Meet the 25 Stars of Mandai

11 September 2026

Reading time: 11 minutes

Mandai Wildlife Reserve is home to 25 Stars of Mandai, individually named animals living across five wildlife parks: Singapore Zoo, River Wonders, Night Safari, Bird Paradise and Rainforest Wild Adventure. Each one has a personality their keepers know by heart.

If you've visited before, you've almost certainly walked past several of them without knowing their names. Their keepers can tell all 25 apart at a glance, and not by markings, but by habit. Who comes over when someone new arrives. Who takes the long way round. Who's in the same spot every afternoon, without fail.

There are five personality types running through all 25 stars, and one of each lives in every single park. Wherever you're headed next, your type is already there.

Quick Reads

Meet all 25 Stars of Mandai, five in every wildlife park, each with their own personality and story.
Every star fits one of five personality types. Find your match and head straight to the wildlife park where you can see them.

Meet all 25 Stars of Mandai

Here they are, where each park is home to the 5 of them and a little about what makes each one who they are. Tap any name to read their full story.

Rainforest Wild Adventure

Rainforest Wild Adventure is Mandai's newest wildlife park, stretching across EAST and WEST zones from the Dr Lillyn Teh Rock Cascades to the Riverine Forest.

Who You'll Find	Location	Little Interesting Facts
Serikin, the Malayan Tiger	Dr Lillyn Teh Rock Cascade, WEST Zone	Calm, confident and never hurried. She inspects her whole territory each morning and answers her keepers whenever they call her name.
Bayu, the Malayan Tapir	Watering Hole, WEST Zone	Impossible to miss and seems to know it, turning up at the Watering Hole whenever there's an audience.
Noi, the Malayan Sun Bear	Watering Hole, WEST Zone	Works to her own schedule entirely, and will sometimes spend a whole afternoon on one log until she's satisfied.
Kisala, the Okapi	Hidden Forest, EAST Zone	Quiet, watchful and endlessly patient, keeping to the shade while noticing everything happening around her.
Miata, the Pygmy Hippo	Riverine Forest, EAST Zone	Curious rather than shy, usually the first to come over and see who's arrived at the viewing window.

Singapore Zoo

Singapore Zoo is home to more species than any other park in the reserve, its trails running from the splendour of Wild Africa's plains to the quiet of Fragile Forest.

Who You'll Find	Location	Little Interesting Facts
Simba, the African Lion	Wild Africa	A busybody who likes to be involved in everything, and claims the highest rock in Wild Africa.
Jubilee, the Rothschild's Giraffe	Wild Africa	Gentle and watchful, keeping an eye on the whole herd from a height nobody else can reach.
Pumba, the California Sea Lion	Shaw Amphitheatre, Splash Safari presentation	The Splash Safari’s patient and long-time serving California Sea Lion that loves attracting his keepers’ attention by blowing bubbles underwater.
Bunny, the Linné's Two-toed Sloth	Fragile Forest	Usually calm and unbothered and always at his usual spot, resting in the high canopy.
Ah Meng, the Sumatran Orangutan	Orangutan Island	A true living legacy, inheriting her name and her heritage from her grandmother.

River Wonders

River Wonders traces the world's great rivers, from the Amazon Flooded Forest and along the way home to giant pandas, otters and manatees.

Who You'll Find	Location	Little Interesting Facts
Tucker, the Asian Small-clawed Otter	Boat Plaza, Once Upon A River presentation	Knows exactly when it's time for presentation, and lets everyone know if it's running even slightly late.
Kai Kai, the Giant Panda	Pavillion Capital Giant Panda Forest	Eats lying flat on his back, entirely unbothered by anyone watching.
Canola, the Manatee	Amazon Flooded Forest	Named after the canola oil her keepers fed her as a youngster, and easy to spot by her natural wrinkle “necklace.”
Karma, the Red Panda	Pavillion Capital Giant Panda Forest	Asleep in a favourite tree for most of the day, and comes down strictly on his own terms.
Lester, the Capybara	Boat Plaza, Once Upon A River presentation	Gets along with absolutely everyone, precisely how capybaras earned their easy-going reputation.

Night Safari

Night Safari is the only wildlife park you visit after dark, its walking trails and tram route lit just enough to watch.

Who You'll Find	Location	Little Interesting Facts
Neha, the Asian Elephant	Tram Route	Daughter of Chawang, Night Safari's much-loved bull elephant. Like her father, she knows exactly what she likes and shows it.
Narnia, the Binturong	Night Safari Amphitheatre, Creatures of the Night presentation	A natural performer who takes her place in the Creatures of the Night presentation, and smells faintly of warm buttered popcorn.
Newari, the Indian Rhinoceros	Tiger Trail	Far gentler than all that armour suggests: steady, unflappable company for everyone sharing her space.
Cogsworth, the Tasmanian Devil	Tasmanian Devil Trail	The only one of our devils who greets his keepers with an “arf,” and rather prefers sleeping.
Radin, the Sunda Pangolin	Pangolin Trail	One of the first pangolins born at Night Safari, and fond going up to his keeper to hug his boots.

Bird Paradise

Bird Paradise, the reserve's walk-through bird park, its habitats ranging from the misty canopy of Mysterious Papua to the chill of the Ocean Network Express Penguin Cove.

