Walking with dinosaurs at Zoo-rassic Park

Jurassic Park, Steven Spielberg’s 1993 movie which featured realistic looking prehistoric creatures, made such a huge impact on our imagination that many young people suddenly had serious ambitions to become paleontologists.

Come face-to-face with a T-Rex!  Look at those fangs! 

So when Wildlife Reserves Singapore invited me to their holiday season’s attraction dubbed, Zoo-rassic Park, I didn’t need details as to what it will feature because its name, so similar to Jurassic Park, left little to the imagination.

While I was fascinated by the advanced technology that went into the portrayal of such realistic movie scenes with a range of prehistoric creatures, I must admit that I had no desire to get close to any of these enormous animals.

My first brush with these prehistoric creatures was in 2013 at the Titans of the Past exhibition in the SingaporeScience Centre that showcased real fossils including the skull of the largest Tyrannosaurus Rex or T-Rex ever found!

Don't say we didn't warn you!

The close-up experience with the T-Rex skull gave me an idea of the massive proportions of its complete body.  I remember having the shivers, just imagining myself meeting one of these carnivorous creatures and probably ending up as a tasty meal because I would likely have collapsed in shock!

Dinosaurs disappeared from the face of the earth in the fifth extinction and animal species are being wiped out at an unprecedented rate.  In the last 50 years, 67 per cent of the world’s biodiversity was lost.

The Zoo-rassic Park experience in Singapore Zoo and River Safari aims to raise awareness on this issue and encourages visitors to do something to save the world’s biodiversity before it was too late.

It took a while to pluck up my courage for a close encounter experience and I roped in my sisters to join me for a walk with dinosaurs at Zoo-rassic Park. 

Even though these prehistoric animals are created by the wizardry of animatronics, I know the park would display them in a natural and realistic setting and I anticipated how scary it would be to come face-to-face with these titans of the past.  

And I was right.

At the entrance to the Singapore Zoo, there was an ominous looking container pasted with several ‘Danger’ warnings.  And when I stepped closer, I heard menacing rumblings which my imagination reminded me that a mysterious monster inside was threatening to erupt its way out!

Here are some mementoes from our recent walk with the dinosaurs at Zoo-rassic Park:

Getting friendly with an Iguanodon, a herbivorous prehistoric animal

Watch out for this Dilophosaurus which creeps up upon unsuspecting visitors!

My brave sisters posing inside the T-Rex's mouth!

We-fie with the T-Rex!

You can also catch the dinosaurs grazing in their new home at Singapore Zoo and River Safari from now till May 2017.  For more information on Dino-mite admission combo tickets, visit www.zoo.com.sg/zoorasic-park/

Managed by Wildlife Reserves Singapore, world-leading zoological institutions – Singapore Zoo, River Safari, Jurong Bird Park and Night Safari – aim to inspire people to value and conserve biodiversity by providing meaningful and memorable wildlife experiences at their parks.  Website: www.wrs.com.sg