The Singapore Zoo is one of the world’s great zoos, set in lush rain forest it is one of this small island country’s biggest tourist attractions. The zoo has a huge array of animals from all over the world but by far the most popular is the beautiful orang utans. The Singapore Zoo has 24 of these amazing orange primates making it the largest display in any zoo around the world. The orang utans are part of a huge social group which have a huge been successfully bred in the zoo, to date they have bred 35 and many of them have been sent to zoos around the world to help grow the numbers of this highly endangered ape. The orang utans live in a huge free range enclosure complete with natural jungle with plenty of places to swing and play with others or and get some quiet time. The exhibit gives the visitor a chance to see them in a close to natural environment with some great platforms and viewing areas where you can really get up close to them without disturbing.
Designed by Frederick Law Olmstead and Clavert Vaux , New York’s Central Park is one of the worlds’ great urban spaces. Taking up a huge 1.32 square miles or 843 acres on Manhattan Island the park plays host to over 25 million visitors every year. The park is a very popular tourist attraction for visitors with so much to see and do year round. There are magnificent landscaped greens with lovely plantings and two spectacular lakes, many sporting facilities including plenty of paths for jogging, bike riding and just strolling. The park is home to the Central Park Zoo which is one of the world’s great zoological gardens and the park is a well known venue for entertainment, with plays, opera, open air theatre and some of the biggest music events ever being staged in the park. The park is home to 37 playgrounds making it a favorite with the young and there is plenty of wild life, birds, chipmunks and plenty of squirrels. The park has some spectacular pieces of art and many monuments including the moving Strawberry Fields which is dedicated to the Late John Lennon who was murdered outside the Dakota Apartments overlooking the park in December of 1980.
Lincoln Park Zoo is as the name suggests in Lincoln Park in the heart of Chicago and dates back to 1868 when a pair of swans joined a bear cub. Today the zoo is home to about 1250 animals which popular exhibits include gorillas, monkeys, seals, birds of preys and reptiles. The zoo also has a huge children’s area where kids can get up close to farm animals. The zoo has a large conservation duty and also carries out an extensive school program where the young can learn about the animals and the challenges they face in their natural habitats. One of the highlights of the Lincoln Park Zoo is the Robert R McCormick Bear Habitat where you can see Andean Bears, Malayan Sun Bears and the beautiful Polar Bears. The Polar Bear exhibit features one of the largest exhibits in the world with a quarter of a million gallon tank for their pleasure. Visitors can see these massive and graceful creatures behind glass frolicking in the water. The zoo is open every day and best of all its free. Read the rest of this entry »
A lot of China’s zoos and animal parks have the visitor’s entertainment higher up their list of priorities than the animal’s welfare, well the Xiangjiang Safari Park is situated in Dashi Town of Panyu District, Guangzhou is an exception. It has world standards and is one of the very few zoo’s outside of Australia to have bred koalas and they have bread over half the white tigers left on Earth. The zoo is massive it covers 130 hectares is home to 10.000 animals from 300 species and gets over 10 million visitors a year. Sure the park is half theme park and there are animal shows but the zoo is a valuable research and centre wildlife conservation. The park is broken into two areas, one where you can visit the animals on foot and the other where you can board a trolley and to into the open savanna which has three themes Asian Plains, Predator Island and Africa Savanna. The zoo has an impressive list of animals including white tigers, white lions, polar bears, hippos and of course the beautiful and endangered Giant Panda, but the stars of the zoo seem to be the Koalas. The Zoo is located about 30mins from the heart of Guangzhou city don’t get this zoo confused with the city’s zoo- it just doesn’t compare. Read the rest of this entry »
Located in Alexander Park in St Petersburg is Russia’s oldest zoo. It was founded in 1865 by Sophia and Julius Gerhardt and is today home to over 400 species of animals. The Zoo has had a bit of a sad past, in the early 1900’s the zoo was very run down and closed to visitors. But in 1918 the zoo was restored and hunting expeditions were sent out to capture animals from around the world. But the Second World War brought more problems the poor old hippos had to eat sawdust porridge to survive the city’s siege by the evil Nazis. And although the people of Leningrad were starving the treasured elephants were kept fed and happy until they were sadly killed by bombs in an air raid in 1944. The city’s people were devastated, and the zoo closed for a while before re opening with a new elephant and some other exotic animals. Today the zoo is back to its former glory and a favorite for young and old. Read the rest of this entry »
Knut the Polar Bear has made the Berlin Zoo even more popular and when you see the cute little bugger on this video you will see why he is gorgeous. But the Berlin Zoo is more than just Knut there are a huge variety of fascinating animals to see including monkeys, penguins, kangaroos, ostriches, hippos, tigers, and some pretty weird and mean looking wart hogs among other things. The zoo also features an Aquarium which is ranked as one of the world’s best and includes tropical reefs and even sharks. The Berlin Zoo is right in the heart of the city- near Zoo Station, where else and is a great experience for young and old.
Orang utangs are one of the most precious and endangered of all forest creatures and there is nothing quiet like coming face to face with them over breakfast. Singapore Zoo one of the worlds finest zoos offers one of the most unique experiences you will ever have. Imagine sitting down to a fresh banquet of tropical fruits and other breakfast fare with an orang utang. These beautiful animals are one of the zoo’s star attractions they are the first zoo to have free ranging area which is home to over 20 of these orange hairy creatures. The zoo is part of a very important breeding program which is helping to save these animals from extinction. With people able to get up close and personal with the orang utangs it is hoped that we better understand the needs for survival and conservation of their habitat.
Florida’s Gatorland has been entertaining guests for more than half a century, decades before Orlando became the theme park capital of the world. Opening in 1949 the family owned park has been at the forefront of Alligator preservation in the area. Now set on over 110 acres the complex is home to thousands of alligators and quite a few crocodiles as well as lots of other scaley reptiles, birds and other animals. One of the highlights of the park is the Gator Jumparoo show where huge alligators jump out of the water to snatch food of a handler. The giant reptiles jump nearly two metres off the surface of the water. There is also a gator wrestling show where some mad fool wrangles a 8 foot alligator in front of a full stadium- he must be mad. Gatorworld is open daily and is a great place to escape the hustle and bustle of Disneyworld or Universal Studios for a few hours.
The Gold Coast in Queensland’is home to Australia’s only Polar Bears. These magnificent animals are the major drawcard at Seaworld and attract thousands of visitors a day. Seaworld has 3 polar bears Lia a female and the wild boys Hudson and Nelson who were orphaned in Quebec Canada before moving to Queensland in 2004 aged 9 months. The bears live in a magnificent enclosure which has fresh running water, plenty of space and room for fun. Visitors are treated with two viewing areas, one above and a special glassed exhibit where they can see the bears having fun underwater.
Steve Irwin the Crocodile Hunter is no longer with us but he has left behind one of the worlds most beautiful zoos. This interactive zoo is located on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland Australia about an hours drive north of Brisbane. Set in thickly planted palms and bushland are some of the world’s most amazing animals including Elephants, Tigers, Koalas, Kangaroos and of course plenty of reptiles including the saltwater crocodile. The zoo gives visitors a once in a live time chance to get up close and touch some of the rare and endangered animals including a chance to feed the three Asian Elephants. There are shows in the massive Crocasium Stadium and lots of fun to be had for all ages a trip to Queensland would not be complete without a visit to Australia Zoo.
