Snowleopard's 2024 Road Trip: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore & Indonesia

[Flat headed cat]

absence of Giant Pandas, the outdated big cat zone, the empty Bird Park area, the closed Cape Fur Seal complex, the empty Mainland Serow hillside exhibit, all add up to the feeling that the zoo is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.

Giant pandas are set to have a new pair from the Chinese government, arriving in 2027, and a new, modern and complete exhibit will be built at a cost of $5,952,116.00And there might be a golden snub-nosed monkey And the golden takin came along.

The seals have been moved to breed at the Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo. In the future, the abandoned exhibit will be transformed into part of the sun bear Research Center.

The Nakornping Bird Park is a beautiful attraction but has had problems for a long time. For example, during heavy rains, there are frequent landslides and flash floods from the valley. It has collapsed too often, so we had to cancel it. It will be demolished soon.

All serows have been moved to a breeding center that is no longer open to tourists because the exhibit area is difficult to keep serow in holding, and tourists find it difficult to see the serow and are not interested in them.

 

[LaughingDove]

Only just managed to catch up with reading all your posts, but it's been an enjoyable thread so far!

Although I was born in Bangkok and my parents now live there, I've not spent much time in the city or in Thailand at all in the last decade+ so it's nice to read about the zoos in the area.

Did you decide not to visit Safari World in what seems like an otherwise quite thorough tour of zoos in the Bangkok area? Not sure if there are many rare species there though, possibly West African Manatees?

 

[twilighter]

Only just managed to catch up with reading all your posts, but it's been an enjoyable thread so far!

Although I was born in Bangkok and my parents now live there, I've not spent much time in the city or in Thailand at all in the last decade+ so it's nice to read about the zoos in the area.

Did you decide not to visit Safari World in what seems like an otherwise quite thorough tour of zoos in the Bangkok area? Not sure if there are many rare species there though, possibly West African Manatees?

@LaughingDove , I am curious to hear what are you favourite Thailand and South-east Asian zoos ? Stay tuned for the Bangkok Safari World

 

[LaughingDove]

@LaughingDove , I am curious to hear what are you favourite Thailand and South-east Asian zoos ? Stay tuned for the Bangkok Safari World

I think for Thailand as a general all round place it's got to be Khao Kheow, although I do like the Bangkok Snake Farm as a unique and distinctive place.

I also loved Jurong Bird Park. I've not yet made it to Bird Paradise though, and it's hard to tell from pictures and reviews how it will really compare. But I've managed to arrange a stopover in Singapore for 2 days in August so I should finally get to visit soon!

Looking forward to reading the rest of the thread!

 

[snowleopard]

DAY 4: Monday, August 5th

Time for the second and final part of the review...

Zoo/Aquarium #13: Chiang Mai Zoo (Chiang Mai, Thailand) - Part 2 of 2

The next section of Chiang Mai Zoo is a semi-forested area that is almost exclusively Asian animals, as well as an outdoor reptile zone. Not all the signage is updated, but from what I could figure out here's the species list during my August 5th visit.

Reptile/Amphibian species list, including a few from inside the Aquarium (17 species): False Gharial, Siamese Crocodile, Smooth-fronted Caiman, Green Tree Python, Leopard Gecko, Solomon Island Prehensile-tailed Skink, Green Iguana, Aldabra Giant Tortoise, African Spurred Tortoise, Black Giant/Asian Forest Tortoise, Giant Asian Pond Turtle, Yellow-headed Temple Turtle, Asian Box Turtle, Red-eared Slider, Eastern Snake-necked Turtle, Chinese Soft-shell Turtle and Chiang Mai Crocodile Newt.

Seeing many of those animals outdoors is a nice treat, with a highlight being the Smooth-fronted Caiman exhibit.

There's also a large, rather muddy Aldabra Tortoise exhibit.

Nearby can be found a series of Gibbon Islands (perhaps 4 of them), with Pileated Gibbons, White-cheeked Gibbons and White-handed Gibbons (below).

There's a spacious Painted Stork aviary and exhibits for species such as Malayan Porcupine, Lowland Paca, Banteng, Nilgai and Indian Rhino.

Of course, there's a couple of cages with Red-shanked Douc Langurs.

Birds in this Asian zone are represented by the following 5 hornbill species: Oriental Pied Hornbill, Rhinoceros Hornbill, Plain-pouched Hornbill (!!), Great Hornbill and White-crowned Hornbill.

There's also a Red Panda exhibit that looks a lot like the Red-shanked Douc Langur enclosures, but the indoor area for the pandas is very different.

There's a massive walk-through aviary that consists almost entirely of loads of Jungle Fowl, which is a bit disappointing. The aviary is of a substantial size and there's also a long row of pheasant aviaries within the larger space.

