Mini Vacation Part 2- The Zoo

Maybe not the best day to visit: Chinese New Year Day. It was very crowded, but not initially too bad. We got there early. There was a tram that looped around the zoo but the entrance fee was substantial so we decided to save the $5 SGD (~4 USD) and just walk. It was overcast so not excessively hot. Walking worked out just fine.

Notice that the two tickets are both different connected parts to a larger mural!

On entering we learned that one major exhibit was closed: Australian Outback. Oh, well. There was still plenty to see. Some animals I remember include: Angolan giraffe, Rothschild giraffe, pygmy hippo, babirusa, oryx, Prevost’s squirrel, Malaysian porcupine, Sulawesi crested macaque, patas monkey, false ghavial. There was a nice sign about crocodilian snouts.

 The zebra exhibit was sponsored by KFC (yes, the one born in Kentucky!). They are huge in SE Asia. We see KFC establishments all over.

I thought this guy was exceptionally pretty: the oriental whipsnake. I am always drawn to bright green snakes. It’s arboreal, can grow to nearly 6.5 feet, is particularly fond of lizards and tree frogs and is found in Southern and SE Asia.

Both Bornean and Sumatran orang utans ( spelled this way!) were to be found, both in family groups, in free-ranging habitat. There was an overhead system so the animals could actually cross over the heads of the visitors. One of the Bornean youngsters had one hand and one foot on a vertical rope and was swinging himself round and round and round. Wasn’t he ever going to get dizzy? Wish I had video of that!

I thought the look on this brown capuchin’s face was cute.

Walking the zoo grounds we noticed a large amount of vegetation not only in the exhibits but in the public areas as well. The zoo could easily add “& Botanical Park” to its name, but there already is a great botanical garden here. Hmmm

They do have docents at the zoo (and perhaps other types of volunteers), though we didn’t see any type of volunteer until we were leaving. There were 3 young people with crafts projects for kids near the entrance.

My zoo docent friends will understand this. When zoo docents look at the collection at a zoo, I imagine most, like me, are looking either for more of our favorites or for the really rare animals. Most of us travel to other zoos whenever we can and we’ve seen a lot. While the average visitor may pay little attention to the exhibit areas themselves beyond noticing size and vegetation, zoo docents may find themselves looking at layout, barriers, safety precautions, and ways visitors can enter the area or feed or harm the animals. I know I do this.

So did I see any interesting things? Yes! Here are my first impressions at the Komodo dragon exhibit. There is a dry moat, the public side of which was fairly steep. The public side of the moat would keep the dragon in the exhibit. However, I don’t believe this moat would keep humans out of the dragon exhibit. From what I could see, one could climb down. It looked possible. After an easy walk across the moat one could climb up into the exhibit. With a quick look I saw nothing to stop someone. I hope there were electric wires or something I couldn’t see. Or maybe the locals know to be wary of Komodo dragons and would not even try to enter the exhibit? Additional notes:  A sign said it took them 34 years to have a successful Komodo hatching here. I wonder why it took so long. They need to update signage which only discussed the bacteria in the Komodo mouth. Now what about the dragon? He/she walked from the rear of the exhibit out to the edge nearest the public area and posed for pictures. Wasn’t that nice? Maybe he/she smelled a docent?

The other area that stands out in my mind is the Fragile Forest dome. There we found Malayan flying fox fruit bats (Pteropus vampyrus) in a huge free-flight area along with butterflies, a bunch of birds and there was at least one ring-tailed lemur. (I believe there were also sloths in here but I didn’t know it at the time.) I do remember a Victoria crowned pigeon and some small doves, but my focus was directed at the lovely bats.

The Malayan flying fox is the largest species of flying fox. The wingspan can be 5.5 feet plus. For those that don’t know, they eat only fruit, flowers and nectar. Pay no attention to the species name. It was really neat to see the bats actually flying around the exhibit, but the lack of barriers between the public and the animals was a little scary.

A man was touching a lemur’s tail hanging down from an overhead branch. His wife mentioned gigi (in Bahasa Indonesia it means teeth) while he was doing it but I don’t think that discouraged the man. The bats came so close to the public area anyone could throw things at them or even touch them or hurt them. We did see people posing with their face an inch from a bat’s face while it gummed a piece of fruit. It never occurred to me to do that when we were standing close to the same bat. We snapped a few photos but we mostly just stood there in awe of the fact they were right there, no glass, no screen; so close to such a fascinating group of animals. Within seconds there were 20 people clustered around to try to snap selfies before the closest bat flew off. We moved on hoping no one would get bitten. Here are a couple of shots:

It was very difficult to capture one of the bats in flight. This one is about to land.

 

  Not so good about sharing fruit!

Above shot shows how they use their feet to eat!

On the topic of safety, I did notice flotation rings at each spot where there were water moats- especially near the primates along with a sign of the emergency number. Have some visitors tried to swim out to the primate "islands?"

I am aware that technology allows zoos to re-create any type of habitat for the animals, but I was still surprised to see a polar bear exhibit this close to the equator. I should know better. The Bahasa Indonesia text on the sign (below the English) was very interesting. We tried to translate the text but needed the English cheat notes. Polar bear in Bahasa Indonesia is Beruang Kutub.

Near the polar bears there were raccoon dogs and a wolverine- a very active wolverine! They had put out some sort of enrichment which the wolverine was really enjoying

We ate our lunch in a room decorated in the height of animal fashion!

 

As we were leaving, the Chinese New Year entertainment at the zoo had begun. There was a sort of acrobatic group working in a “lion” costume. They were performing up in the air on supports with tiny platforms on top. The lion dance is a traditional dance in the Chinese culture and is frequently performed on Chinese New Year. It is different from the dragon dance if you’ve seen one. To tell the difference you need to count the number of performers. Two are typically required for the “lion,” and they are inside the costume, while many more are necessary for the dragon and the performers are outside the “dragon” holding it up on sticks. The young performers gave this lion a very puppy-like mannerism. Cute.