Snowleopard's 2024 Road Trip: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore & Indonesia
- Thread starter snowleopard
- Start date
DAY 3: Sunday, August 4th
Now that I'm finished my extensive, 3-part review of the fabulous Khao Kheow Open Zoo, it's time to tackle another facility. After Konstantin and I spent approximately 6 hours at KK Zoo, our driver took us about an hour south where we toured 3 smaller collections. There's also a dolphin place that we skipped, and we did our best to avoid any places that we knew would be horrific. However, this next one is awful and it was the 4th and final real nasty dud of the trip, after the Wildlife Rescue Centre No. 1, Pata Zoo and Lopburi Zoo...the 4 worst places happened to be early on and all in Thailand.
Zoo/Aquarium #10: Pattaya Crocodile Farm (Pattaya, Thailand)
This attraction opened in 1992, has 4 out of 5 stars on TripAdvisor, and is heavily advertised in the region. It's full name is the Million Years Stone Park & Pattaya Crocodile Farm, and in many ways it's a facility split into two distinct sections. The first area is stunning. After going through an impressive entrance, there’s a path that winds its way past some spectacular rock formations. Instead of strolling through a scenic botanical garden, it’s kind of surreal to walk past natural rocks that are showcased with fantastic backdrops and undulating terrain. Yet again, I didn't know what to expect at a zoo as the last ZooChat photos are from 2013!
Typically impressive Southeast Asian zoo entrance:
The gardens are odd (carved rocks everywhere!) and yet somewhat incredible to see in person.
The intricate pathways and the sculptures and just about everything in the garden area is beautiful.
Even the benches are works of art.
After the rock garden, this zoo is still enjoyable as there’s some large crocodilian pools that are traversed by a visitor boardwalk.
There's loads of Saltwater Crocodiles, Siamese Crocodiles and False Gharials in spacious pools. It reminded me of some of the croc farms in Australia.
The problems begin after the crocs. There’s a brand-new Giraffe enclosure that had 11 animals and in the small space the dirt had been churned up into mud. Some of the Giraffes were sinking into the ground and that’s only going to encourage the growth of ‘hoof rot’. We visited during the dry season, so I can hardly comprehend how torrential rains in the wet season would destroy this chunk of land. It’s interesting to note that the Giraffe ‘barn’ is really just a covered area, which is common in Southeast Asian zoos. There’s no need to have an enclosed space as the tropical weather is the same year-round.
Chaining Asian Elephants is something that I think I saw, off the top of my head, 0 times in Singapore, 0 times in Malaysia, only maybe once out of 25 zoos in Indonesia, but in Thailand chaining elephants seems to be the norm and very much a cultural thing even in public areas. Pattaya Crocodile Farm had 10 Asian Elephants and every single one was chained, usually just by one leg.
The area with the large 'herd' of Asian Elephants was quite lengthy, but each individual elephant could only move a very short distance due to the chains. Visitors could pay for rides and get close to the animals, but Konstantin and I hung back. The barriers were minimal to non-existent.
Just like the Elephant Show at Sriayuthaya Lion Park, with the pachyderms doing tricks with soccer balls and other silliness, there's a Croc Show at Pattaya Crocodile Farm that was packed with visitors. The rest of the zoo was mainly empty, except for this area with performers doing crazy stunts such as putting their heads into the mouths of crocs. Konstantin and I didn't watch any of it as neither of us endorse such things.
There's EIGHT shows a day and this is what we missed:
The next section of the zoo is the absolute worst. Rows of tiny, barred cages for Tigers, possibly even drugged Tigers lounging on slabs of cement with chains around their necks while staff members idly scroll on their phones next to the cats, an Asiatic Black Bear so fat and decrepit that it struggled to walk, tiny pens for juvenile crocs that are so overcrowded that we saw dead ones floating on their backs. Ugh. Konstantin and I agreed that Pattaya Crocodile Farm was arguably the worst zoo of the trip, although perhaps Lopburi could also fit that description. Avoid at all costs.
Two Tigers in a cage:
A chained Tiger (notice the orange-and-black collar) and its handler both having a snooze. Seems risky to me!
A white Tiger in a photo opportunity area, resting on a slab of cement:
The zoo does have two larger Tiger exhibits that are rather barren, with sleeping cats in the shade. These enclosures would fit at many zoos around the world.
An atrocious Asiatic Black Bear cage, all cement with a mid-sized pool. From old photos, it would appear that the bear used to be another photo opportunity for guests, while in chains of course, but those days are gone. Thank goodness.
The zoo has several small pools for juvenile Saltwater Crocodiles, some with dead ones floating around and with foul-smelling water.
The last part of the winding tour is essentially a Bird Garden with 8 species in old-fashioned, simple aviaries.
Here's the Greater Adjutant aviary:
And here's a small, divided enclosure for a couple of Cassowaries.
Mammal species list (4 species): Asian Elephant, Giraffe, Tiger and Asiatic Black Bear.
Bird species list (8 species): Cassowary, Emu, Greater Adjutant, Lesser Adjutant, Painted Stork, Rhinoceros Hornbill, Blue-and-yellow Macaw and Green Peafowl.
Reptile species list (3 species): Saltwater Crocodile, Siamese Crocodile and False Gharial.
Summary:
Pattaya Crocodile Farm is a bit tricky, as it lures visitors into the park with its stunning entrance, plenty of statues and sculptures outside and in all directions, and then the gorgeous stone garden is very attractive. The one-way path winds through astonishing carvings and intricate works of art and once the first animals appear (all those big croc pools) the general feeling is of a high quality establishment. Clearly, a significant amount of money has been poured into a lot of the infrastructure here. So far, so good.
Then one comes across the brand-new Giraffe exhibit which is clearly too small and muddy, and then the row of chained Asian Elephants is obviously an eyesore to Western eyes. Is chaining elephants "animal abuse"? If you were to ask the almost 75 million people who live in Thailand, how many people would say it was abuse? Spending a week visiting loads of cities in Thailand and 19 Thai zoos, I can tell you that individuals in Thailand LOVE elephants and everywhere you go there can be found elephant murals, statues, sculptures and even highway signs all over the country. Elephants are also huge tourist attractions, but also like pet dogs in many ways. Keepers hug elephants, pat them on their rumps constantly, hand-feed them food all the time, and yes they also keep elephants chained for hours on end.
It's a cultural thing in Thailand and even in Indonesia it's common for visitors to be able to get close and touch elephants walking through zoos. I'm personally conflicted about the whole thing, but without a doubt I'm not going to be a muppet and impose my Western views on elephants in captivity in Thailand as I'm trying to strike a balance between documenting these zoos and giving my opinion on what Konstantin and I saw on a daily basis. We were stunned to see elephants with chains on their legs and after a while you sort of adapt to seeing such scenes. People forget that it was only 15 years ago that Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle chained its elephants at night, for 14 hours a day, every single day. Ugh. Or the notorious elephant beatings at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (then the Wild Animal Park) in the late 1980s.
The Tiger photo opportunities are much worse, in my opinion, as the big cats appear to be dopey and drowsy and almost certainly drugged. The nonchalant manner of the handlers, who often were on their cellphones or even napping next to Tigers makes me think that either the cats have been reared since birth and are incredibly tame, or they are drugged, or most likely both. The bare bird aviaries and juvenile crocodile pools are terrible, but once again I see that this zoo could be so much better than it is. Send away a few Giraffes so that the enclosure is not over-populated, have appropriately-sized, smaller birds in the aviaries, stop breeding and raising Tigers, etc. Easy fixes? I'm not sure if zoo management would agree. Maybe one day the zoo will fix those flaws, but for now it's not worth visiting at all.
DAY 1: Friday, August 2nd
1- Bangkok Snake Farm (Bangkok, Thailand)
2- Peuan Deratchan Mini Zoo (Bangkok, Thailand)
3- Bangkok Butterfly Garden (Bangkok, Thailand)
4- Pata Zoo (Bangkok, Thailand)
5- Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World (Bangkok, Thailand)
DAY 2: Saturday, August 3rd
6- Wildlife Rescue Center No. 1 (Nakhon Nayok, Thailand)
7- Sriayuthaya Lion Park (Nong Khanak, Thailand)
8- Lopburi Zoo (Lopburi, Thailand)
DAY 3: Sunday, August 4th
9- Khao Kheow Open Zoo (Chon Buri, Thailand) 3-part review
10- Pattaya Crocodile Farm
11- ??
12- ??
Now that I'm finished my extensive, 3-part review of the fabulous Khao Kheow Open Zoo, it's time to tackle another facility. After Konstantin and I spent approximately 6 hours at KK Zoo, our driver took us about an hour south where we toured 3 smaller collections. There's also a dolphin place that we skipped, and we did our best to avoid any places that we knew would be horrific. However, this next one is awful and it was the 4th and final real nasty dud of the trip, after the Wildlife Rescue Centre No. 1, Pata Zoo and Lopburi Zoo...the 4 worst places happened to be early on and all in Thailand.
Zoo/Aquarium #10: Pattaya Crocodile Farm (Pattaya, Thailand)
This attraction opened in 1992, has 4 out of 5 stars on TripAdvisor, and is heavily advertised in the region. It's full name is the Million Years Stone Park & Pattaya Crocodile Farm, and in many ways it's a facility split into two distinct sections. The first area is stunning. After going through an impressive entrance, there’s a path that winds its way past some spectacular rock formations. Instead of strolling through a scenic botanical garden, it’s kind of surreal to walk past natural rocks that are showcased with fantastic backdrops and undulating terrain. Yet again, I didn't know what to expect at a zoo as the last ZooChat photos are from 2013!