Bird species list (22 species): Humboldt Penguin, Emu, Greater Flamingo, Woolly-necked Stork, Painted Stork, Grey Crowned Crane, Silver Pheasant, Chinese Ring-necked Pheasant, Golden Pheasant, Reeves’s Pheasant, Lady Amherst’s Pheasant, Siamese Fireback, Brahminy Kite, Changeable Hawk Eagle, Rhinoceros Hornbill, Wreathed Hornbill, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Great Hornbill, White-crowned Hornbill, Plain-pouched Hornbill, Red Junglefowl and Nicobar Pigeon.

Jungle Fowl walk-through aviary:

One of the best parts of Chiang Mai Zoo is the Asian Hoofstock area, which consists of a series of overhead walkways that allow visitors to peer down at a number of ungulates in large herds. Here can be found Banteng, Chital, Axis Deer, Barking Deer, Javan Rusa Deer, Hog Deer and Southern Red Muntjac and all in large numbers. There's multiple paddocks and the animals can be seen on level ground, but most of the viewing is done by an overhead visitor trail. Another Asian Hoofstock zone nearby has a similar lineup of species, plus some Eld's Deer, Sambar Deer and Asian Water Buffalo.

There's a large Bornean Orangutan exhibit that has live trees, at least 4 or 5 wooden climbing platforms, and is mostly surrounded by a water moat.

There's a whole section in the northwest corner of Chiang Mai Zoo that is full of brand-new exhibits. Other than a few deer species and some ponies, these exhibits all sit empty even though there's a couple of large buildings (semi off-show) and a series of what appear to be newly constructed carnivore exhibits. Apparently, this entire zone was built for Sun Bears and Asiatic Black Bears, but there's been some issues with the design of the enclosures and so I have no idea what the zoo has decided to do with this area in the future. It's yet another example of Chiang Mai Zoo having a section that's in need of an overhaul but there's tons of potential here as these exhibits are modern and spacious.

There's a small Australian zone that includes Koalas and Green Iguanas, but it's all a bit disappointing as it's very tiny and some of the statues are quite garish and ugly.

For a separate fee, there's an Aquarium that takes at least half an hour to tour. It's got a nice setting, with thick jungle as a backdrop and set on cement pilings over a lake.

Along the walkway to the Aquarium can be found an outdoor turtle exhibit (3 species) and a beautiful outdoor mangrove habitat with Giant Mudskippers (below).

The Aquarium has plenty of nice, modern, recently refurbished exhibits and the zoo actively promotes the Aquarium and the extra fee seems justified. There's zones such as Jungle Explorer, Monster Creatures, Ocean Explorer, Under the River (Giant Catfish in the Mekong River), Peculiar & Unbelievable and Under the Ocean.

This 'ruined temple' themed tank is spectacularly designed and it is a substantial size.

Another floor to ceiling tank holds Tiger Shovelnose Catfish and Silver Arowana.

There's also a room filled with 'structure tanks' that's pretty cool. A space shuttle, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Eiffel Tower, an Easter Island head, Toronto's CN Tower, etc. These tanks are eye-catching and unique.

There's an obligatory, but still very impressive, long Shark Tunnel tank.

The final section of the zoo is a bit of a hodgepodge of an older area. By Southeast Asian standards, the Asian Elephant exhibit is okay and there weren't any chains in sight.

There's random statues in this area:

There's a whack of other mammal exhibits for species such as Llama, Red Kangaroo, Small-clawed Otter, Binturong, Assam Macaque, Northern Pig-tailed Macaque, Rhesus Macaque, Squirrel Monkey and Ring-tailed Lemur.

There's 4 or 5 old, grotto-type exhibits that are all decent exhibits for smaller mammals and they currently work out okay. I suspect that all these enclosures held much larger species in a previous era.

Mammal species list (47 species): Asian Elephant, Indian Rhino, Common Hippo, Pygmy Hippo, Giraffe, Plains (Burchell’s) Zebra, Banteng, Asian Water Buffalo, Nilgai, Common Eland, Defassa Waterbuck, Scimitar-horned Oryx, Aoudad, Guanaco, Mainland Serow (didn’t see), Axis Deer, Javan Rusa Deer, Sambar Deer, Eld’s Deer, Hog Deer, Southern Red Muntjac, African Lion, Tiger (Bengal), Jaguar, Leopard, Giant Panda (currently none), Sun Bear, Asiatic Black Bear, Orangutan, Pileated Gibbon, White-handed Gibbon, White-cheeked Gibbon, Red-shanked Douc Langur, Northern Pig-tailed Macaque, Assam Macaque (empty?), Rhesus Macaque, Squirrel Monkey, Ring-tailed Lemur, Bat-eared Fox, Small-clawed Otter, Red Panda, Koala, Red Kangaroo, Binturong, Malayan Porcupine, Capybara, Black Giant Squirrel and Lowland Paca.

