Rain fails to dampen spirits on Jurong Bird Park's last day of operations
More than 2,600 visitors turned up at Jurong Bird Park to bid farewell to one of Singapore's oldest wildlife attractions.
SINGAPORE: For 35-year-old Zernalynne Flores, who is a trainer and show presenter at Jurong Bird Park, the park holds many precious memories.
Ms Flores, who has been with the park for 12 years, met her husband there - he was her senior on the team working on the High Flyers show at the Pools Amphitheatre.
The two finally got married last year. Taking advantage of the restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, they picked a day in March when the park was closed and held their wedding at the Pools Amphitheatre, saying their vows on the same stage where they hosted shows together.
Her colleagues helped to decorate the stage with plants and flowers for her wedding. In addition to their families and friends, the couple were joined by some of the park’s flamingoes and macaws.
“I actually felt quite sad, because all the memories are here. I got married here, I met my husband here," she told CNA.
"When I heard about the last show, I felt very sad. Because the bird park has always been here, and we've been working here for the past few years," she added.
"But it didn't hit me so soon, it only hit me recently when I saw the countdown at the entrance. When it reached five days, then I was like, 'Oh my god, this is it, we're really moving to Mandai.'"
"It's also a bittersweet feeling leaving this place, because this place really has a lot of memories."
On the 52nd anniversary of its opening, Jurong Bird Park welcomed visitors for the last time on Tuesday (Jan 3).
A total of 2,600 visitors made their way to the park in the west of Singapore on its last day of operations. It saw more than 30,000 visitors in its last five days of operations over the New Year weekend. Tickets were priced at S$10 from Nov 19 to Tuesday, following the announcement of the park’s impending closure.
The park has welcomed 41 million visitors since its opening on Jan 3, 1971. The 20.2ha attraction on Jurong Hill was home to more than 3,500 birds across 400 species.
It will now join the Singapore Zoo, River Wonders and Night Safari at the Mandai Wildlife Reserve, alongside other upcoming attractions such as Rainforest Wild and a new resort by Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts.
Many of the visitors on Tuesday were seen taking photos at their favourite exhibits, with the clock counting down to the park’s closure, or recreating photos they took at the park when they were younger.
University student Isaiah Leong visited the park with his parents on Tuesday.
"My parents brought me here when I was very young, I haven't been here in the longest time, so I decided to make a trip down before it closes so that I can relive the memories and to experience the sentimental value of this place," the 21-year-old told CNA.
Watching the shows and looking at the exhibits brought back memories for him and his parents, said Mr Leong.
The last time he visited the park was when he was about five years old, he shared.
"Actually, I didn't really feel anything until during the last show, they brought everyone out and the birds flew in, I felt it," he added.
Mr Jason Koon, 38, visited the park for the first time on Tuesday with his wife and eight-year-old son.
The Malaysian resident has lived in Singapore for about 10 years, and decided to plan a visit to the park after hearing that it was closing soon.
Their favourite exhibit was the Wings of Asia exhibit with its many types of pigeons.
"Normally, you see them near your house, but I never knew there were so many special types," said Mr Koon.
They also enjoyed watching the High Flyers show.
"(It was my) first time seeing a bird that can talk," he added with a chuckle.
Both Mr Koon and Mr Leong caught the 3pm High Flyers show at the Pools Amphitheatre, which featured the park’s hornbills, parrots, roosters, flamingoes and pelicans.
The show started at 3pm to a full audience, with many people clamouring for a chance to interact with the birds. Several members of the public got a chance to hold a knotted rope in the air and watch the bright yellow sun conures land just centimetres from them.
Amigo, the park’s yellow-naped Amazon parrot, impressed with his rendition of Ke Ren Lai and Rasa Sayang, and ended off with a birthday song dedicated to the park.
He was accompanied by the park’s oldest sulphur-crested cockatoo, Big John, who is more than 50 years old. After some cajoling from its trainer, the diva eked out a "hello" for the audience, and then opted to turn its back to the crowd the entire time.
The show ended with flocks of pelicans flapping their huge wings while waddling from stage left to stage right, and a herd of flamingoes circling the centre of the stage. They were joined by multiple parrots swooping in from the top of the amphitheatre.
In an emotional farewell, all the trainers behind the High Flyers show emerged alongside the birds to roaring applause. Supervisor for animal behaviour and programmes, Eileen Lim, introduced each trainer and choked up as she thanked the audience for a final time.
While the park opened to sunny skies, a heavy downpour at about 4.30pm temporarily dampened the mood.
At 4pm, visitors hurried over to catch the Kings of the Skies show featuring the park’s birds of prey, the very last show of the day.
While the stands were nearly full by about 3.30pm, a slight drizzle threatened to put a stop to the show before it even began. But the drizzle ended and the show began on time at 4pm despite the cloudy skies.