Typically impressive Southeast Asian zoo entrance:
The gardens are odd (carved rocks everywhere!) and yet somewhat incredible to see in person.
The intricate pathways and the sculptures and just about everything in the garden area is beautiful.
Even the benches are works of art.
After the rock garden, this zoo is still enjoyable as there’s some large crocodilian pools that are traversed by a visitor boardwalk.
There's loads of Saltwater Crocodiles, Siamese Crocodiles and False Gharials in spacious pools. It reminded me of some of the croc farms in Australia.
The problems begin after the crocs. There’s a brand-new Giraffe enclosure that had 11 animals and in the small space the dirt had been churned up into mud. Some of the Giraffes were sinking into the ground and that’s only going to encourage the growth of ‘hoof rot’. We visited during the dry season, so I can hardly comprehend how torrential rains in the wet season would destroy this chunk of land. It’s interesting to note that the Giraffe ‘barn’ is really just a covered area, which is common in Southeast Asian zoos. There’s no need to have an enclosed space as the tropical weather is the same year-round.
Chaining Asian Elephants is something that I think I saw, off the top of my head, 0 times in Singapore, 0 times in Malaysia, only maybe once out of 25 zoos in Indonesia, but in Thailand chaining elephants seems to be the norm and very much a cultural thing even in public areas. Pattaya Crocodile Farm had 10 Asian Elephants and every single one was chained, usually just by one leg.
The area with the large 'herd' of Asian Elephants was quite lengthy, but each individual elephant could only move a very short distance due to the chains. Visitors could pay for rides and get close to the animals, but Konstantin and I hung back. The barriers were minimal to non-existent.
Just like the Elephant Show at Sriayuthaya Lion Park, with the pachyderms doing tricks with soccer balls and other silliness, there's a Croc Show at Pattaya Crocodile Farm that was packed with visitors. The rest of the zoo was mainly empty, except for this area with performers doing crazy stunts such as putting their heads into the mouths of crocs. Konstantin and I didn't watch any of it as neither of us endorse such things.
There's EIGHT shows a day and this is what we missed:
The next section of the zoo is the absolute worst. Rows of tiny, barred cages for Tigers, possibly even drugged Tigers lounging on slabs of cement with chains around their necks while staff members idly scroll on their phones next to the cats, an Asiatic Black Bear so fat and decrepit that it struggled to walk, tiny pens for juvenile crocs that are so overcrowded that we saw dead ones floating on their backs. Ugh. Konstantin and I agreed that Pattaya Crocodile Farm was arguably the worst zoo of the trip, although perhaps Lopburi could also fit that description. Avoid at all costs.
Two Tigers in a cage:
A chained Tiger (notice the orange-and-black collar) and its handler both having a snooze. Seems risky to me!
A white Tiger in a photo opportunity area, resting on a slab of cement:
The zoo does have two larger Tiger exhibits that are rather barren, with sleeping cats in the shade. These enclosures would fit at many zoos around the world.
An atrocious Asiatic Black Bear cage, all cement with a mid-sized pool. From old photos, it would appear that the bear used to be another photo opportunity for guests, while in chains of course, but those days are gone. Thank goodness.
The zoo has several small pools for juvenile Saltwater Crocodiles, some with dead ones floating around and with foul-smelling water.
The last part of the winding tour is essentially a Bird Garden with 8 species in old-fashioned, simple aviaries.
Here's the Greater Adjutant aviary:
And here's a small, divided enclosure for a couple of Cassowaries.
Mammal species list (4 species): Asian Elephant, Giraffe, Tiger and Asiatic Black Bear.
Bird species list (8 species): Cassowary, Emu, Greater Adjutant, Lesser Adjutant, Painted Stork, Rhinoceros Hornbill, Blue-and-yellow Macaw and Green Peafowl.
Reptile species list (3 species): Saltwater Crocodile, Siamese Crocodile and False Gharial.
Summary:
Pattaya Crocodile Farm is a bit tricky, as it lures visitors into the park with its stunning entrance, plenty of statues and sculptures outside and in all directions, and then the gorgeous stone garden is very attractive. The one-way path winds through astonishing carvings and intricate works of art and once the first animals appear (all those big croc pools) the general feeling is of a high quality establishment. Clearly, a significant amount of money has been poured into a lot of the infrastructure here. So far, so good.
Then one comes across the brand-new Giraffe exhibit which is clearly too small and muddy, and then the row of chained Asian Elephants is obviously an eyesore to Western eyes. Is chaining elephants "animal abuse"? If you were to ask the almost 75 million people who live in Thailand, how many people would say it was abuse? Spending a week visiting loads of cities in Thailand and 19 Thai zoos, I can tell you that individuals in Thailand LOVE elephants and everywhere you go there can be found elephant murals, statues, sculptures and even highway signs all over the country. Elephants are also huge tourist attractions, but also like pet dogs in many ways. Keepers hug elephants, pat them on their rumps constantly, hand-feed them food all the time, and yes they also keep elephants chained for hours on end.
It's a cultural thing in Thailand and even in Indonesia it's common for visitors to be able to get close and touch elephants walking through zoos. I'm personally conflicted about the whole thing, but without a doubt I'm not going to be a muppet and impose my Western views on elephants in captivity in Thailand as I'm trying to strike a balance between documenting these zoos and giving my opinion on what Konstantin and I saw on a daily basis. We were stunned to see elephants with chains on their legs and after a while you sort of adapt to seeing such scenes. People forget that it was only 15 years ago that Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle chained its elephants at night, for 14 hours a day, every single day. Ugh. Or the notorious elephant beatings at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (then the Wild Animal Park) in the late 1980s.
The Tiger photo opportunities are much worse, in my opinion, as the big cats appear to be dopey and drowsy and almost certainly drugged. The nonchalant manner of the handlers, who often were on their cellphones or even napping next to Tigers makes me think that either the cats have been reared since birth and are incredibly tame, or they are drugged, or most likely both. The bare bird aviaries and juvenile crocodile pools are terrible, but once again I see that this zoo could be so much better than it is. Send away a few Giraffes so that the enclosure is not over-populated, have appropriately-sized, smaller birds in the aviaries, stop breeding and raising Tigers, etc. Easy fixes? I'm not sure if zoo management would agree. Maybe one day the zoo will fix those flaws, but for now it's not worth visiting at all.
DAY 1: Friday, August 2nd
1- Bangkok Snake Farm (Bangkok, Thailand)
2- Peuan Deratchan Mini Zoo (Bangkok, Thailand)
3- Bangkok Butterfly Garden (Bangkok, Thailand)
4- Pata Zoo (Bangkok, Thailand)
5- Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World (Bangkok, Thailand)
DAY 2: Saturday, August 3rd
6- Wildlife Rescue Center No. 1 (Nakhon Nayok, Thailand)
7- Sriayuthaya Lion Park (Nong Khanak, Thailand)
8- Lopburi Zoo (Lopburi, Thailand)
DAY 3: Sunday, August 4th
9- Khao Kheow Open Zoo (Chon Buri, Thailand) 3-part review
10- Pattaya Crocodile Farm
11- ??
12- ??
Last edited:
Rizz Carlton
Well-Known Member
I'm certain you & @twilighter likely missed it, but chaining elephants in Indonesia are common in some zoos, especially smaller ones that encourage animal interactions with visitors.
People are going to be surprised how Taman Safari Bogor & their branch Royal Safari Garden sometimes chains elephants. Verbal abuse and shouting are sometimes used when the elephants "misbehaved" (aka not being cooperative to be taken photo with for visitors). Elephant abuse and mistreatment in many forms are still normalized in some SEAn facilities due to some outdated practises that for some reason are unwilling to let go.
I wish the problems seen in SEA zoos are also talked by our fellow regional ZC users as people on the ground there to show local perspectives, instead of ignoring it or being an apologist to those issues due to certain biases.
DAY 3: Sunday, August 4th
After finishing up at Pattaya Crocodile Farm, Konstantin and I hopped back into the vehicle with our waiting driver and we were driven 15 minutes south to our next destination. Before we had time to get settled, we were already at an aquarium. Hardly any zoo nerds appear to visit this place as prior to our arrival there was only a dozen photos in the gallery and they all date from 2008.
Zoo/Aquarium #11: Underwater World Pattaya (Pattaya, Thailand)
This is a small aquarium that's approximately 3 km from the ocean (technically the Gulf of Thailand) and it's a rather nondescript little facility that we saw in 25 minutes flat.
A large model of a Great White Shark greets visitors near the entrance.
The main foyer is basically a spacious, tent-like structure with a random assortment of tanks in all directions.
The touch pool and small eating area is pleasant, although the fake turf in some areas looks cheap.
This anti-gravity 'Magic Tank' is arguably the highlight of the entrance zone, as it is a neat concept where there are three open areas that allow visitors to put their hands into the water and yet people are amazed that there's no water constantly flowing out onto the floor. It's magic! And yes, you can easily touch the fish as they are very inquisitive.
The aquarium has a couple of walls filled with terrariums at various heights, including some where an adult has to get on their knees to get a proper look. This area was rather scruffy, with some empty enclosures and hit-and-miss signage.