Summary:

Chiang Mai Zoo is a solid, good zoo but it's nowhere near as great as Khao Kheow Open Zoo. I feel that Chiang Mai needs an inflection of cash in order to either demolish (likely) or refurbish the abandoned Bird Park, or to overhaul the empty Mainland Serow exhibit, or to fix up the deserted Cape Fur Seal complex, or to figure out what's happening with the brand-new carnivore enclosures. The zoo has almost 50 mammal species and the addition of Giant Pandas, and perhaps some other Asian mammal rarities, in 2027 will be exciting. Konstantin and I enjoyed our visit and the thick tropical jungle adds to the enjoyment of a tour of this zoo. However, this is a zoo that could and should be better than it is. There are too many areas that need some work, a little love and attention, for this to be a great zoo and yet it's a strong candidate for being Thailand's #2 zoo. Nevertheless, there's some genuinely great stuff here and the highlights would be the Asian Hoofstock yards, the African Savanna, Common Hippos, Aoudad mountain exhibit, outdoor reptile zone and full-sized Aquarium.

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)

DAY 4: Monday, August 5th

13- Chiang Mai Zoo (Chiang Mai, Thailand) 2-part review
14- ??
15- ??
16- ??
17- ??

 

[Flat headed cat]

Reptile/Amphibian species list, including a few from inside the Aquarium (17 species): False Gharial, Siamese Crocodile, Smooth-fronted Caiman, Green Tree Python, Leopard Gecko, Solomon Island Prehensile-tailed Skink, Green Iguana, Aldabra Giant Tortoise, African Spurred Tortoise, Black Giant/Asian Forest Tortoise, Giant Asian Pond Turtle, Yellow-headed Temple Turtle, Asian Box Turtle, Red-eared Slider, Eastern Snake-necked Turtle, Chinese Soft-shell Turtle and Chiang Mai Crocodile Newt.

Seeing many of those animals outdoors is a nice treat, with a highlight being the Smooth-fronted Caiman exhibit.

A new reptile exhibit will be built soon on the site of the old aquarium near the Humboldt penguins.

 

[Flat headed cat]

One of the best parts of Chiang Mai Zoo is the Asian Hoofstock area, which consists of a series of overhead walkways that allow visitors to peer down at a number of ungulates in large herds. Here can be found Banteng, Chital, Axis Deer, Barking Deer, Javan Rusa Deer and Hog Deer and all in large numbers. There's multiple paddocks and the animals can be seen on level ground, but most of the viewing is done by an overhead visitor trail. Another Asian Hoofstock zone nearby has a similar lineup of species, plus some Eld's Deer and Asian Water Buffalo.

There's a whole section in the northwest corner of Chiang Mai Zoo that is full of brand-new exhibits. Other than a few deer species and some ponies, these exhibits all sit empty even though there's a couple of large buildings (semi off-show) and a series of what appear to be newly constructed carnivore exhibits. Apparently, this entire zone was built for Sun Bears and Asiatic Black Bears, but there's been some issues with the design of the enclosures and so I have no idea what the zoo has decided to do with this area in the future. It's yet another example of Chiang Mai Zoo having a section that's in need of an overhaul but there's tons of potential here as these exhibits are of a good size.

The area will be part of a new giant panda exhibit coming in 2027, and a new Asian hoof stock exhibit will be housed in the long-closed open zoo.

 

[Flat headed cat]

@snowleopard @twilighter I think you are missing out on 2 zoos in Thailand, Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo with big 5 African collections, 80+ reptiles and amphibians, and great exhibits And the extensive collection of birds behind the scenes, highlighted by the Red-headed Vulture.
Khon Kaen Zoo is a zoo that exhibits in the Dry forest and grassland style. There are rooms attached to the African exhibition, an African vulture walk-through aviary, and a variety of deer and big cat exhibits.

 

[twilighter]

@snowleopard @twilighter I think you are missing out on 2 zoos in Thailand, Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo with big 5 African collections, 80+ reptiles and amphibians, and great exhibits And the extensive collection of birds behind the scenes, highlighted by the Red-headed Vulture.
Khon Kaen Zoo is a zoo that exhibits in the Dry forest and grassland style. There are rooms attached to the African exhibition, an African vulture walk-through aviary, and a variety of deer and big cat exhibits.

