Thousands of freshwater animals on display in Singapore's River Safari

Featuring the freshwater ecosystems and their associated biological resources, Singapore's first-ever river-themed park, River Safari, has its soft opening Wednesday.Located in Singapore's Mandai Nature Reserve and with total investment of 160 million Singapore dollars (129 million U.S. dollars), the 12-hectare park showcases animals from freshwater habitats inspired by eight of the world's iconic rivers, including the Mississipi, Congo, Nile, Ganges, Murray, Mekong, Yangtze and Amazon rivers.There will be over 150 plant species and 5,000 animal specimens representing 300 animal species, including some endangered river giants like Giant Salamander, Giant Freshwater Stingray and Mokong Giant Catfish.Besides the eight habitat exhibitions by stepping into the indoor galleries, visitors can also hop on board a boat that brings them up-close to over 30 fascinating animal species that live along the edge of the river, including jaguar, Brazilian tapir and giant anteater.However, according to a staff of the park, the planned attraction will be opened later, mainly because some adjustments are still needed to ensure that the boats are "100 percent safe" with those animals along-side.Ang Cheng Chye, assistant director of Zoology for River Safari, said the main highlights of the park will be the endangered freshwater species they have. He exampled the Mekong catfish, giant freshwater stingrays inside the Mekong River, which are " some of the largest freshwater fish in the world."He also pointed that this is a unique place in Asia where you can see the river otters and the Manatees. "We have one of the largest collections of Manatees in the world." he added.In the Amazon Flooded Forest, it displays the South American rainforest that is submerged every year during the rainy season when the river rises 30 to 40 feet. People can capture the manatees, arapaima and some other freshwater fishes which are swimming and playing around.The giant panda celebrities of Kaikai and Jiajia, which came to Singapore from China for 10-year loan in last September, also lives in River Safari. They house in Yangtze River zone and have attracted thousands of millions of people coming to see them.The River Safari hopes to highlight the importance of freshwater ecosystems by displaying such freshwater habitats and their associated endangered animals.