The only real reason to visit Underwater World Pattaya would be to stroll through the acrylic tunnel that is 105 meters long. It's reminiscent of Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco, which has a very long underwater tunnel area and then the rest of the facility is a little 'naff'.
There are various sections but all with poor signage. I don't know the age of this aquarium, but with the copious amounts of concrete and carpet it feels quite old.
Don't forget the photo opportunity wall.
And check out the jewellery display and fish tanks in the gift shop.
Summary:
Underwater World Pattaya has 3 large tanks that combine to form the 105 meters of the visitor tunnel experience, called Coral Reef Zone, Open Ocean Zone and Giant of Siam Zone, and that's worth seeing. There are feeding times twice a day, per tank, and that's it for the major highlight of the establishment. There is one caveat to this review and that is the facility was undergoing some construction work during our visit, so when Konstantin and I got to the end of the long underwater tunnel network, we had to turn around and go back the same way. There was a sign saying that new reptile, amphibian and jellyfish exhibits were being built and so perhaps now there's an extra room of aquatic delights for the next zoo nerd to visit. Since there are some photos in the gallery from 2008, and my new images are from 2024, my best estimate is that someone on this site will pop by for a tour in...2040!
DAY 1: Friday, August 2nd
1- Bangkok Snake Farm (Bangkok, Thailand)
2- Peuan Deratchan Mini Zoo (Bangkok, Thailand)
3- Bangkok Butterfly Garden (Bangkok, Thailand)
4- Pata Zoo (Bangkok, Thailand)
5- Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World (Bangkok, Thailand)
DAY 2: Saturday, August 3rd
6- Wildlife Rescue Center No. 1 (Nakhon Nayok, Thailand)
7- Sriayuthaya Lion Park (Nong Khanak, Thailand)
8- Lopburi Zoo (Lopburi, Thailand)
DAY 3: Sunday, August 4th
9- Khao Kheow Open Zoo (Chon Buri, Thailand) 3-part review
10- Pattaya Crocodile Farm (Pattaya, Thailand)
11- Underwater World Pattaya (Pattaya, Thailand)
12- ??
After finishing up at Pattaya Crocodile Farm, Konstantin and I hopped back into the vehicle with our waiting driver and we were driven 15 minutes south to our next destination. Before we had time to get settled, we were already at an aquarium. Hardly any zoo nerds appear to visit this place as prior to our arrival there was only a dozen photos in the gallery and they all date from 2008.
Zoo/Aquarium #11: Underwater World Pattaya (Pattaya, Thailand)
This is a small aquarium that's approximately 3 km from the ocean (technically the Gulf of Thailand) and it's a rather nondescript little facility that we saw in 25 minutes flat.
A large model of a Great White Shark greets visitors near the entrance.
The main foyer is basically a spacious, tent-like structure with a random assortment of tanks in all directions.
The touch pool and small eating area is pleasant, although the fake turf in some areas looks cheap.
This anti-gravity 'Magic Tank' is arguably the highlight of the entrance zone, as it is a neat concept where there are three open areas that allow visitors to put their hands into the water and yet people are amazed that there's no water constantly flowing out onto the floor. It's magic! And yes, you can easily touch the fish as they are very inquisitive.
The aquarium has a couple of walls filled with terrariums at various heights, including some where an adult has to get on their knees to get a proper look. This area was rather scruffy, with some empty enclosures and hit-and-miss signage.
The only real reason to visit Underwater World Pattaya would be to stroll through the acrylic tunnel that is 105 meters long. It's reminiscent of Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco, which has a very long underwater tunnel area and then the rest of the facility is a little 'naff'.
There are various sections but all with poor signage. I don't know the age of this aquarium, but with the copious amounts of concrete and carpet it feels quite old.
Don't forget the photo opportunity wall.
And check out the jewellery display and fish tanks in the gift shop.
Summary:
Underwater World Pattaya has 3 large tanks that combine to form the 105 meters of the visitor tunnel experience, called Coral Reef Zone, Open Ocean Zone and Giant of Siam Zone, and that's worth seeing. There are feeding times twice a day, per tank, and that's it for the major highlight of the establishment. There is one caveat to this review and that is the facility was undergoing some construction work during our visit, so when Konstantin and I got to the end of the long underwater tunnel network, we had to turn around and go back the same way. There was a sign saying that new reptile, amphibian and jellyfish exhibits were being built and so perhaps now there's an extra room of aquatic delights for the next zoo nerd to visit. Since there are some photos in the gallery from 2008, and my new images are from 2024, my best estimate is that someone on this site will pop by for a tour in...2040!
DAY 1: Friday, August 2nd
1- Bangkok Snake Farm (Bangkok, Thailand)
2- Peuan Deratchan Mini Zoo (Bangkok, Thailand)
3- Bangkok Butterfly Garden (Bangkok, Thailand)
4- Pata Zoo (Bangkok, Thailand)
5- Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World (Bangkok, Thailand)
DAY 2: Saturday, August 3rd
6- Wildlife Rescue Center No. 1 (Nakhon Nayok, Thailand)
7- Sriayuthaya Lion Park (Nong Khanak, Thailand)
8- Lopburi Zoo (Lopburi, Thailand)
DAY 3: Sunday, August 4th
9- Khao Kheow Open Zoo (Chon Buri, Thailand) 3-part review
10- Pattaya Crocodile Farm (Pattaya, Thailand)
11- Underwater World Pattaya (Pattaya, Thailand)
12- ??
There are more ways of finding that out than Zoochat... Using google images, plenty of doped tigers appear within 10 seconds, together with dubious crocodile handling....
Flat headed cat
Well-Known Member
The Million Year Old stone & Crocodile Farm Pattaya has an amazing collection of animals, including hubbacki guar Burmese banteng mainland serow thamin sunbear which are kept behind the scenes but are in poor condition And they have dozens of Bengal tigers in cages behind them in terrible dog-sized cages that you're lucky you didn't see There used to be bison, guanacos, Malayan tapirs, Indochinese tigers, Indochinese leopards, white rhino, bald eagles, puma jaguars here Which at the time they were there, they were in a bad condition.
Flat headed cat
Well-Known Member
They have had southern giraffes since the zoo opened, but they have always been in such poor condition. However, they have bred a lot of them and are the offspring that they sell to almost every public zoo in Thailand (Because the Zoological Park Organization of Thailand, Chiang Mai Night Safari, Safari World itself does not sell giraffes)The problems begin after the crocs. There’s a brand-new Giraffe enclosure that had 11 animals and in the small space the dirt had been churned up into mud. Some of the Giraffes were sinking into the ground and that’s only going to encourage the growth of ‘hoof rot’. We visited during the dry season, so I can hardly comprehend how torrential rains in the wet season would destroy this chunk of land. It’s interesting to note that the Giraffe ‘barn’ is really just a covered area, which is common in Southeast Asian zoos. There’s no need to have an enclosed space as the tropical weather is the same year-round.
It is an interesting thread to look what other zoos could adopt.
Some time ago, somebody on this forum argued forcibly against mixed species exhibits of ungulates and monkeys. Khao Kheow Open Zoo, and other zoos in South Asia, has 100s of monkeys in ungulate exhibits and outside them, all over the zoo. And the staff copes. Keepers clean and manage paddocks without being bitten, and deliver food to exhibit animals without everything been stolen by macaques...
By the way, I am often in awe how tolerant are many Asian people to wild animals and by extension those strange foreign people wandering on their land. Accepting monkeys, pythons and monitor lizards living in cities. Or wild sambar wandering around campgrounds in Thai national parks, while in a national park in Europe any deer runs in terror of being shot.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
I think you are projecting a rather romanticised image.
Dept vows to end macaque menace 'soon'
I doubt anyway that it is all good in Asia and not in the West, or vice versa.
I think it is the case that mixed species exhibits in many european zoos house and cater for two species and confine both to a set and defined space. That's not really the same as having one set of animals and another as a visitor that can freely come and go as they please. Anyway lots of mixed species exhibits exist in European and US zoos and work perfectly well.
Mossman Joe
Well-Known Member
While coexistence does happen in certain cases, unfortunately all isn't as picturesque as it seems. Wildlife exploitation is still rife in many parts of Southeast Asia, often unprotested by locals.
Within towns and cities you'll find traditional markets with hundreds of wild-caught songbirds being sold. For every free-roaming macaque there is one with a chain around its neck as pets or as part of a travelling circus as it is forced to do tricks. Rescuing a snake instead of killing it is still often seen as foolishness for fear that the animal will somehow make its way back to your home.
Of course, there is still good happening in these countries, efforts to promote coexistence and conservation led and supported by passionate locals, but there are challenges.
DAY 3: Sunday, August 4th
It was quite a whirlwind first 3 days of the trip, directly after 24 hours of travelling via two flights and loads of hours in planes. Day 1 was 5 small zoos, Day 2 was 3 zoos to the north of Bangkok, and Day 3 was 4 zoos to the south of Bangkok. As one can tell by my comprehensive reviews, I was able to take more than a thousand photos and document everything, but it did mean that arriving back at the rented apartment was always a late night affair when it was pitch black and Konstantin and I were shattered. It's funny though, because the next morning we'd wake up early and be raring to go as if it was Christmas Day! Not always having hot water on the trip helped a little, as there's nothing like a cold shower to make one alert and excited to step into the outdoor heat to warm up again.
