Fantastic Beasts arrive at the Singapore Zoo
Have you ever been to the zoo and then thought to yourself – this is all fine and good, but where are the dragons? Then I have great news for you, because from 17 November (Saturday) until the last day of 2018, the Singapore Zoo is granting your wish for more mythical creatures. The special feature area in the Singapore Zoo will play host to the A-Z of the book of beasts, from marauding manticores to pouncing phoenixes to ululating unicorns. You will be suitably impressed by the catalogue of fantastical creatures on display, as they have mined European, Asian and African folklore to bring you the most famous legendary beasts from popular cultures from around the world.
In the Valley of Myths, here be dragons and other incredible creatures ensconced amongst Singaporean flora. Beware their snouts, however, as some of them breathe “fire” (albeit more wet than burning). The Singapore Zoo has also cleverly sneaked in educational snacks about actual fauna (which you can also go visit because well, its a zoo), so you can learn about real life beasts while you fantasise about the mythical ones.
The clear highlight of the exhibit is the Ice Dragon from Game of Thrones fame. While it clearly looks out of place amidst tropical foliage, it is impressive and makes for excellent selfie opportunities. Bring your Westeros outfits for maximum effect. And fear its icy breath (if you don’t take into the account the temperature of the vapour). If you’re a GOT fan (or just a fan of winter and/or scary makeup), you probably want to go down on a day that the Night King and the White Walkers come for their dragon, so you can come for the photos. The Night King and gang appear 17, 18, 24 and 25 Nov.
There’s also a plethora of other fun events that the zoo that has planned, including a creature trail where you can visit real-life creatures that inspired these legends, meeting real life dragons (but of a much smaller scale), and the opportunity to load up on different collectible pins – a devilishly slick scheme to entice you to make the trip to the zoo on three separate occasions.
While at the zoo, you may want to consider visiting its friendly neighbour River Safari as they too have a special ongoing event called Tales of Fearsome River Creatures that overlaps almost perfectly with the Zoo’s Dragons and Beasts (17 Nov – 30 Dec). Sign up to engage in a fearsome-river-creature-themed escape challenge hosted by local escape room providers Lockdown. If you like your puzzles without the claustrophobia and with a side of fun facts about sting rays, anacondas and snapping turtles, this was planned just for you.
Led by friendly hosts clad in Indiana Jones garb through a Jumanji-style game, the puzzle quest will bring you through the different exhibits of River Safari to experience them in a way you haven’t before. If you’ve ever wanted to envision yourself as an intrepid explorer foraging through the Amazon to locate exotic river beasts, there’s no way you can miss this. In addition, completing the quest will net you (besides enough knowledge of river creatures to last a lifetime) a glittering treasure of a shiny limited edition Lockdown/River Safari gold coin, while stocks last!
