favourite. It then made way for a new exhibit – Penguin Parade in the 1980s that gave visitors a view of the penguins above and under water. The exhibit underwent a major upgrade in 2010 to become the current exhibit today, the Penguin Coast. During that time, an outdoor exhibit was also built specially for the African penguins. where they are free to go for a swim by the pool under the sun or retreat to their air-conditioned den. Found only on the south-western coast of Africa, the African penguins are perfectly adaptable to cool or warm temperatures. 

2012 – The Park’s Breeding & Research Centre was officially launched for walk-in public viewing, giving visitors an opportunity to learn about how the park’s chicks are hatched from eggs and hand-raised until they are old enough to go into their aviaries

2015 – The Wings of Asia exhibit was launched, featuring many of the park’s threatened songbirds such as the Bali Mynah and Black-winged Mynah, to help raise awareness on the threat of the illegal songbird trade.

2018 – In a joint effort between Mandai Wildlife Group, OceansWatch, BirdLife International, Toledo Zoo and Aquarium and the Solomon Islands’ Department of Agriculture, 60 rescued Santa Cruz Ground Doves were brought to Jurong bird Park to form the world’s first assurance colony of the endangered species outside of its native range. Breeding efforts have been successful with the initial flock increasing to over 90 to date, with the ultimate goal to return them to the native Solomon Islands to replenish wild population.

2019 – A pair of Philippine Eagles, Geothermica and Sambisig, arrived at Jurong Bird Park under a wildlife loan agreement with the Philippines’ Department of Environment and Natural Resources in collaboration with the Philippine Eagle Foundation.  This is the first time the species have been sent outside of their native country. The loan marked 50 years of diplomatic ties between the Philippines and Singapore.

2021 – In partnership with Talarak Foundation and Mandai Nature, the critically endangered Negros Bleeding-hearts arrived at Jurong Bird Park and the first chick was hatched within two months, establishing the species’ first conservation breeding programme outside of its native country of Philippines. The goal is to return the progenies back to help repopulate their native habitat.

2023 – Jurong Bird Park’s final operating day, slated for 3 January 2023.