Source : Straits Times, Singapore, 08 Jan '05
By : Glenys Sim
  

	NEW ADDITION: The pair of jaguars, Shamu and Shala, born in June last year, were some of the success stories that the Singapore Zoo had. -- WILDLIFE RESERVES SINGAPORE

It joins the world-famous San Diego Zoo and Sydney's Taronga Zoo in world rankings for births.

Of these, 20 species are on the IUCN-The World Conservation Union's list of endangered animals, its parent company Wildlife Reserves Singapore said in a statement yesterday.

Among the animals in danger of extinction which the zoo has bred successfully are douc langurs, cotton-top tamarins and brown capuchins, all species of monkeys.

Together with the proboscis monkeys, orang utans and chimpanzees, the births of these creatures brought the total number of primates in the zoo and Night Safari to 348, maintaining its status as the zoo with the largest collection of primates in the world.

The zoo also welcomed the addition of a pair of jaguars last year. Shamu and Shala were born to parents Kahn and Angel in June, adding to the fewer than 50,000 jaguars left in the world. Other births include five giant Asian pond turtles, four rhinoceros iguanas and two white rhinoceroses.

The executive director of the zoo and Night Safari, Ms Fanny Lai, said: 'The births are a testament to the expertise and dedication of our zoologists and vets.'

As part of the global captive breeding initiative, the Singapore Zoo also sent animals bred here to overseas zoos in China, Australia and South Africa.

Last September, the zoo's most famous elephant, five-year-old Sang Raja (Royal King in Malay), left for Germany's Cologne Zoo, to be part of its conservation programme.