When the global pandemic forced Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) to close its popular parks to visitors last year, virtual interactions with its animal residents became the cornerstone of its guest experience.
Residents in Singapore who were homebound during the circuit breaker could stay in touch with the assorted wildlife of Singapore Zoo, Jurong Bird Park, River Safari and Night Safari through engaging online sessions.
These include Hello from the Wild Side – a customised virtual group session in which keepers bring guests into intimate feeding and enrichment activities with various animals – as well as My Animal Buddy, where guests may “adopt” an animal in one of the parks and follow it through live broadcasts and keeper Q&As.
These innovative initiatives grabbed eyeballs from across the globe, spanning the regions of China and Europe, and their success has persisted even after park doors reopened. While group sessions for Hello from the Wild Side are now exclusive to corporate bookings, regular guests can still receive personalised messages from animals.
In this episode of TTG Conversations: Innovator Chat, WRS’ deputy CEO and chief life sciences officer, Dr Cheng Wen Haur, dives into the efforts made to draw domestic crowds back to the wild side.