Thank you for very valuable inputs @Flat headed cat ! I truly appreciate the knowledge you are sharing on the Thai zoos ! We were aware of those collections, they were on our draft and some Thai friends are emphasizing their value. I was considering Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo on the last day of my trip as well, but preferred to visit Khao Kheow second time and definitely not regret it. Sometimes one needs to draw the line, I guess. On my next visit to Thailand I will definitely try to visit both of them

 

[Philipine eagle]

What strikes me so far in this very enjoyable thread is that songbirds seem to be missing from zoo collections everywhere? While there are so many nice Asian species I would hope to see on such a trip.

Maybe it's a bit too early and that will come up later.

 

[snowleopard]

DAY 4: Monday, August 5th

After finishing up at Chiang Mai Zoo, @twilighter and I were driven 20 minutes north to our next stop of the day.

Zoo/Aquarium #14: Tiger Kingdom (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

There's plenty of zoological facilities in Thailand that allow visitors to enter Tiger enclosures and have photos taken with big cats, ranging from cubs to fully-grown adults. Konstantin and I could have easily racked up a whole whack of zoo visits to a bunch of disreputable businesses, but that's not our style and before the trip we found out which place was arguably the best of the lot and we then decided to visit only ONE establishment that specifically focused on the option to pet Tigers. It's a very popular thing to do as I've got some teacher friends who have been to Thailand several times and they never even contemplated Khao Kheo Open Zoo or Chiang Mai Zoo, but they have shown me photos from places were you can pet Tigers. The average non-zoo nerd Muggle enjoys that kind of stuff, and it's like when loads of my fellow Canadians travel to Mexico and the Dominican Republic and come back with photos of them holding snakes, iguanas and even coatis on leashes on sun-drenched beaches. Folks want that close-up experience.

So, what is this kind of place really like? Perhaps because we went in with such low expectations, we were pleasantly surprised by Tiger Kingdom and it was much better than anticipated. On the zoo's website, it states that "our animals are never chained, sedated, declawed, or defanged". There's even a couple of large, prominent signs that answer many questions that skeptical visitors might have and this facility distances itself from others of its kind.

There's plenty of photo opportunity areas around the small grounds, with the name 'Chiangmai' written out as a single word.

Konstantin and I paid the admission fee to walk around the small zoo, but we did not pay anything extra and we did not go in with Tigers. Most people actually go into the exhibits, with staff members of course, but we just strolled around and took lots of photos and spent maybe 30 minutes at Tiger Kingdom. We were done in no time at all, but most people of course wouldn't pay to just walk around outside the exhibits without entering into the domain of the Tigers.

There's a big board with a zoo map by the entrance and the numbers correspond to different Tiger exhibits. It's amusing to see the numbers at the bottom, with Tigers listed as "Big, Small, Medium, Smallest, Snow White, Golden Tabby, etc.". Choose your size and get inside!

This place is very impressive when it comes to information, whether it's frequently asked questions, the zoo map, and there's even two big signs detailing each specific Tiger with its name, gender, subspecies and age. Other than a small pool of Koi and a few turtles, when we were there in August the entire zoo consisted of 29 Tigers. That's nothing compared to when I saw several hundred Tigers at a handful of zoos in the southern United States in 2015.

The enclosures at Tiger Kingdom range in size, from smaller yards to larger exhibits that are a good size. Every single Tiger we saw was alert, not drugged or declawed, and each of the Tigers that we saw in their holding quarters had an open door with access to a grassy yard. It's a world away from Sriayuthaya Lion Park and Pattaya Crocodile Farm, with doped-up big cats on short chains at both those zoos.

All the Tigers had access to an outdoor area, with open gates leading to grass and pools. Some chose to stay in their shelters as it was a beastly hot day. It was a bit shocking to see how minimal the barriers were, with just a loose, thin rope stopping anyone from putting their hands into the enclosures.

The Tiger exhibits ranged in size, with some very nice ones. However, notice the lack of an overhang fence on these enclosures.

The 'crashed land rover' style is prevalent even here!

The smallest yards look like this and every space had at least one pool.

Summary:

Tiger Kingdom is a facility that Konstantin and I visited out of curiosity. It reminded me of Out of Africa Wildlife Park in Arizona, USA, as there I saw keepers in with Tigers and engaging in really dangerous behaviour by practically tackling the cats and swimming with them in their pool. Or at the old Siegfried & Roy zoo in Las Vegas, which I visited years ago when it was open and called Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat, and keepers were in with Lions and Tigers. Also, Howletts in the UK and Dreamworld in Australia are famous for Tigers and keepers coexisting during presentations.

