A Morning Date with Animals

Do you know that the skin of a polar bear is black? It looks white because of its white fur?

Do you know that one of the primates will have swollen and red bottom when they are ready for mating?

Do you know that elephants used to be involved in logging work and that they can move logs which require 10 men to move?

On this Saturday morning, we took a bus to the Singapore Zoo. It was only a half-hour trip. We were pretty upbeat about this trip and the lush greenery along the bus trip was a welcoming prelude.

We started with a tram ride to the Forest Lodge where we had our breakfast. The tram provided a quick overview of the zoo, with brief introduction at landmark spots. Forest Lodge was a cosy hall with a Koi pond at the entrance. Our empty stomachs had lured us to the food located at 2 sides of the hall. It was international style with the western hush browns, sauages, croissants and cakes and complemented by the Chinese fried bee hoon, porridge and siew mais.

It was not just about food, but we have adorable guests who joined us intermittently – elephants and a falabella (miniature horse). We also had a chance to take photos closed-up as well as feed the animals. This is first time I am so up-close and personal with an animal. It was truly exciting. The elephants had amazing appetites. The falabella was so good natured despite our numerous touching and flashlights.

After the food, it was free and easy for us to tour the Singapore Zoo. There were many animal shows held every hour at different parts of the zoo, so we were busy moving around to catch the various shows from the wild animal show to the elephant show and farm animal show. The wild animal show introduced us to the skilful coconut husk peeling ability of the orang utans. The elephant show brought to us the historic development of the elephant logging industry. The farm animal show reinforced the sharp smelling sense of the dogs. There was also token feeding time where the primates scrambled up to the zookeeper where we had splendid chances of taking their pictures. We have also witnessed the maternal/paternal instinct of the monkeys in taking care of the infants.

Not letting the animals steal the entire show, the interesting flora and fauna lining two sides of the walkway were fighting for our attention. We were especially attracted to the tropical crops garden where we spotted familiar plants like the long beans, chilli and lime. The orchid garden was almost like a miniature orchid museum with numerous orchid varieties side by side.

The last time I was here at Singapore Zoo was probably close to 20 years ago. I have almost near zero recollection of how zoo looked like previously. It was definitely a good trip to revisit the Singapore Zoo. If you have time to spare over the weekend, why not pop by Singapore Zoo to visit Inuka, or say hello to Orang Utans? Be prepared for the chatter of the otters, the shyness of the parrots and the laziness of the lions. *Wink, wink*