Zoo/Aquarium #12: Monsters Aquarium (Pattaya, Thailand)
Monsters Aquarium is a weird place, like a hodgepodge menagerie that probably sees a ton of animals come in and out through its doors. It strikes me as a zoo that one could visit and then go back in two years and the lineup of species might look much different. Walking in the front door, there was a young Squirrel Monkey running around with no leash or barrier, obviously a pet of the owners, plus a small enclosure for a couple of Aardvarks. That set the tone for a type of zoo that one never knew what would be around the next corner. The initial entryway is one long room, with side exhibits for small creatures and a store selling food. There’s an area where one can hold a Crowned Eagle (for an extra fee) and an Echidna exhibit in the corner. There's even an exhibit with around a dozen domestic cats! This is the most eclectic zoo we saw on the entire trip. I've posted more than 120 photos in the Monster World Pattaya gallery if people want to see more images from the zoo than what I can offer up in this post. I recommend browsing the gallery as there's a lot of odds n' ends type stuff at this aquarium/zoo and already two more zoo nerds have visited since Konstantin and I were there in August. I thought it would be similar to Underwater World and be just a regular Aquarium, but it's totally different and I can understand why some zoo nerds I know want to visit even though it's not for everyone.
My silhouette at the zoo's entrance. That animal sculpture is unique and it suits this place.
Introductory Aardvark exhibit. Is this the entire enclosure? You bet.
A handful of tethered raptors:
With 35 mammal species, all of them being fairly small, it’s an establishment that appeals to zoo nerds who want to see rarities and I know maybe 5 people who have visited this place either before or after our visit. I'm not recommending the zoo or attempting to dissuade people from visiting with this report. I'm simply (neutrally) documenting what I saw and this will be the definitive review on ZooChat as there's hardly anything else about this joint on here.
There's practically zero images of exhibits online (except for mine now) and so going around each corner was a step into an unknown adventure. Here one can see mammals that are extremely rare in Southeast Asian zoos, as well as oddities like American Mink, Greater Cane Rat and Lowland Paca. Where do they all come from? The pet trade or are some of these creatures illegally smuggled into the country? Are they confiscated animals that need a home? From other zoos or private individuals? I honestly have no idea. But I can say that there’s 3 types of civet plus Common Genets, and every single mammal was in terrific condition but in an exhibit that’s tight on space.
Prairie Dog and Meerkat exhibits.
There's zero barriers and so to pet a Three-striped Palm Civet is not difficult and many of the animals are fairly tame. (Konstantin and I did not pet anything but other visitors did)
There's a winding hallway filled with mammal enclosures, as well as a loop that goes briefly outdoors. Here can be found a few larger cages for primates, such as this one for De Brazza's Monkeys that has some height and wouldn't look out of place as an indoor exhibit at a major zoo.
This is an albino Greater Cane Rat:
As you can tell from my mammal species list (see below), there's nothing larger than a macaque or a Caracal at this zoo in terms of mammals. Indeed, there's lots of rodents and small creatures. The mammal rooms are characterized by having green fake turf on the floor, red mock-rock bases around the exhibits, and a mixture of glass and wire on the enclosures. There's zero stand-off barriers anywhere and you can go right up to the exhibits, although there are prominent "do not touch" signs on each enclosure.
Mammal species list (35 species): Caracal, Serval, Sulawesi Crested Macaque, De Brazza’s Monkey, Tufted Capuchin, Squirrel Monkey, Common Marmoset, Ring-tailed Lemur, Fennec Fox, Aardvark, Raccoon, Coati, Banded Mongoose, Dwarf Mongoose, Common Genet, Common Palm Civet, Small-toothed Palm Civet, Three-striped Palm Civet, American Mink, Armadillo, Meerkat, Echidna, Black Squirrel, African Crested Porcupine, Agouti, Marmot, Prairie Dog, Degu, Lowland Paca, Kangaroo Rat, Bamboo Rat, Greater Cane Rat, Richardson’s Ground Squirrel, Two-toed Sloth and Sugar Glider. Plus there's a whole 'Barnyard' room filled with domestic animals and so my guess is this place has 45 mammal species in total.
It's not just mammals here, as trust me when I say this place is jam-packed with everything!
This exhibit held a Southern Cassowary, an Emu and a Rhea, all together in a very small space. The cage above contains Ring-tailed Lemurs and you can see all the species in this image.
There's a large, open-topped tank with Blacktip Reef Sharks, Zebra Sharks, Nurse Sharks and Moray Eels. Go pet a shark!
Surprisingly, there's Great White Pelicans and assorted waterfowl.
After being done with mammals, one enters into the 'Reptiles Zone'. The introductory reptile room has some elaborate, ruined temple type rock-work in the exhibits, but in truth these enclosures are lacking in natural substrate and are quite barren. This area had some crocodilians, pythons and a huge soft-shelled turtle in the middle. (Check out the gallery for more up-close images of a lot of these exhibits)
The zoo keeps going and going...into a cave-like area that might give some people claustrophobia. This zone contained 10 monitor species and many other reptiles, with a significant amount of bench space right down the middle. There's no one there as Konstantin and I were literally the last two visitors of the day and the facility closed up when we left. There's a whole bunch of two-headed turtles, a two-headed snake and albino animals...a lot of odd creatures here.
Again, I have loads of views of individual exhibits in the gallery, but after one reptile hallway was done then there was another long one to see!
The list below is interesting, with 10 monitor species, 4 different crocodilians, a variety of iguanas, and some genuine rarities are included here.
Reptile/Amphibian species list (44 species): False Gharial, Chinese Alligator, Cuvier’s Dwarf Caiman, Smooth-fronted Caiman, Reticulated Python, Burmese Python, Boa Constrictor, Elephant Trunk Snake, King Cobra, Honduran Milk Snake, Komodo Dragon, Asian Water Monitor, Crocodile Monitor, Black Monitor, Black-throated Monitor, Argus Monitor, Savanna Monitor, Large-scaled Water Monitor, Peach-throated Monitor, Mangrove Monitor, Sailfin Dragon, Grand Cayman Blue Iguana, Rhinoceros Iguana, Green Iguana, Spiny-tailed Iguana, Frilled Lizard, Black-and-white Tegu, Red Tegu, Chinese Crocodile Lizard, Sudan Plated Lizard, Bearded Dragon, Leopard Gecko, Blue-tongued Skink, Giant Sand Fish Skink, Giant Legless Lizard, Axolotl, Giant Soft-shelled Turtle, Wattle-necked Soft-shelled Turtle, Common Snapping Turtle, Pond Slider and Red-eared Slider, Asian Bullfrog, African Bullfrog and Chinese Giant Salamander (not counted as it was an empty tank).
After the rooms of mammals and the long hallways of reptiles and amphibians, we finally hit the 'Aquarium' portion of the zoo and yet again there was a LOT to see. At this point we were being followed by a kind-hearted staff member who was allowing us time to visit the zoo but they were also closing up for the night and so while I have 95-100% accurate and comprehensive mammal/reptile/amphibian species lists, I didn't have time to get all the species in the fish section. It would have taken an extra hour, which we clearly didn't have.
For the most part, the aquarium tanks are of a higher quality than anything else here. The ceiling and floor has been painted navy blue.
I'm certain that there must have been a dozen species of Southeast Asian fish in those tanks that Konstantin and I had never seen before in our entire lives. At least we recognized Coconut Crabs and they are always spectacular to come across.
Are we done? Are we there yet? You can see Konstantin walking down another enormous hallway filled with fish tanks, except this time we had fish on all sides and above and the pathway is so narrow that this was honestly a special experience. Anywhere else and this would be a notable, arguably even a world-class exhibit because there was a lot of space for the fish and the tanks weren't jammed with animals whatsoever. As an Aquarium, this facility is extremely worthwhile.
Arapaima are popular and common in Southeast Asian zoos, even in open-topped tanks. Also, check out all the life-sized models on the wall.
Yet another long hallway of fish exhibits, with this being a particularly huge tank.
Done with fish, we emerged into a more brightly-lit area and saw a whole hallway of aviaries. Bring on the birds! There's some kind of Bird-of-Paradise (Lesser?) on the right and then Violet Turacos are in the next aviary and after that we were getting closer to being ushered out the door. There's even a small walk-through aviary at one end of a second bird-themed corridor. I do not have a bird species list as that would have taken much more time to compile.
Summary:
The crazy thing about Monsters Aquarium is that a LOT of species are packed into what is a maze-like set of long corridors. The first chunk of the zoo is mainly all mammals, with the occasional set of birds here and there, and then there is a very long section filled with reptiles in terrariums on both sides of several rooms. After that, there’s a couple of lengthy wings full of aquarium tanks, which I’m positive contain some fish that I’ve never seen before, and the aquarium section is the best in terms of the quality of the exhibits.
There’s also a hallway filled with screeching birds, and one gets the impression that this zoo could easily take many hours to tour if one were to document every species in the place. As it was, Konstantin and I ended up staying almost two hours and we had to hurry to take as many photos as we could as we were there until closing time. A staff member followed us around at the end, turning off lights as we finished each hallway. We'd walk through a room and take all our photos, then the guy would smile and turn off the lights and we'd head to the next room. Thinking back, we stayed past closing time and it was dark when we were done our day of 4 zoos. Remember, we had spent a ton of time at the fantastic Khao Kheow Open Zoo, before heading south to bang off a trio of smaller Pattaya-area attractions.
