info Due to Safari Zoo Run 2019 on 24 Feb 2019, regular operations of River Safari will be affected and large crowds will be expected.
The park and boat rides will open at 11.30am. The Once Upon A River animal presentation at 11.30am will be rescheduled to 2.30pm.

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Opening hours

We're open every day of the year.

River Safari

10:00am - 7:00pm (Last entry at 6.30pm)

Reservoir Cruise

10.30am - 6.00pm (Last ride at 6.00pm)

Amazon River Quest

11.00am - 6.00pm (Last ride at 6.00pm)

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Giant river otter

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Amazon Flooded Forest
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Quick facts

Lifespan

Lifespan

10 to 13 years in the wild

Up to 17 years under human care

Diet

Diet

Fish and crustaceans

Occasionally small snakes and caimans

Habitat

Habitat

Large, slow-moving rivers

Also streams, lakes and swamps

Range

Range

South America

Throughout the Orinoco, Amazon, and La Plata river systems

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Get to know our giant river otters

Playful families

Playful families

In the wild, giant river otter families work together to chase off predators like caimans and jaguars, and trespassing otters from rival families. Socially-integrated otter families cooperate better. That’s why our otters play together so often – it strengthens the social bonds essential for the survival of the family!

Depending on the day of your visit, you may see Carlos, Carmen and their 2016 litter, or Chico and Carla, born to Carlos and Carmen earlier in 2014.

Authorised members only

Authorised members only

The otters’ white throat markings are unique like our fingerprints and used for identification. They have a keen sense of smell and can tell family members from intruders by sniffing one another. To mark out their territorial boundaries, they smear secretions from their anal glands all around their ‘home ground’. If you see our otters rubbing their bodies against parts of the exhibit, looking like they’re scratching an itch, you know now they’re actually scent marking.

 

O-tterly entertaining

O-tterly entertaining

Our otters love chasing bubbles in the water. They also enjoy picking up rocks and watching them sink to the bottom of the pool, before repeating the entire process again. To further encourage their instinct to explore, our keepers provide the otters with enrichment toys, in the form of a simple boomer ball which they can roll and chase, or a few branches to excite them with new scents. On hot days, an ice block may be given to provide them with a sensory treat.

 

Strict parents

Strict parents

Otter pups do not know how to swim and need to be taught by their parents. You can’t tell by their cheeky looks but Carlos and Carmen were extremely strict swimming instructors. They would take their pups by their neck and hold them in water while they struggled. At times, the pups looked like they would drown, prompting some guests to approach our keepers in concern. The pups have come a long way from then. Today, they are just as agile in the water as their parents.

 

Together for wildlife

Breeding to protect their future

Breeding to protect their future

Our otter breeding success, a first in Asia, is coordinated under the European Endangered Species Programme (EESP). Through exchange among member zoos worldwide and careful `match-making’, the EESP ensures that gene pool of giant otter populations under human care is robust. . Such collaborations are important to secure a future for the species’ survival.

The IUCN Status

LC Least Concern
NT
VU
EN Endangered
CR
EW
EX Extinct
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is widely recognized as the most comprehensive, objective global approach for evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species.

LC

Least Concern

At relatively low risk of extinction

NT

Near Threatened

Likely to become vulnerable in the near future

VU

Vulnerable

At high risk of extinction in the wild

EN

Endangered

At very high risk of extinction in the wild

CR

Critically Endangered

At extremely high risk of extinction in the wild

EW

Extinct in the Wild

Survives only in captivity

EX

Extinct

No surviving individuals in the wild or in captivity

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80 Mandai Lake Road Singapore 729826

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