New specialised hospital opens in Mandai to treat Singapore’s wildlife

SINGAPORE – As day turns to dusk, junior veterinary nurse Nadhrah Hassan patiently feeds three energetic baby common palm civets abandoned by their mother.

The 22-year-old is part of a pioneering four-member team at the Mandai Wildlife Centre, a dedicated hospital for rescued native wildlife officially opened on July 22 by Mandai Nature, the non-profit conservation arm of Mandai Wildlife Group.

Despite the kittens’ indefatigable determination to leap off the table, Nadhrah shows no sign of fatigue.

Their meal of fruit and milk replicates what they would eat in the wild, an essential step towards helping them eventually survive in Singapore’s urban landscape.

“No words can truly capture the joy of knowing you helped give an animal a second chance at life. Every small improvement is a milestone worth celebrating,” Nadhrah told The Straits Times.

Unlike the Mandai Wildlife Group’s two other veterinary hospitals that serve zoo animals, the new centre will aim for the full rehabilitation and release of its animals into the wild.

Simultaneously, the hospital will act as a living observatory, gathering data on the wild fauna in Singapore.

Tending to injured pangolins, feeding an orphaned bat, and X-raying a dehydrated changeable hawk-eagle were all part of a day’s work during ST’s visit to the hospital on July 2.

Building on over two decades of wildlife rescue experience, the new facility at the Rainforest Wild Adventure East features a larger rehabilitation yard and a suite of diagnostic tools, including a moveable surgery table.

Visitors to the attraction can also get a glimpse of the hospital’s conservation work through a viewing gallery.

The dedicated facility comes as overall intake at Mandai’s Wildlife Healthcare and Research Centre, where rescued wildlife had previously been taken to, has declined. Annual admissions dropped from over 2,700 prior to 2015 to about 1,100 annually between 2022 and 2025 as more centres for Singapore’s wildlife opened over the years.

Greater public awareness has also reduced unnecessary admissions, explained Mandai Wildlife Centre’s head Charlene Yeong. She recalled how healthy pythons used to be rushed to Mandai from construction sites and dormitories. Education outreach with workers has helped to reduce some of these unnecessary transfers.

“This shift allows us to focus our resources on species requiring highly specialised care,” Yeong said.

Young animals, in particular, demand intensive labour, on occasion resulting in round-the-clock care.

For instance, an orphaned lesser dog-faced fruit bat required milk formula feedings seven times a day, with the final feed given at midnight.

The young bat was originally rescued clinging to the teat of its dead mother, but with the care at Mandai Wildlife Centre, it has since graduated from intensive care to eating solid foods.

“His poos have been good, and that makes me happy,” said Yeong with a smile, as she fed the baby bat.

The new hospital’s 10m-long yard gives recovering bats and birds enough flight space to test their wings and rebuild endurance before release.

Despite how endearing the animals can be, the team remains clear-eyed about its mission.

“We don’t want to hold them longer than necessary,” Yeong stressed.

“The longer they stay in human care, the higher the risk that they become habituated. We definitely want to avoid a situation where they lose their natural fear of humans.”

To date, 62 per cent of animals admitted to the facility have made a full recovery and been released successfully back into natural habitats, in collaboration with the National Parks Board.

Beyond treatment, the centre aims to leverage rescue data to fill critical knowledge gaps in native wildlife medicine, particularly for the elusive, globally critically endangered Sunda pangolin.

“Ecological field surveys are ideal, but they are incredibly resource-intensive,” said Yeong. “Rescue and rehabilitation data provide an insight into changes experienced by populations.”

She cited how veterinarians were initially alarmed when ultrasounds revealed abdominal fluid in admitted pangolins, with the sign typically linked to illness in most mammals. Through repeated monitoring, however, the team discovered that a small amount of abdominal fluid is actually normal for the species.

All reported wild Sunda pangolins in Singapore are taken to the Mandai Wildlife Centre, which has taken over this duty from the Wildlife Healthcare and Research Centre. Annual pangolin admissions rose from 15 in 2015 to between 30 and 40 annually from 2023 to 2025.

The heavily trafficked mammal is primarily threatened by habitat loss and traffic accidents in Singapore.

During ST’s visit, Yeong examined two juvenile pangolins recovering from their injuries. One was receiving antiseptic care for gashes linked to barbed wire, while the other had suffered a fractured limb, likely from a vehicle collision.

To support long-term conservation research, biological samples are collected from high-priority species like the pangolin.

Microchips are also implanted in the mammal, with identification numbers engraved onto the pangolins’ scales.

Similar tracking is used for reticulated pythons, the centre’s most common patient.

Low recapture rates suggest that released pythons disperse widely, noted Yeong. Tracking data has revealed that they are capable of travelling great distances, such as one python that had been released in western Singapore which eventually made its way back to the north.

“Pythons are naturally drawn to rodents, and rodents hang around rubbish areas, which is why snakes frequently end up in urban spaces,” said Yeong.

She advised the public that healthy pythons spotted in drains should be left alone, as they are likely to be simply hunting for rats. Rescue services should be called only if a snake is visibly injured or in immediate danger.

Looking ahead, the Mandai Wildlife Centre aims to serve as a regional training hub, collaborating with local institutes of higher learning and international researchers to advance applied conservation science across South-east Asia.

For team members like Nadhrah, the daily motivation remains personal. “The challenges I face in this work are minor compared to what wild animals endure in today’s rapidly developing world,” she said.

“I feel a responsibility to use my skills to give these animals the best possible chance of returning to where they belong.”

Members of the public interested in supporting the Mandai Wildlife Centre’s conservation and rescue efforts can learn more at this website.