With 35 exotic mammal species, plus all the domestic mammals, then 44 reptile and amphibian species, plus a ton of fish and birds, my best estimate is that Monsters Aquarium has easily 250 species in total. It's a bit surreal to consider that the geographical footprint of the establishment is likely not very large. Everything is densely packed and it really is a hodgepodge of a menagerie. I'd love to see an aerial view or some kind of map of the place, as walking around was disorienting.
Up next: There was no rest for us, as we got back super late, showered and hit the sack at our rented apartment. We were then up at 5:00 a.m. the next morning to catch a flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, far away in northern Thailand. Stay tuned!
Itinerary (so far):
DAY 1: Friday, August 2nd
1- Bangkok Snake Farm (Bangkok, Thailand)
2- Peuan Deratchan Mini Zoo (Bangkok, Thailand)
3- Bangkok Butterfly Garden (Bangkok, Thailand)
4- Pata Zoo (Bangkok, Thailand)
5- Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World (Bangkok, Thailand)
DAY 2: Saturday, August 3rd
6- Wildlife Rescue Center No. 1 (Nakhon Nayok, Thailand)
7- Sriayuthaya Lion Park (Nong Khanak, Thailand)
8- Lopburi Zoo (Lopburi, Thailand)
DAY 3: Sunday, August 4th
9- Khao Kheow Open Zoo (Chon Buri, Thailand) 3-part review
10- Pattaya Crocodile Farm (Pattaya, Thailand)
11- Underwater World Pattaya (Pattaya, Thailand)
12- Monsters Aquarium (Pattaya, Thailand)
It was quite a whirlwind first 3 days of the trip, directly after 24 hours of travelling via two flights and loads of hours in planes. Day 1 was 5 small zoos, Day 2 was 3 zoos to the north of Bangkok, and Day 3 was 4 zoos to the south of Bangkok. As one can tell by my comprehensive reviews, I was able to take more than a thousand photos and document everything, but it did mean that arriving back at the rented apartment was always a late night affair when it was pitch black and Konstantin and I were shattered. It's funny though, because the next morning we'd wake up early and be raring to go as if it was Christmas Day! Not always having hot water on the trip helped a little, as there's nothing like a cold shower to make one alert and excited to step into the outdoor heat to warm up again.
Zoo/Aquarium #12: Monsters Aquarium (Pattaya, Thailand)
Monsters Aquarium is a weird place, like a hodgepodge menagerie that probably sees a ton of animals come in and out through its doors. It strikes me as a zoo that one could visit and then go back in two years and the lineup of species might look much different. Walking in the front door, there was a young Squirrel Monkey running around with no leash or barrier, obviously a pet of the owners, plus a small enclosure for a couple of Aardvarks. That set the tone for a type of zoo that one never knew what would be around the next corner. The initial entryway is one long room, with side exhibits for small creatures and a store selling food. There’s an area where one can hold a Crowned Eagle (for an extra fee) and an Echidna exhibit in the corner. There's even an exhibit with around a dozen domestic cats! This is the most eclectic zoo we saw on the entire trip. I've posted more than 120 photos in the Monster World Pattaya gallery if people want to see more images from the zoo than what I can offer up in this post. I recommend browsing the gallery as there's a lot of odds n' ends type stuff at this aquarium/zoo and already two more zoo nerds have visited since Konstantin and I were there in August. I thought it would be similar to Underwater World and be just a regular Aquarium, but it's totally different and I can understand why some zoo nerds I know want to visit even though it's not for everyone.
My silhouette at the zoo's entrance. That animal sculpture is unique and it suits this place.
Introductory Aardvark exhibit. Is this the entire enclosure? You bet.
A handful of tethered raptors:
With 35 mammal species, all of them being fairly small, it’s an establishment that appeals to zoo nerds who want to see rarities and I know maybe 5 people who have visited this place either before or after our visit. I'm not recommending the zoo or attempting to dissuade people from visiting with this report. I'm simply (neutrally) documenting what I saw and this will be the definitive review on ZooChat as there's hardly anything else about this joint on here.
There's practically zero images of exhibits online (except for mine now) and so going around each corner was a step into an unknown adventure. Here one can see mammals that are extremely rare in Southeast Asian zoos, as well as oddities like American Mink, Greater Cane Rat and Lowland Paca. Where do they all come from? The pet trade or are some of these creatures illegally smuggled into the country? Are they confiscated animals that need a home? From other zoos or private individuals? I honestly have no idea. But I can say that there’s 3 types of civet plus Common Genets, and every single mammal was in terrific condition but in an exhibit that’s tight on space.
Prairie Dog and Meerkat exhibits.
There's zero barriers and so to pet a Three-striped Palm Civet is not difficult and many of the animals are fairly tame. (Konstantin and I did not pet anything but other visitors did)
There's a winding hallway filled with mammal enclosures, as well as a loop that goes briefly outdoors. Here can be found a few larger cages for primates, such as this one for De Brazza's Monkeys that has some height and wouldn't look out of place as an indoor exhibit at a major zoo.
This is an albino Greater Cane Rat:
As you can tell from my mammal species list (see below), there's nothing larger than a macaque or a Caracal at this zoo in terms of mammals. Indeed, there's lots of rodents and small creatures. The mammal rooms are characterized by having green fake turf on the floor, red mock-rock bases around the exhibits, and a mixture of glass and wire on the enclosures. There's zero stand-off barriers anywhere and you can go right up to the exhibits, although there are prominent "do not touch" signs on each enclosure.
Mammal species list (35 species): Caracal, Serval, Sulawesi Crested Macaque, De Brazza’s Monkey, Tufted Capuchin, Squirrel Monkey, Common Marmoset, Ring-tailed Lemur, Fennec Fox, Aardvark, Raccoon, Coati, Banded Mongoose, Dwarf Mongoose, Common Genet, Common Palm Civet, Small-toothed Palm Civet, Three-striped Palm Civet, American Mink, Armadillo, Meerkat, Echidna, Black Squirrel, African Crested Porcupine, Agouti, Marmot, Prairie Dog, Degu, Lowland Paca, Kangaroo Rat, Bamboo Rat, Greater Cane Rat, Richardson’s Ground Squirrel, Two-toed Sloth and Sugar Glider. Plus there's a whole 'Barnyard' room filled with domestic animals and so my guess is this place has 45 mammal species in total.
It's not just mammals here, as trust me when I say this place is jam-packed with everything!
This exhibit held a Southern Cassowary, an Emu and a Rhea, all together in a very small space. The cage above contains Ring-tailed Lemurs and you can see all the species in this image.
There's a large, open-topped tank with Blacktip Reef Sharks, Zebra Sharks, Nurse Sharks and Moray Eels. Go pet a shark!
Surprisingly, there's Great White Pelicans and assorted waterfowl.
After being done with mammals, one enters into the 'Reptiles Zone'. The introductory reptile room has some elaborate, ruined temple type rock-work in the exhibits, but in truth these enclosures are lacking in natural substrate and are quite barren. This area had some crocodilians, pythons and a huge soft-shelled turtle in the middle. (Check out the gallery for more up-close images of a lot of these exhibits)
The zoo keeps going and going...into a cave-like area that might give some people claustrophobia. This zone contained 10 monitor species and many other reptiles, with a significant amount of bench space right down the middle. There's no one there as Konstantin and I were literally the last two visitors of the day and the facility closed up when we left. There's a whole bunch of two-headed turtles, a two-headed snake and albino animals...a lot of odd creatures here.
Again, I have loads of views of individual exhibits in the gallery, but after one reptile hallway was done then there was another long one to see!
The list below is interesting, with 10 monitor species, 4 different crocodilians, a variety of iguanas, and some genuine rarities are included here.
Reptile/Amphibian species list (44 species): False Gharial, Chinese Alligator, Cuvier’s Dwarf Caiman, Smooth-fronted Caiman, Reticulated Python, Burmese Python, Boa Constrictor, Elephant Trunk Snake, King Cobra, Honduran Milk Snake, Komodo Dragon, Asian Water Monitor, Crocodile Monitor, Black Monitor, Black-throated Monitor, Argus Monitor, Savanna Monitor, Large-scaled Water Monitor, Peach-throated Monitor, Mangrove Monitor, Sailfin Dragon, Grand Cayman Blue Iguana, Rhinoceros Iguana, Green Iguana, Spiny-tailed Iguana, Frilled Lizard, Black-and-white Tegu, Red Tegu, Chinese Crocodile Lizard, Sudan Plated Lizard, Bearded Dragon, Leopard Gecko, Blue-tongued Skink, Giant Sand Fish Skink, Giant Legless Lizard, Axolotl, Giant Soft-shelled Turtle, Wattle-necked Soft-shelled Turtle, Common Snapping Turtle, Pond Slider and Red-eared Slider, Asian Bullfrog, African Bullfrog and Chinese Giant Salamander (not counted as it was an empty tank).
After the rooms of mammals and the long hallways of reptiles and amphibians, we finally hit the 'Aquarium' portion of the zoo and yet again there was a LOT to see. At this point we were being followed by a kind-hearted staff member who was allowing us time to visit the zoo but they were also closing up for the night and so while I have 95-100% accurate and comprehensive mammal/reptile/amphibian species lists, I didn't have time to get all the species in the fish section. It would have taken an extra hour, which we clearly didn't have.
For the most part, the aquarium tanks are of a higher quality than anything else here. The ceiling and floor has been painted navy blue.
I'm certain that there must have been a dozen species of Southeast Asian fish in those tanks that Konstantin and I had never seen before in our entire lives. At least we recognized Coconut Crabs and they are always spectacular to come across.