The difference with Tiger Kingdom is that visitors go in with the Tigers and get photo opportunities. We saw couples holding hands and petting Tigers, some individuals alone with a keeper always close by, and even a big family of 6 all standing around while a pair of Tigers prowled for photos. It seems kind of crazy to engage in such behaviour, and yet this place has tens of thousands of visitors each week and it appears that any kind of incident is almost non-existent as the Tigers are completely habituated to humans. Outside one exhibit, there was a lineup of visitors and yet one never reads of any attacks and the last one I found out about was an Aussie man who was bitten at Tiger Kingdom but that was long ago in 2014. This is the type of place that Konstantin and I did once and we'd never go back, but now we know what it's like and in truth it was far superior to what we expected and somehow the Tigers are tame enough to behave themselves at all times.

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)

DAY 4: Monday, August 5th

13- Chiang Mai Zoo (Chiang Mai, Thailand) 2-part review
14- Tiger Kingdom (Chiang Mai, Thailand)
15- ??
16- ??
17- ??

 

[Osedax]

and Dreamworld in Australia are famous for Tigers and keepers coexisting during presentations.

Not anymore! Both Dreamworld and Australia Zoo now use protected contact with their adult tigers.

 

[Flat headed cat]

DAY 4: Monday, August 5th

After finishing up at Chiang Mai Zoo, @twilighter and I were driven 20 minutes north to our next stop of the day.

Zoo/Aquarium #14: Tiger Kingdom (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

There's plenty of zoological facilities in Thailand that allow visitors to enter Tiger enclosures and have photos taken with big cats, ranging from cubs to fully-grown adults. Konstantin and I could have easily racked up a whole whack of zoo visits to a bunch of disreputable businesses, but that's not our style and before the trip we found out which place was arguably the best of the lot and we then decided to visit only ONE establishment that specifically focused on the option to pet Tigers. It's a very popular thing to do as I've got some teacher friends who have been to Thailand several times and they never even contemplated Khao Kheo Open Zoo or Chiang Mai Zoo, but they have shown me photos from places were you can pet Tigers. The average non-zoo nerd Muggle enjoys that kind of stuff, and it's like when loads of my fellow Canadians travel to Mexico and the Dominican Republic and come back with photos of them holding snakes, iguanas and even coatis on leashes on sun-drenched beaches. Folks want that close-up experience.

So, what is this kind of place really like? Perhaps because we went in with such low expectations, we were pleasantly surprised by Tiger Kingdom and it was much better than anticipated. On the zoo's website, it states that "our animals are never chained, sedated, declawed, or defanged". There's even a couple of large, prominent signs that answer many questions that skeptical visitors might have and this facility distances itself from others of its kind.

There's plenty of photo opportunity areas around the small grounds, with the name 'Chiangmai' written out as a single word.

Konstantin and I paid the admission fee to walk around the small zoo, but we did not pay anything extra and we did not go in with Tigers. Most people actually go into the exhibits, with staff members of course, but we just strolled around and took lots of photos and spent maybe 30 minutes at Tiger Kingdom. We were done in no time at all, but most people of course wouldn't pay to just walk around outside the exhibits without entering into the domain of the Tigers.

There's a big board with a zoo map by the entrance and the numbers correspond to different Tiger exhibits. It's amusing to see the numbers at the bottom, with Tigers listed as "Big, Small, Medium, Smallest, Snow White, Golden Tabby, etc.". Choose your size and get inside!

This place is very impressive when it comes to information, whether it's frequently asked questions, the zoo map, and there's even two big signs detailing each specific Tiger with its name, gender, subspecies and age. Other than a small pool of Koi and a few turtles, when we were there in August the entire zoo consisted of 29 Tigers. That's nothing compared to when I saw several hundred Tigers at a handful of zoos in the southern United States in 2015.

The enclosures at Tiger Kingdom range in size, from smaller yards to larger exhibits that are a good size. Every single Tiger we saw was alert, not drugged or declawed, and each of the Tigers that we saw in their holding quarters had an open door with access to a grassy yard. It's a world away from Sriayuthaya Lion Park and Pattaya Crocodile Farm, with doped-up big cats on short chains at both those zoos.

All the Tigers had access to an outdoor area, with open gates leading to grass and pools. Some chose to stay in their shelters as it was a beastly hot day. It was a bit shocking to see how minimal the barriers were, with just a loose, thin rope stopping anyone from putting their hands into the enclosures.

The Tiger exhibits ranged in size, with some very nice ones. However, notice the lack of an overhang fence on these enclosures.

The 'crashed land rover' style is prevalent even here!

The smallest yards look like this and every space had at least one pool.

