Mandai opens modern animal hospital with CT scanner, retractable roofs and water features in wards

SINGAPORE – To check whether a striped hyena’s pneumonia had cleared, a CT (computed tomography) scan was done on the animal at Mandai’s newly built animal hospital on June 9, a stone’s throw away from its home at the Night Safari.

Blood was also drawn from the 32kg creature and tested.

“Everything happened at the same time,” said Mandai Wildlife Group’s vice-president for veterinary healthcare and scientific programmes Xie Shangzhe.

“The blood samples went to the lab, and by the time we had the CT image up, the results of the blood samples were back.

“Rather than waiting for test results and then putting the animal under anaesthesia a second time for treatment, we can get the results quickly and treat it while it’s still under.

“This means we can make the best treatment plans with all the information on hand while avoiding additional anaesthesia.”

Welcome to Mandai’s new Wildlife Healthcare and Research Centre.

It is more than twice the size of the old hospital next door, and features more wards, larger rooms for surgery and testing, as well as expanded laboratory space and capabilities.

Mandai declined to say how much the new facility cost.

The new wards are not only bigger but also specially designed to cater to the different needs of the animals, said Xie.

Some come with an area that can be filled with water for water-lovers such as sea lions and capybaras, for instance. Others have swings for primates like orang utans, or air-conditioning for the likes of the red pandas, which thrive in a cool climate.

They are also fitted with retractable roofs to allow sunlight to stream in, which can help animals recover faster.

Its crown jewel is a new CT scanner – a diagnostic imaging machine that uses a computer and X-rays to create detailed cross-sectional images of the body.

Just like in humans, it can be used to diagnose diseases or injuries and plan treatments.

Before the new hospital was set up, larger animals that needed a CT scan would have to be transported to specialised vet clinics outside the zoo to get such imaging done, taking up more time and making it riskier, said Xie.

The new hospital is part of Mandai’s precinct upgrade as well as an upgrade from the old hospital that began operations in 2006, and can smoothly accommodate treatment of more than one animal at a time.

During a visit by The Straits Times on June 9, for example, a red-bellied lemur weighing 1.85kg was having an X-ray and ultrasound scans to monitor its recovery after surgery for a fall, at the same time as the hyena’s CT scan – which showed areas of the lung that appeared white or cloudy due to infection gradually returning to its usual, dark appearance.

And at the end of the day, there was some good news for both animals, which were found to be doing well.

The new wards can house up to 50 animals, and advanced laboratory capabilities mean that about 90 per cent to 95 per cent of the tests can be run in-house.

Among other upgrades, there is also a dedicated room for polymerase chain reaction testing, and an endocrine lab where animals’ hormones can be measured to better understand stress levels, reproduction status and overall well-being.

Of the 900 species Mandai cares for, 30 per cent are threatened, said Xie, and baseline medical data of these threatened species has yet to be fully established.

“Establishing what’s ‘normal’ for these species through our diagnostics gives us a reference point to detect problems early and treat them more effectively,” he said. “Such data not only helps our own animals but also helps build the broader body of knowledge on these species, supporting conservation efforts here and elsewhere.”

Mandai said it is planning tours that will give visitors a behind-the-scenes look at how animals are treated, and an overview of the hospital’s functions.