Are we done? Are we there yet?
You can see Konstantin walking down another enormous hallway filled with fish tanks, except this time we had fish on all sides and above and the pathway is so narrow that this was honestly a special experience. Anywhere else and this would be a notable, arguably even a world-class exhibit because there was a lot of space for the fish and the tanks weren't jammed with animals whatsoever. As an Aquarium, this facility is extremely worthwhile.Arapaima are popular and common in Southeast Asian zoos, even in open-topped tanks. Also, check out all the life-sized models on the wall.
Yet another long hallway of fish exhibits, with this being a particularly huge tank.
Done with fish, we emerged into a more brightly-lit area and saw a whole hallway of aviaries. Bring on the birds! There's some kind of Bird-of-Paradise (Lesser?) on the right and then Violet Turacos are in the next aviary and after that we were getting closer to being ushered out the door. There's even a small walk-through aviary at one end of a second bird-themed corridor. I do not have a bird species list as that would have taken much more time to compile.
Summary:
The crazy thing about Monsters Aquarium is that a LOT of species are packed into what is a maze-like set of long corridors. The first chunk of the zoo is mainly all mammals, with the occasional set of birds here and there, and then there is a very long section filled with reptiles in terrariums on both sides of several rooms. After that, there’s a couple of lengthy wings full of aquarium tanks, which I’m positive contain some fish that I’ve never seen before, and the aquarium section is the best in terms of the quality of the exhibits.
There’s also a hallway filled with screeching birds, and one gets the impression that this zoo could easily take many hours to tour if one were to document every species in the place. As it was, Konstantin and I ended up staying almost two hours and we had to hurry to take as many photos as we could as we were there until closing time. A staff member followed us around at the end, turning off lights as we finished each hallway. We'd walk through a room and take all our photos, then the guy would smile and turn off the lights and we'd head to the next room. Thinking back, we stayed past closing time and it was dark when we were done our day of 4 zoos. Remember, we had spent a ton of time at the fantastic Khao Kheow Open Zoo, before heading south to bang off a trio of smaller Pattaya-area attractions.
With 35 exotic mammal species, plus all the domestic mammals, then 44 reptile and amphibian species, plus a ton of fish and birds, my best estimate is that Monsters Aquarium has easily 250 species in total. It's a bit surreal to consider that the geographical footprint of the establishment is likely not very large. Everything is densely packed and it really is a hodgepodge of a menagerie. I'd love to see an aerial view or some kind of map of the place, as walking around was disorienting.
Up next: There was no rest for us, as we got back super late, showered and hit the sack at our rented apartment. We were then up at 5:00 a.m. the next morning to catch a flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, far away in northern Thailand. Stay tuned!
Itinerary (so far):
DAY 1: Friday, August 2nd
1- Bangkok Snake Farm (Bangkok, Thailand)
2- Peuan Deratchan Mini Zoo (Bangkok, Thailand)
3- Bangkok Butterfly Garden (Bangkok, Thailand)
4- Pata Zoo (Bangkok, Thailand)
5- Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World (Bangkok, Thailand)
DAY 2: Saturday, August 3rd
6- Wildlife Rescue Center No. 1 (Nakhon Nayok, Thailand)
7- Sriayuthaya Lion Park (Nong Khanak, Thailand)
8- Lopburi Zoo (Lopburi, Thailand)
DAY 3: Sunday, August 4th
9- Khao Kheow Open Zoo (Chon Buri, Thailand) 3-part review
10- Pattaya Crocodile Farm (Pattaya, Thailand)
11- Underwater World Pattaya (Pattaya, Thailand)
12- Monsters Aquarium (Pattaya, Thailand)
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Flat headed cat
Well-Known Member
These Komodo dragons are legally bred in Thailand but are illegal in international law. Thailand may be the country with the most Komodo dragons outside of Indonesia.
Currently, this cage is the area of baby red shaked douc languar, which also come illegally.There's a winding hallway filled with mammal enclosures, as well as a loop that goes briefly outdoors. Here can be found a few larger cages for primates, such as this one for De Brazza's Monkeys that has some height and wouldn't look out of place as an indoor exhibit at a major zoo.
Rizz Carlton
Well-Known Member
I wonder how it arrived there, but the animal shown in the gallery that are labelled as "macaca nigra" doesn't look like that species. It could be another Sulawesi macaques (Macaca maura for example) or it could be any random mainland Asian macaques.
Regardless, I didn't expect to see 'that' was the exhibit the macaque live in. There's even appears to be zero doors to a separate holding cage, so it likely spend all of its days in that sad enclosure.
Sulawesi Crested Macaque Exhibit - ZooChat
Can you tell us more about this? Their origin on how they ended up in Thailand, their use, and history surrounding them?
Flat headed cat
Well-Known Member
In 2018, Thailand announced a new law called the Wildlife Control Act, which allows people to legally possess wildlife on a controlled list Regardless of whether the species predates CITES or not, the registration will begin in 2022-2023, allowing owners of animals on the controlled list to be legal and open I think there was a big smuggling of Komodo dragons in 2020-2021 so that the animals could be laundered in time because before that I had not seen a Komodo dragon in Thailand for more than 20 years and the last one I saw at that time was a private pet Pre-CITES There are a number of rare animals that have been surprisingly introduced over the years, for example the Galapagos tortoise Various rare iguanas, gharial sunda clouded leopard all douc languar is on the control list and I am seeing them more and more often in Thailand.
Jorbe
Active Member
The cassowary is actually a northern cassowary (Casuarius unappendiculatus unappendiculatus), a subspecies (although no longer valid?) from the Vogelkop Peninsula of Western New Guinea. You can see this species throughout Asian zoos, but it remains a rarity across the world.
It cannot be told from the picture, but at least I saw this northern one during my own visit in September.
As was also pointed out, the macaques are also of a different species. @Rizz Carlton made a surprisingly good guess. I agree on Moor Macaque (Macaca maura), after taking a look at my own pictures.
The zoo has many incorrect labels. Several rare turtles had no signs, the sign of the bamboo rats said that they live in South Africa, the 'Giant Sand Fish Skink' were signed as Scincus scincus but they are Peters' banded skinks (Scincopus fasciatus), and so on. This place is a mess on all fronts.
Some of the rare species that are not mentioned yet:
Giant featherback,
Indian Narrow-headed soft-shelled turtle,
Cantor's giant soft-shelled turtle
Metallic sheatfish
It's interesting @Rizz Carlton that you pointed out a photo of what is possibly a Moor Macaque and that was corroborated by @Jorbe. Konstantin and I weren't sure what kind of primate it was in that small enclosure, as it was signed as a Sulawesi Crested Macaque but had much lighter hair. As of right then, I had personally never seen a Moor Macaque in my entire life, so at Monsters Aquarium that was my first ever sighting (in hindsight ) and I would go on to see that species 3 more times on the trip and on each occasion it was in Indonesia.
@Jorbe I'd be curious to know what other zoos you visited while in Southeast Asia. Have you seen a number of the ones I've already reviewed on this thread? It's amusing to me how many zoo nerds I know who have been to Monsters Aquarium, as it's an obscure place I'd never heard of prior to me planning this trip and yet it's a magnet for nerds because of its rarities and packed collection. I found 'Monsters' to be very hit and miss, but the aquarium hallways were very nicely done.
One thing that might be of interest to readers is that I received a couple of messages yesterday from someone praising my reviews, but also being rather critical of me for not visiting some of the worst zoos that Thailand has to offer. Why didn't I tour some privately-run zoos in the countryside? Why did I only visit one rescue centre? Why didn't I ride an elephant? After initially being taken aback, I realized that this individual has a series of really great points because they claim by shedding light on a particular zoo's situation that I'm apparently now a "conservation warrior" (sounds like a Steve Irwin term!) because otherwise these subpar Thai zoos go about their business with no publicity, either good or bad. I was told to organize more zoo nerds to visit crappy zoos, as how else would the Western world ever hear about them? Interesting.
This person, who has pledged to mail a bunch of leaflets and pamphlets to me in Canada that are promoting the closure of both Lopburi Zoo and Pata Zoo, brought up some interesting points. If there's a zoo nerd in North America, Australia or Europe, being oblivious to most zoos in Southeast Asia, then can any of those individuals affect change? Nope. But if someone travels to the zoos that are far from Western eyes, takes loads of photos and types up long reviews like I've been doing, then suddenly hundreds more people are aware of the circumstances that are going on at some of the really poor Southeast Asian zoos. People who had no knowledge of Lopburi now can say they are aware of the zoo. Thailand has a place like Khao Kheow Open Zoo, which is superb, that's a million miles away in quality from slum zoos like Pata and Lopburi, and to see the closure of the latter two would likely be a blessing for the animals there. Maybe I can help a little with a Thai organization, once I receive the leaflets. There's even a couple of other places where I can post my reviews that might receive a wider audience. It all helps.
I do think that by visiting a junky zoo, anywhere in the world, that perhaps already has some local pressure on it to close down, can help. People see photos and read reviews, get riled up, make efforts to either improve or close down a zoo, and suddenly the person who is typing up the reviews has helped a tiny bit to make positive change. It's not a coincidence that the two American states that I have criticized the most for their zoos (Wisconsin and Arkansas), saw SIX zoos permanently close just a few years after my visits and I've even had my photos lifted from ZooChat and used in online articles. So, me giving a few measly dollars of my own money to Lopburi and Pata, then extensively promoting the fact that they are outdated institutions, will definitely aid a tiny bit in closing them down. At the same time, the great zoos of the world receive glowing praise from me and I can help them continue to thrive, even if it's just a tiny offering of positivity.
