SINGAPORE - Bags containing critically endangered animals were abandoned at the Night Safari recently, Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) - which manages the park - said in a Facebook post on Wednesday (Feb 3).

The animals, which included prairie dogs, marmosets and cotton-top tamarins, were caged and left at a service gate.

"They were probably meant for the illegal pet trade but something must have gone wrong and the perpetrators decided to dump the animals," WRS said.

Sharing that hundreds of illegal pets arrive on the doorsteps of WRS-run parks in a similar manner or as confiscations, the organisation said the challenge was to absorb all of them into its collection due to limited resources and space constraints.

It urged the public to help by not buying illegal pets.

"If there is no demand, poaching will stop."

Besides the Night Safari, WRS also manages the Singapore Zoo, River Safari and Jurong Bird Park.