Summary:

Tiger Kingdom is a facility that Konstantin and I visited out of curiosity. It reminded me of Out of Africa Wildlife Park in Arizona, USA, as there I saw keepers in with Tigers and engaging in really dangerous behaviour by practically tackling the cats and swimming with them in their pool. Or at the old Siegfried & Roy zoo in Las Vegas, which I visited years ago when it was open and called Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat, and keepers were in with Lions and Tigers. Also, Howletts in the UK and Dreamworld in Australia are famous for Tigers and keepers coexisting during presentations.

The difference with Tiger Kingdom is that visitors go in with the Tigers and get photo opportunities. We saw couples holding hands and petting Tigers, some individuals alone with a keeper always close by, and even a big family of 6 all standing around while a pair of Tigers prowled for photos. It seems kind of crazy to engage in such behaviour, and yet this place has tens of thousands of visitors each week and it appears that any kind of incident is almost non-existent as the Tigers are completely habituated to humans. Outside one exhibit, there was a lineup of visitors and yet one never reads of any attacks and the last one I found out about was an Aussie man who was bitten at Tiger Kingdom but that was long ago in 2014. This is the type of place that Konstantin and I did once and we'd never go back, but now we know what it's like and in truth it was far superior to what we expected and somehow the Tigers are tame enough to behave themselves at all times.

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)

DAY 4: Monday, August 5th

13- Chiang Mai Zoo (Chiang Mai, Thailand) 2-part review
14- Tiger Kingdom (Chiang Mai, Thailand)
15- ??
16- ??
17- ??

At one time, zoos in the Tiger Kingdom, including Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Ubon Ratchathani, had quite a few Indochinese tigers and had never been crossbred. But they unfortunately let them disappear Without any exchange with zpot they let it become so close that it doesn't breed and disappears.

 

[snowleopard]

DAY 4: Monday, August 5th

After touring both Chiang Mai Zoo and Tiger Kingdom, @twilighter and I were driven literally just a few minutes down the road to the 3rd zoo of the day. We went from Tigers to bugs!

Zoo/Aquarium #15: Siam Insect Zoo (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

A private collection that expanded into a public zoo is a story we’ve all heard many times before, and that’s the case with Siam Insect Zoo. It opened in 2006 and for almost 20 years has been a facility that caters to locals, tourists and also receives a ton of school groups as the establishment is a designated 'Museum of Learning'. Both online and at the facility one can see lots of images of students studying insects at this zoo and there is a focus on education.

As was the case everywhere in Thailand, people were extremely friendly and I found the lady at the front desk exceedingly nice. Siam Insect Zoo is located in an area with very limited parking, and from the outside the building appears small and nondescript, and yet this little gem has its own zoo map. There are no paper maps to carry around, but visitors can take a photo of a laminated map by the entrance. It's kind of amusing in a way, as this insect zoo can be seen via a one-way walking path and so doesn't really require a map, and yet I love how there's such a neat attention to detail that a quality map actually exists in the first place.

Things begin in the Insect Museum, an area with a couple of large rooms that have zero live animals but a lot of information and a variety of curated specimens.

There's a LOT of pinned insects in this area.

There's a lush, steamy Butterfly Garden walk-through greenhouse-type area.

But what interested me more was seeing the sections devoted entirely to one type of animal. For example, there was a cockroach zone.

A spider section:

A whole row of Stick Insect terrariums. Notice the bricks on top to keep the lids on! It's all a little ramshackle and homemade but quite lovely at the same time.

A big, open-air outdoor hallway with all sorts of insect exhibits.

There's an outdoor classroom for school groups.

A whole wall full of Millipede terrariums.

Loads of colourful beetles:

A range of scorpions, including several large specimens in an open-topped enclosure! Go ahead kids, have some fun with the scorpions.

And a crazy number of live tarantulas in all these containers. Including all the ones half-hidden at the back, there must be 200 containers of spiders here.

Is anyone interested in a Thai Insect Menu? Yummy!

There's a dozen Leopard Gecko terrariums plus two exhibits with Green Iguanas.

And, lastly, some Red-footed and African Spurred Tortoises.

Summary:

Siam Insect Zoo has a lot to offer visitors, as if someone was an entomologist then they could spend a long time viewing all the pinned insects in the introductory museum rooms. Even for a casual fan of bugs, it's interesting to see the diverse array of insects found throughout Southeast Asia and specifically Thailand. Some of the displays are a bit dated and dusty, but nevertheless I saw a lot of people studying the insect collection and I was impressed. While Konstantin and I were there, the zoo was quite busy as there had been an afternoon rainfall and perhaps here was seen as an opportunity to get inside where it was warm.