In a few days, I will post my reviews of Chiang Mai Zoo and Chiang Mai Night Safari, two separate establishments in northern Thailand, and they are a pair of very good zoos that are must-sees for anyone visiting Southeast Asia.
) and I would go on to see that species 3 more times on the trip and on each occasion it was in Indonesia.@Jorbe I'd be curious to know what other zoos you visited while in Southeast Asia. Have you seen a number of the ones I've already reviewed on this thread? It's amusing to me how many zoo nerds I know who have been to Monsters Aquarium, as it's an obscure place I'd never heard of prior to me planning this trip and yet it's a magnet for nerds because of its rarities and packed collection. I found 'Monsters' to be very hit and miss, but the aquarium hallways were very nicely done.
One thing that might be of interest to readers is that I received a couple of messages yesterday from someone praising my reviews, but also being rather critical of me for not visiting some of the worst zoos that Thailand has to offer. Why didn't I tour some privately-run zoos in the countryside? Why did I only visit one rescue centre? Why didn't I ride an elephant? After initially being taken aback, I realized that this individual has a series of really great points because they claim by shedding light on a particular zoo's situation that I'm apparently now a "conservation warrior" (sounds like a Steve Irwin term!) because otherwise these subpar Thai zoos go about their business with no publicity, either good or bad. I was told to organize more zoo nerds to visit crappy zoos, as how else would the Western world ever hear about them? Interesting.
This person, who has pledged to mail a bunch of leaflets and pamphlets to me in Canada that are promoting the closure of both Lopburi Zoo and Pata Zoo, brought up some interesting points. If there's a zoo nerd in North America, Australia or Europe, being oblivious to most zoos in Southeast Asia, then can any of those individuals affect change? Nope. But if someone travels to the zoos that are far from Western eyes, takes loads of photos and types up long reviews like I've been doing, then suddenly hundreds more people are aware of the circumstances that are going on at some of the really poor Southeast Asian zoos. People who had no knowledge of Lopburi now can say they are aware of the zoo. Thailand has a place like Khao Kheow Open Zoo, which is superb, that's a million miles away in quality from slum zoos like Pata and Lopburi, and to see the closure of the latter two would likely be a blessing for the animals there. Maybe I can help a little with a Thai organization, once I receive the leaflets. There's even a couple of other places where I can post my reviews that might receive a wider audience. It all helps.
I do think that by visiting a junky zoo, anywhere in the world, that perhaps already has some local pressure on it to close down, can help. People see photos and read reviews, get riled up, make efforts to either improve or close down a zoo, and suddenly the person who is typing up the reviews has helped a tiny bit to make positive change. It's not a coincidence that the two American states that I have criticized the most for their zoos (Wisconsin and Arkansas), saw SIX zoos permanently close just a few years after my visits and I've even had my photos lifted from ZooChat and used in online articles. So, me giving a few measly dollars of my own money to Lopburi and Pata, then extensively promoting the fact that they are outdated institutions, will definitely aid a tiny bit in closing them down. At the same time, the great zoos of the world receive glowing praise from me and I can help them continue to thrive, even if it's just a tiny offering of positivity.
In a few days, I will post my reviews of Chiang Mai Zoo and Chiang Mai Night Safari, two separate establishments in northern Thailand, and they are a pair of very good zoos that are must-sees for anyone visiting Southeast Asia.
Zz123
Well-Known Member
I’ve been to Monsters Aquarium as well. As for the black macaque, I also didn’t think it was a Moor macaque at first. However, after reading your comment, I went back to check the photos I took in 2024 (though they’re not very clear) and asked an expert. They confirmed that it is indeed a Moor macaque.
Jorbe
Active Member
It was only a brief visit to Thailand of a few days. I visited a few other facilities across Southeast Asia, but nothing interesting that you might not have visited on your own long trip.
DAY 4: Monday, August 5th
After days of 5 zoos, 3 zoos and 4 zoos, Konstantin and I hit up 5 more zoos on this enormously long Monday. (Don't worry, the following couple of days would see us visit only ONE zoo per day...shocking!) This was a beast of a day.
We awoke at 5:00 a.m. and caught an Uber (called Grab in Southeast Asia) to the airport for a 7:30 a.m. flight. To drive or to take a train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand, takes anywhere from 9 to 11 hours and so that was out of the question. The actual flight time is 1 hour and 15 minutes, so after waking at 5:00, being at the airport by 6:00, taking off in the plane at 7:30, arriving in northern Thailand at 8:45, then having a driver take us to the the zoo, we arrived just after the zoo's opening time of 9:00 a.m. Amazingly, it all worked out. Then we just had a small matter of 5 zoos and we ended our day well into darkness yet again.
Zoo/Aquarium #13: Chiang Mai Zoo (Chiang Mai, Thailand) - Part 1 of 2
A small, privately-run zoo was established by an American missionary, and it operated from 1957 to 1975. After the death of the owner, the governance of the zoo was transferred to the Zoological Park Organization of Thailand. Chiang Mai Zoo opened in 1977, only one year before Khao Kheow Open Zoo, and then doubled in size over the next decade with various expansions.
This is a big zoo in terms of its acreage and just like Khao Kheow Open Zoo, there is the possibility of hiring a golf cart. We declined this option, but probably should have in hindsight as there’s a ton of walking around the grounds. Konstantin and I covered the entire zoo in just under 5 hours, moving almost the entire time and not stopping for any food. At one point we did stop for less than 10 minutes to each have a bag of chips and a drink by the gibbon islands, but other than that it was 5 hours of walking and we saw the entire zoo.
I uploaded approximately 220 photos into the gallery from my visit.
Being a Southeast Asian zoo, that means a grandiose entrance is practically a mandatory feature.
The introductory Elephant Fountain is stunning and is the first thing visitors see when they walk through the entrance gates. It certainly makes for a memorable initial impression.
There's a series of animal statues (Giant Panda, Sarus Crane, King Kong, etc.) and a 'Mini Zoo' that's basically some Green Iguanas, macaws and domesticated animals, before a few hilly, steep walking trails leads one into the thick of the zoo. A lot of people rented golf carts but we walked the entire time and racked up thousands of steps.
A beautiful exhibit for Common Hippos can be found here, with a huge pool, a pair of grassy areas, and a jungle backdrop. We saw at least 3 and perhaps 4 hippos together in this exhibit and it's one of the highlights of the zoo.
Pygmy Hippos are nearby in a heavily shaded enclosure and there's actually a hippo in the dead center of this photo.
An African Savanna had signs for 5 species (Giraffe, Plains Zebra, Common Eland, Waterbuck, Scimitar-horned Oryx) and it was a decent size. It's nothing on the level of KK Zoo, but still a pleasant savanna. Bat-eared Foxes, Ostriches and Malayan Porcupines can be found in satellite exhibits in the vicinity.
A goofy looking kiddie area, called SnowBuddy WinterLand, is right next door to the zoo's Giant Panda complex. There's shelves of parkas and snowsuits for kids to enjoy some cold fun, but we were early to this area and didn't see anyone inside other than a couple of staff members.
The air-conditioned, indoor Giant Panda area was devoid of pandas, which was a shame as the zoo heavily promotes having pandas everywhere you go. In 2003, pandas Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui arrived at the zoo, they then had a baby named Lin Bing in 2009, who was sent back to China as part of the loan agreement in 2013. The two adult pandas died in 2019 and 2023, and Chiang Mai Zoo is eagerly waiting to one day receive another pair of Giant Pandas from China. Meanwhile, this big building has sat empty of animals for two years and I'm quite surprised they haven't tossed in an Asian bear species in place of pandas.
There's a pair of big cat grottoes that are incredibly steep (with very deep moats) and a big cat complex nearby. This area has White Lions, Tigers, Leopards and Jaguars and in truth all the exhibits are unsatisfactory as the space for the big cats is far too small in each instance.
Jaguar exhibit:
There's a flock of perhaps 10 Grey Crowned Cranes together in an open-topped exhibit, and also the same species in an enormous aviary structure that obviously held different species in the past. Also, Black Giant Squirrels have a cage in this area.
Moving further up the hillside, there's a unique Capybara exhibit with a raised boardwalk for the giant rodents to amble around on. You can see a couple of Capybaras resting on their island, and it would be neat to see them crashing off their wood and into their spacious pool.
In a rather perplexing part of the zoo, the Nakhonping Bird Park has been completely closed down. Visitors go past all the big cats in their too-small enclosures and reach a dead end that used to be a bird park that had been incorporated into the zoo. Does anyone know if it was a separate admission facility at one time? There's a series of aviaries still there with a few unsigned parrots, some more aviaries that are all empty and disused, and then a walkway (pictured below) that goes past an absolutely massive walk-through aviary that at one time was probably world-class. This whole area is now abandoned, which is frustrating as there's a lot of potential in this part of the zoo.
The now abandoned aviary is on the left and it's huge.
Farther along the ever-increasingly steep trail (we should have rented golf carts @twilighter!) is an outstanding exhibit for a large herd of Aoudad. Really impressive.
The view from the top:
An incredibly overgrown and apparently empty exhibit for Mainland Serow is next door.
