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Joys of being a Docent

By Patricia Tan

When I was in my twenties, I moved from my quiet home town in Western Australia to live abroad in Singapore. While I was there, I devoted my spare time to volunteer work as a Volunteer Ranger at the Singapore Night Safari.

The general reaction I received from Singaporean friends and colleagues after telling them I did volunteer work was, “What? You don’t get paid?” To worn out Singaporean workers, it seemed like a strange waste of time and effort to work for free, particularly at a zoo on the edge of the island.

Exhaustion was something I felt at the end of nearly every working day in Singapore. It wasn’t just the multitude of duties I had to juggle in the busy insurance office where I worked. There was something very draining about working in a highly developed urban jungle with tall buildings, cars and people everywhere. It was so different from my home town where I could easily find some wide open space and tranquillity. Although I was grateful for the chance to experience living abroad, Singapore’s bustling and crowded atmosphere left me feeling weary and stifled.

More than anything, I wanted to stay at home, drink a cold beer and relax in front of the television during my spare time. But, twice a month, I denied myself that luxury and did my Volunteer Ranger duties instead.

Sometimes, as I dragged my tired feet to my volunteer job, I too wondered why I bothered.

But that disappeared once I arrived at the Night Safari.

The Night Safari made me feel instantly alive. Maybe it was the vast amounts of lush tropical flora, the wandering peacocks that greeted me at the bus stop, the grinning tourists looking forward to their evening, or the flaming torches decorating the entrance. Everything made me feel like I was leaving the hustle and bustle of Singapore behind and entering a mysterious nocturnal world.

The Night Safari spans across 40 hectares, which gave me the breathing space that I craved during my day job. About 30% of the 130 animal species on display are endangered or threatened. It was a privilege to see rare and precious species up close, like the clouded leopard, slow loris, tarsier, Malayan tiger, Indian rhinoceros and Asiatic lion. The animals are displayed in well thought out habitats with invisible barriers, which made me feel like I was part of their environment.

Working there helped me appreciate the important role that modern zoos play in conservation. The Singapore Zoo’s reputation as one of the most successful conservation parks in Southeast Asia is well deserved. It runs breeding programmes, participates in wildlife research, raises funds for wildlife conservation, and helps to promote awareness about dwindling animal numbers and habitat destruction amongst the public.

Spreading the word about conservation and piquing visitors’ interest in wildlife were highlights of being a Volunteer Ranger. It was particularly enjoyable to chat to visitors inside the Mangrove Walk, a walk-in habitat housing several Malayan flying foxes. These are the largest of all flying foxes with wing spans over one and a half metres long. I became adept at calming people’s fears and dispelling misconceptions about flying foxes as vicious blood sucking creatures that purposely fly into people. Saving people from being peed on was another talent I developed; as most visitors I encountered did not know that flying foxes stand up to pee.

For the duration of my stay in Singapore, the Night Safari was my place of refuge from the urban jungle. The animals, the people I met and the beautiful tropical scenery all recharged my batteries and helped me get through my hectic working weeks. Being a part of one of the best Night Safaris in the world and doing my part to promote conservation made my job as a Volunteer Ranger worthwhile.