Of course, the live collection is where the genuine interest lies and again this zoo did not disappoint. To have multiple cockroach or spider species in a variety of terrariums close together offers up a moment to analyze the similarities and differences between species. The Butterfly Garden is nicely done, adding in lizards and tortoises amidst the insects mixes things up, and we spent an hour and a half at Siam Insect Zoo and I would recommend a visit to anyone in the area. It's only 5 minutes from Tiger Kingdom and 25 minutes from Chiang Mai Zoo, so it's certainly accessible via Grab/Uber or Taxi.

Itinerary:

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)

DAY 4: Monday, August 5th

13- Chiang Mai Zoo (Chiang Mai, Thailand) 2-part review
14- Tiger Kingdom (Chiang Mai, Thailand)
15- Siam Insect Zoo (Chiang Mai, Thailand)
16- ??
17- ??

 

[Mossman Joe]

Is anyone interested in a Thai Insect Menu? Yummy!

I am
Entomophagy is a topic near and dear to my heart (both figuratively, and literally as it passes through my esophagus!)

Though eating insects is now only restricted to more rural parts of Indonesia, due to religious restrictions (most of them being non-halal) and it being seen as unclean in general, many of the species advertised on that board are still cultivated in Indonesian cities to feed captive songbirds, even those kept in zoos.

Bamboo worms, Crickets, Locusts, Silkworms, and in particular Red Weaver Ant eggs can be seen sold for dirt cheap in Indonesian roadsides, I'm unsure if this is also the case in Thailand.

 

[Dassie rat]

I am
Entomophagy is a topic near and dear to my heart (both figuratively, and literally as it passes through my esophagus!)

Do you ever feel nervous some time after eating live caterpillars whole? That could be due to having butterflies in your stomach

 

[snowleopard]

DAY 4: Monday, August 5th

After touring Chiang Mai Zoo, Tiger Kingdom and Siam Insect Zoo, @twilighter and I were driven 25 minutes north to our 4th zoo of the day.

Zoo/Aquarium #16: Lanna Mini Zoo (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

This is one of those home-made zoos where it’s neat to explore all the nooks and crannies as one never knows what to expect around each corner. If one visits all the major zoos of the world, then there’s very few surprises whatsoever, but at the pokey little places there’s surprises aplenty! Lanna Mini Zoo had a small cage with a Mona Monkey near the entrance, Laoitian Langurs (!!) down the path and Common Palm Civets that could easily be petted through the wire of their cage. Remarkable. Unfortunately, it’s a real hodgepodge of a menagerie, full of inappropriate housing conditions for many animals, and so the visit was bittersweet.

There's Konstantin strolling beneath the zoo's entrance gate:

We saw Red-shanked Douc Langurs SIX times just in Thailand. Funnily enough, we only saw the species once more on the entire trip after we left Thailand.

This Red-shanked Douc Langur would grab anyone who came too close. They are incredibly soft.

Seeing a trio of Laotian Langurs was the highlight of this small zoo. While up near the fence getting photos, the youngest one reached out and grabbed me a few times while staff members looked on and laughed.

All the langur enclosures are tight on space, but not terrible by any stretch of the imagination. The primates looked healthy, were incredibly active, and they had numerous climbing opportunities. Visitor interaction was almost encouraged, which was surprising.

The zoo has 4 deer species and the paddocks were also tight on space but adequate enough for a few deer in each yard.

There's a small Reptile House that's very nicely designed, with not a lot of species but the exhibit quality is impressive for a small zoo.

Outside can be found African Spurred Tortoises in a sandy yard.

A real surprise was seeing an outdoor cage for a Grand Cayman Blue Iguana.

Pelicans, swans and geese live on a scenic mini-lake, with Capybaras and Nutrias nearby.

There's quite a nice walk-through aviary but of course poor signage.

Unfortunately, amidst the good stuff there was a series of very poor exhibits at Lanna Mini Zoo. At least 3 or 4 Red Foxes have a cement cage that's very tiny.

The Raccoon exhibit is even worse, with just a small bench and nothing else.

Awful Tegu cages:

Here's a Prairie Dog living on wire:

Other Prairie Dogs have it slightly better:

Common Palm Civets (with white faces) in two small cages and there's zero visitor barriers.

A pair of Greater Galagos perhaps have it worst of all.

This Small-clawed Otter exhibit is adequate (at best):

Mammal species list (33 species): Sika Deer, Axis Deer, Hog Deer, Fallow Deer, Serval, Caracal, Bat-eared Fox, Fennec Fox, Red Fox, Red-shanked Douc Langur, Laotian Langur, Mona Monkey, Squirrel Monkey, Common Marmoset, Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur, Greater Galago, Small-clawed Otter, Raccoon, Common Palm Civet, Coendou, Indian Crested Porcupine, some type of squirrel (albino), Two-toed Sloth, Common Wallaroo, Parma Wallaby, Red-necked Wallaby, Meerkat, Capybara, Mara, Nutria, Marmot, Prairie Dog and Greater Egyptian Jerboa.