Not so good are a couple of bear exhibits, for Asiatic Black Bear and Sun Bear and the enclosures are smaller than they appear in my photos. Here is the Sun Bear exhibit, arguably the better of the two bear yards.
This is the rather odd, rocky entrance to the Cape Fur Seal complex, now empty and seemingly abandoned.
At this point, we visited the apex of the zoo and there's a stunning section with multiple views of the city of Chiang Mai off in the distance. There's wild birds all around, the rustling of lizards in the undergrowth, undoubtedly primates in the treetops, and we saw some wild Sambar Deer which was honestly a nice thrill. Look at that jungle!
Rather incongruously, a Humboldt Penguin building can be found up here in the jungle hillside. I wonder if the wild Sambar Deer stroll through when no one's around?
The second part of the penguin exhibit has more than 50 potted plants hanging in the air.
There's a bird-themed area nearby, with a half-dozen pheasant aviaries (Golden, Reeves's, Lady Amherst's, etc.), and species such as Brahminy Kite, Changeable Hawk-Eagle, Wreathed Hornbill, Rhinoceros Hornbill and there's no less than FOUR aviaries for Woolly-necked Storks in what could be deemed a 'conservation breeding zone'. All of the aviaries are older and nothing special at all.
Woolly-necked Stork aviary #4:
At this point, halfway through my review, I admit that Chiang Mai Zoo is a bit hit-and-miss. It has a fantastic jungle location, which elevates a visit to any zoo in my opinion, a decent African Savanna, and terrific Common Hippo and Aoudad exhibits. However, the absence of Giant Pandas, the outdated big cat zone, the empty Bird Park area, the closed Cape Fur Seal complex, the empty Mainland Serow hillside exhibit, all add up to the feeling that the zoo is sliding in the wrong direction. Thankfully, things pick up substantially in the second half.
Up next: My second and final part of Chiang Mai Zoo showcases some of the best that the zoo has to offer. There's a terrific zone featuring almost entirely Asian mammals, an outdoor reptile section, a small Australian area with Koalas, and an Aquarium that is large enough to require a separate admission ticket. Stay tuned...
After days of 5 zoos, 3 zoos and 4 zoos, Konstantin and I hit up 5 more zoos on this enormously long Monday. (Don't worry, the following couple of days would see us visit only ONE zoo per day...shocking!
) This was a beast of a day.We awoke at 5:00 a.m. and caught an Uber (called Grab in Southeast Asia) to the airport for a 7:30 a.m. flight. To drive or to take a train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand, takes anywhere from 9 to 11 hours and so that was out of the question. The actual flight time is 1 hour and 15 minutes, so after waking at 5:00, being at the airport by 6:00, taking off in the plane at 7:30, arriving in northern Thailand at 8:45, then having a driver take us to the the zoo, we arrived just after the zoo's opening time of 9:00 a.m. Amazingly, it all worked out. Then we just had a small matter of 5 zoos and we ended our day well into darkness yet again.
Zoo/Aquarium #13: Chiang Mai Zoo (Chiang Mai, Thailand) - Part 1 of 2
A small, privately-run zoo was established by an American missionary, and it operated from 1957 to 1975. After the death of the owner, the governance of the zoo was transferred to the Zoological Park Organization of Thailand. Chiang Mai Zoo opened in 1977, only one year before Khao Kheow Open Zoo, and then doubled in size over the next decade with various expansions.
This is a big zoo in terms of its acreage and just like Khao Kheow Open Zoo, there is the possibility of hiring a golf cart. We declined this option, but probably should have in hindsight as there’s a ton of walking around the grounds. Konstantin and I covered the entire zoo in just under 5 hours, moving almost the entire time and not stopping for any food. At one point we did stop for less than 10 minutes to each have a bag of chips and a drink by the gibbon islands, but other than that it was 5 hours of walking and we saw the entire zoo.
I uploaded approximately 220 photos into the gallery from my visit.
Being a Southeast Asian zoo, that means a grandiose entrance is practically a mandatory feature.
The introductory Elephant Fountain is stunning and is the first thing visitors see when they walk through the entrance gates. It certainly makes for a memorable initial impression.
There's a series of animal statues (Giant Panda, Sarus Crane, King Kong, etc.) and a 'Mini Zoo' that's basically some Green Iguanas, macaws and domesticated animals, before a few hilly, steep walking trails leads one into the thick of the zoo. A lot of people rented golf carts but we walked the entire time and racked up thousands of steps.
A beautiful exhibit for Common Hippos can be found here, with a huge pool, a pair of grassy areas, and a jungle backdrop. We saw at least 3 and perhaps 4 hippos together in this exhibit and it's one of the highlights of the zoo.
Pygmy Hippos are nearby in a heavily shaded enclosure and there's actually a hippo in the dead center of this photo.
An African Savanna had signs for 5 species (Giraffe, Plains Zebra, Common Eland, Waterbuck, Scimitar-horned Oryx) and it was a decent size. It's nothing on the level of KK Zoo, but still a pleasant savanna. Bat-eared Foxes, Ostriches and Malayan Porcupines can be found in satellite exhibits in the vicinity.
A goofy looking kiddie area, called SnowBuddy WinterLand, is right next door to the zoo's Giant Panda complex. There's shelves of parkas and snowsuits for kids to enjoy some cold fun, but we were early to this area and didn't see anyone inside other than a couple of staff members.
The air-conditioned, indoor Giant Panda area was devoid of pandas, which was a shame as the zoo heavily promotes having pandas everywhere you go. In 2003, pandas Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui arrived at the zoo, they then had a baby named Lin Bing in 2009, who was sent back to China as part of the loan agreement in 2013. The two adult pandas died in 2019 and 2023, and Chiang Mai Zoo is eagerly waiting to one day receive another pair of Giant Pandas from China. Meanwhile, this big building has sat empty of animals for two years and I'm quite surprised they haven't tossed in an Asian bear species in place of pandas.
There's a pair of big cat grottoes that are incredibly steep (with very deep moats) and a big cat complex nearby. This area has White Lions, Tigers, Leopards and Jaguars and in truth all the exhibits are unsatisfactory as the space for the big cats is far too small in each instance.
Jaguar exhibit:
There's a flock of perhaps 10 Grey Crowned Cranes together in an open-topped exhibit, and also the same species in an enormous aviary structure that obviously held different species in the past. Also, Black Giant Squirrels have a cage in this area.
Moving further up the hillside, there's a unique Capybara exhibit with a raised boardwalk for the giant rodents to amble around on. You can see a couple of Capybaras resting on their island, and it would be neat to see them crashing off their wood and into their spacious pool.
In a rather perplexing part of the zoo, the Nakhonping Bird Park has been completely closed down. Visitors go past all the big cats in their too-small enclosures and reach a dead end that used to be a bird park that had been incorporated into the zoo. Does anyone know if it was a separate admission facility at one time? There's a series of aviaries still there with a few unsigned parrots, some more aviaries that are all empty and disused, and then a walkway (pictured below) that goes past an absolutely massive walk-through aviary that at one time was probably world-class. This whole area is now abandoned, which is frustrating as there's a lot of potential in this part of the zoo.
The now abandoned aviary is on the left and it's huge.
Farther along the ever-increasingly steep trail (we should have rented golf carts @twilighter!
) is an outstanding exhibit for a large herd of Aoudad. Really impressive.The view from the top:
An incredibly overgrown and apparently empty exhibit for Mainland Serow is next door.
Not so good are a couple of bear exhibits, for Asiatic Black Bear and Sun Bear and the enclosures are smaller than they appear in my photos. Here is the Sun Bear exhibit, arguably the better of the two bear yards.
This is the rather odd, rocky entrance to the Cape Fur Seal complex, now empty and seemingly abandoned.
At this point, we visited the apex of the zoo and there's a stunning section with multiple views of the city of Chiang Mai off in the distance. There's wild birds all around, the rustling of lizards in the undergrowth, undoubtedly primates in the treetops, and we saw some wild Sambar Deer which was honestly a nice thrill. Look at that jungle!
Rather incongruously, a Humboldt Penguin building can be found up here in the jungle hillside. I wonder if the wild Sambar Deer stroll through when no one's around?
The second part of the penguin exhibit has more than 50 potted plants hanging in the air.
There's a bird-themed area nearby, with a half-dozen pheasant aviaries (Golden, Reeves's, Lady Amherst's, etc.), and species such as Brahminy Kite, Changeable Hawk-Eagle, Wreathed Hornbill, Rhinoceros Hornbill and there's no less than FOUR aviaries for Woolly-necked Storks in what could be deemed a 'conservation breeding zone'. All of the aviaries are older and nothing special at all.
Woolly-necked Stork aviary #4:
At this point, halfway through my review, I admit that Chiang Mai Zoo is a bit hit-and-miss. It has a fantastic jungle location, which elevates a visit to any zoo in my opinion, a decent African Savanna, and terrific Common Hippo and Aoudad exhibits. However, the absence of Giant Pandas, the outdated big cat zone, the empty Bird Park area, the closed Cape Fur Seal complex, the empty Mainland Serow hillside exhibit, all add up to the feeling that the zoo is sliding in the wrong direction. Thankfully, things pick up substantially in the second half.
Up next: My second and final part of Chiang Mai Zoo showcases some of the best that the zoo has to offer. There's a terrific zone featuring almost entirely Asian mammals, an outdoor reptile section, a small Australian area with Koalas, and an Aquarium that is large enough to require a separate admission ticket. Stay tuned...
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