Who You'll Find	Location	Little Interesting Facts
Amigo, the Yellow-Naped Amazon	PropNex Sky Amphitheatre	She sings in three languages and counts in two, and even knows her own name, Amigo.
Lady, the Southern Cassowary	Mysterious Papua	She knows exactly what she wants, coming straight over for bananas and grapes, shower or no shower.
Juliet, the Great Hornbill	Winged Sanctuary	She nests with Romeo, her long-term mate, sealing herself inside and trusting him to bring her every meal during nesting season.
Zane, the Shoebill	Rwanda Nyungwe Forest, Heart of Africa	He stands so still that guests have mistaken him for a statue.
Arlo, the King Penguin	Ocean Network Express Penguin Cove	As a chick, he hid between his keeper's legs for comfort. All these years on, he still does it sometimes.

Five personalities. One of them is yours

You've just met all 25. What you might have missed is that each one carries a title their keepers gave them, the kind that only comes from years of watching one animal do things no other does.

Those 25 titles fall into five bigger personality types, and there's exactly one of each in every wildlife park.

Stars of Mandai Personality Quiz — Which Star of Mandai are you?

The Bosses know what they want and rarely take long deciding. Yours: Simba (Singapore Zoo), Tucker (River Wonders), Neha (Night Safari), Lady (Bird Paradise), Serikin (Rainforest Wild Adventure, WEST).

The Entertainers fill a room without trying, happier in the middle of things than at the edge. Yours: Pumba (Singapore Zoo), Kai Kai (River Wonders), Narnia (Night Safari), Amigo (Bird Paradise), Bayu (Rainforest Wild Adventure, WEST).

The Nurturers are the ones people come to, noticing when someone's struggling before they say so. Yours: Jubilee (Singapore Zoo), Canola (River Wonders), Newari (Night Safari), Juliet (Bird Paradise), Kisala (Rainforest Wild Adventure, EAST).

The Free Spirits move at their own pace and have never much minded what the room thinks. Yours: Bunny (Singapore Zoo), Karma (River Wonders), Cogsworth (Night Safari), Zane (Bird Paradise), Noi (Rainforest Wild Adventure, WEST).

The Social Butterflies would rather know one person properly than work a whole room, and they remember everyone. Yours: Ah Meng (Singapore Zoo), Lester (River Wonders), Radin (Night Safari), Arlo (Bird Paradise), Miata (Rainforest Wild Adventure, EAST).

Before You Go Meet Them

So, which one are you?

The Boss who already knows where everyone is sitting, or the Free Spirit who turned up whenever they felt like it? Take the quiz. It takes about a minute, and at the end you'll have one of our 25 stars, not just a personality type. A specific animal, with a name, living somewhere you can go and see them.

Head over to meet them

Start with your animal's page. It tells you which park they're in, where inside it, and when their keeper talks or presentation runs, which is usually enough to build a morning or an evening around. One thing worth knowing before booking your visit: five of our stars only come out after dark.

If you've matched with Neha, Narnia, Radin, Cogsworth or Newari, you're planning a Night Safari evening rather than a day out. And if your match lives at Rainforest Wild Adventure, check whether they're in EAST or WEST first.

Creatures of the Night presentation, Night Safari

Splash Safari presentation, Singapore Zoo

Once you've met your match, there's usually a good day to build around them. All five parks sit on the same precinct, so adding a second is a short walk rather than a separate trip.

That's worth knowing if your match is nocturnal: Night Safari opens in the evening, so it pairs naturally with a day at Singapore Zoo, River Wonders, Bird Paradise or Rainforest Wild Adventure, rather than replacing it. Keeper talks and shows run to set times, so it's worth checking See & Do before you go. Pick two or three, and let the rest of the day fall around them.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Stars of Mandai are there?

There are 25 Stars of Mandai, individually named animals living across Mandai's five wildlife parks: Singapore Zoo, River Wonders, Night Safari, Bird Paradise and Rainforest Wild Adventure.

Which Mandai wildlife park has the most Stars of Mandai?

None. All five parks have exactly five stars each, one of each personality type: a Boss, an Entertainer, a Nurturer, a Free Spirit and a Social Butterfly.

Can you see all 25 Stars of Mandai in one day?

Not comfortably. They're spread across five parks, and Night Safari only opens in the evening. Two parks in a day is realistic if you plan around opening hours; seeing all 25 works best across a multi-day visit or a Friends of Mandai membership.

Can you see elephants at both Singapore Zoo and Night Safari?

Yes, both parks are home to Asian elephants. Head over to Night Safari if you're hoping to see Neha specifically.

Which Stars of Mandai were born in Singapore?

11 of the 25 were born right here across the wildlife parks at the Mandai Wild Reserve

Rainforest Wild Adventure: Miata, the Pygmy Hippo, Bayu, the Malayan Tapir
Singapore Zoo: Simba,the African Lion, Jubilee, the Rothschild's Giraffe, Ah Meng, the Sumatran Orangutan
River Wonders: Tucker, the Asian Small-clawed Otter, Canola, the Manatee
Night Safari: Radin, the Sunda Pangolin, Neha, the Asian Elephant, Narnia, the Binturong
Bird Paradise: Arlo, the King Penguin

Do you need separate tickets for each Mandai Wildlife park?

Yes, each of the five parks requires its own ticket, though multi-park passes are available if you're planning to visit more than one on the same trip.

Which Mandai animal are you?

That depends on what kind of day you have. Take the quiz to find your match: not just a personality type, but a specific animal in one specific park.