Animal presenter Clarence Saw introduced the magnificent birds of prey. Nelson, the park’s white-bellied sea eagle swooped low over the audience into the pond and smoothly grabbed a rubber snake out of the water.
Titan the turkey vulture, Raoul the southern-crested cara cara, Ganges the Himalayan griffon vulture and Belang the Malay fish owl took turns to make appearances on stage. At this point, the sky had turned dark and it started drizzling again. Audience members opened their umbrellas, but continued to sit and wait in anticipation.
Mr Saw paused the show, but hesitated to call it quits. He asked the audience if they wanted the show to continue despite the rain, since it was the last time.
His question was met with a loud, resounding yes. He quickly introduced some of the remaining birds, but had to stop the show soon after as the rain developed into a downpour. He thanked the audience for their support over the years as they quickly made their way to nearby shelter.
Tourists Abhishek Hastak, 28 and his wife Surabhi Bhakre, 30, who visited the park on Tuesday with Mr Hastak's parents, were planning their holiday and looking up ticket prices when they found out that it would be closing soon.
"We figured that the last day might be a little bit special, so we decided to come," said Mr Hastak, adding that the park met his expectations.
"Sure, the rain put a damper on it a little bit, but I'm glad the shows at least started and went on for some time. We were in the show before this as well, and it was fantastic," they told CNA while waiting out the downpour.
"I think the thing that stood out was the crew of the park, they're clearly pretty passionate about what they do," he added.
"The other thing that stood out to me was that it doesn't look like a park where you go and just watch birds. But it really looks like they've been taking care of the birds pretty much like their own kids, and they're pretty emotional about it being the last day.
"I think that's what felt really special, as opposed to most zoos that we see, which can be very depressing."
Ms Bhakre shared that she enjoyed watching the shows and that she found it interesting that the birds were very well-trained.
"The fact that there's so many interesting different species, it's also well-planned, there's so much information to gather, it's very enjoyable," she added.
Mr Zaid Harithsah, 31, a keeper for the Wings of Asia and Dino Descendants exhibits, found out about the move to Mandai just months after he joined the park.
"I was shocked, but I was also very invested and very curious," he added with a chuckle.
He has worked for the park more than five years, and this is his first full-time job. He is now responsible for more than 300 birds.
"As a kid that grew up in the 90s, our school excursions would always be going to Jurong Bird Park and the Singapore Zoo, so it's one of my very first memories being exposed to animals in the flesh in such close proximity," said Mr Zaid.
"And now, sitting in this Pools Amphitheatre, it's our last day of operations, it's a very solemn feeling, knowing that the journey here has ended but at the same time, I'm looking forward to the new Birds Paradise, because I know it's the start of a new journey."
Both Ms Flores and Mr Zaid are looking forward to the new facilities that will be available at Mandai.
"It's a more upgraded facility. Jurong Bird Park is one of the pioneer wildlife parks we have in Singapore, and what comes with the word 'pioneer', it's also an ageing facility," said Mr Zaid.
Ms Flores added: "It will be better welfare for our birds. I'm also looking forward to doing the presentations there, and I hope our guests will love the new place and actually come and see it once we open."
The rain finally lost steam at about 5pm, as visitors started to leave the sheltered areas and return to the park’s outdoor exhibits.
By 5.30pm, visitors were hopping onto the trams to make their way to the exit. As they left the park, many of them stopped to take their last few pictures at the entrance, posing with figurines of the birds.
Many former staff members also visited the park on Tuesday, and they bade farewell to the park with their former colleagues, taking photos together at the entrance or at exhibits they used to work at.
Finally, at about 6.30pm, the last few visitors were ushered out of the park, flanked by cheering staff members who waved and thanked them for their support.
At about 6.45pm, vice president of Jurong Bird Park Daisy Ling made the final closing announcement to staff over a walkie talkie.
Five minutes later, the shutters to the park slowly came rolling down for the last time.
As the shutters hit the floor, the staff led all those who stayed behind in three cheers for Jurong Bird Park. Many of them hugged each other with tears in their eyes, and posed for a group photo outside.
A visitor who only wanted to be known as Mdm Juan, was among the last to leave. She stood with her 11-year-old son outside the gates, watching as the shutters came down.
Mdm Juan’s family had already visited the park on Dec 30, 2022, but she wanted to catch the park’s final time closing as they live nearby.
“This place won’t be here forever, so we came here to witness a memory,” said the 40-year-old, who works in education.
Her family has been to the park several times, and they even celebrated her son’s birthday there once. His favourite exhibit is the penguin enclosure, where he experienced feeding the penguins.
“This is a nostalgic place, it has actually brought us many memories,” said Mdm Juan.
“But moving to the new place, we are looking forward to the new facilities and the new environment for the animals.”