One of my favorite places to visit no matter which country we're in is the local zoo. I enjoy seeing all the different animals, how each zoo is maintained, and the level of conservation and awareness each zoo and its keepers have. Yesterday here in Bali, Halley, Adam, and I took a taxi to the Bali Zoo (with a stop at Dunkin Donuts for a quick breakfast on the way!).
The Bali Zoo, like the Cairns Tropical Zoo, is more lenient than zoos in the United States about letting visitors hold and interact with animals. After we paid our entrance fee, we were immediately handed a cockatoo and a lorikeet that were stationed next to a table offering fruits and veggies to feed animals throughout the zoo. We declined the food trays, but did hold the birds!
One of the next animals we saw were these very rotund pigs. A couple were just lounging around, and this one was rolling in the mud. After his mud bath was finished, he ambled up the stairs and joined the other two laying in the sun.
These sun bears had very wrinkly, concerned faces and seemed to think that everyone was going to feed them. They stood up on their hind legs and stretched as far as they could, trying to see what was going on above their wall. They climbed up and balanced on their wooden trees to get even higher.
Next we explored the aviary, where toucans, cockatoos, parrots, peacocks, and a turkey(??) walked and flew around us.
The Bali Zoo had many varieties of deer, each tinier and cuter than the last. I think they must practice looking adorable all day, because they were experts. Halley and I made friends with one little guy who licked our hands through the fence.
Next was the petting zoo. We lasted 3 minutes in here because this deer at the entrance didn't seem to want us to go any farther. Halley had quite the battle just trying to leave!
There were many monkeys and apes, like gibbons, an orangutan, leaf monkeys, and macaques (just like the ones in Monkey Forest in Ubub that tried to steal Adam and Halley's water bottles!). This tiny Maroon Leaf Monkey was only a month old, and he liked watching us just as much as we liked watching him!
Ever since American Samoa when we first saw the giant flying foxes, I've wanted to hold one. They look like flying dogs and their wingspan is enormous, and it would just be super cool to hold such a huge bat. Well, the Bali Zoo made this wish a reality!! As I walked around the corner, a keeper next to a short tree with four flying foxes hanging out on it asked if I wanted to hold one. Of course I said yes! The keeper picked one up by his ankles and instructed me to hold my fingers out so he could grasp onto them (upside down of course). Once I was securely holding the flying fox, the keeper let go... and the flying fox swung up to grasp my forearm with his front legs so he could lick my arm! They really do look like dogs up close, but the others on the tree were grooming themselves like cats. Their claws aren't sharp but they use them to get around very well; their wings are leathery and their fur is soft. One little guy still on the tree was getting jealous of the attention the one we were holding was getting, and launched himself at my arm! Once the keeper put him back, he launched himself at Halley's head! Very cool animals!
I especially liked this tiger because he reminds me of my cat, Dart. :)
Many of the statues in Indonesia are wrapped in cloth. Even this horse statue at the zoo!
As we were all getting ready to leave and head back to the boat, one final keeper offered us a chance to hold another animal - a binturong, also known as a bearcat! Adam managed to catch an animal show earlier in the day and had already held one, but Halley and I had only seen them hidden away in their enclosures. This one was a baby and was very playful. He would wrap his tail around my neck and slide down my back, then crawl back up to my shoulders and roll over onto his back. His fur was very thick and soft and he had giant paws! An excellent way to end a fun day at the zoo!