Itinerary:

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)

DAY 4: Monday, August 5th

13- Chiang Mai Zoo (Chiang Mai, Thailand) 2-part review
14- Tiger Kingdom (Chiang Mai, Thailand)
15- Siam Insect Zoo (Chiang Mai, Thailand)
16- Lanna Mini Zoo (Chiang Mai, Thailand)
17- ??

 

[Flat headed cat]

We saw Red-shanked Douc Langurs SIX times just in Thailand. Funnily enough, we only saw the species once more on the entire trip after we left Thailand.

Red shaked douc languar Zoos outside the zpot pata safari world These are languar that were illegally imported from Laos. These languar are also kept as pets in homes.

 

[snowleopard]

DAY 4: Monday, August 5th

After touring Chiang Mai Zoo, Tiger Kingdom, Siam Insect Zoo and Lanna Mini Zoo, @twilighter and I were driven south to our 5th and final zoo of the day.

Zoo/Aquarium #17: Chiang Mai Night Safari (Chiang Mai, Thailand) - Part 1 of 2

This zoo had a soft opening in late 2005, but officially opened in 2006 and therefore is still a relatively young attraction for a major zoo. It’s advertised as the first nocturnal zoo in Thailand, but differs from Singapore’s Night Safari because that facility opens at 7:00 in the evening while Chiang Mai Night Safari is open from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Visitors can choose to visit in broad daylight and even go for lunch, or in the pitch-black evening and it’s a completely separate zoo and a 15-minute drive down the road from Chiang Mai Zoo.

Chiang Mai Night Safari is packed with mammals, to such an extent that in a typical visit (just under 3 hours for us) it's possible to see around 70 mammal species. There are three clear, distinct sections to this zoo. A Savanna Safari tram tour, a Predator Prowl tram tour, and a 1.2 km walking area called Jaguar Trail around a central lake. This zoo has a huge amount of land, encompassing 323 acres/130 hectares of space that includes a lot of background jungle.

Yet again, a Southeast Asian zoo's entrance can be seen from a distance, this time with a whole series of huge statues. The zoo entrances in this part of the world are magnificent and even the tower appears to have elephant tusks all around it.

@devilfish

It's amazing that I managed to get a shot with no one in it, as the zoo is popular and this area is a photo opportunity for the ages.

The zoo's map shows the Savanna Safari Zone loop in the bottom left, the red-coloured Predator Prowl Zone loop in the top right, and then the Jaguar Trail Zone is the 1.2 km walking area around the lake. Three unmistakable areas make up this zoo, with no cutbacks or chance of getting lost anywhere.

Konstantin and I strolled through the vast entrance area, with assorted shops and restaurants and loads of visitor amenities, and then we were whisked onto the Savanna Safari tram tour (like an open-air bus) with hordes of visitors. We arrived while it was still light out, which was great as it enabled us to be able to take some photos, even though that's tricky in a moving vehicle and with people in every seat. We loaded onto the tram and drove through numerous areas in what was approximately a 20-minute tour.

Rarities on this safari include Burmese Goral:

@twilighter

And Indochinese Serow, both of which are seen in the very first exhibits of the tour.

@twilighter

There's a big section called 'Asian Deer Paddock' or something similar.

A surprise was a herd of American Bison.

There are Pygmy Hippo exhibits in a heavily forested area.

As well as Common Hippos, and both hippo species are found in massive numbers all throughout Southeast Asian zoos.

Many families bought food for the animals and so that obviously led to some very close encounters with Giraffes and Plains Zebras.

What did I think of the Savanna Safari? I have mixed feelings. The fact that it was done and dusted in 20 minutes meant that many mammals were seen for mere seconds, which is a problem with zoo tours all over the globe. There's a Gaur over there...and now it's gone. Is that a herd of Banteng...and they are gone. There's Striped Hyenas and later on Spotted Hyenas, but you have to be super fast to get a photo as the tram generally slows down a little but rarely comes to a full stop. We saw the Asian Elephants for seconds, just like at the Bronx Zoo in NYC, and so there is a definite sense of frustration with the speed.

Also, the driver was annoying as he was hyper excited. "Look at the giraffes everyone, they are soooooo cute. Don't you wish you could hug them?" He kept warning people not to get too close to the zebras as they bite, but at times he was almost yelling with glee. "That lion is the king and you don't ever want to mess with the king as he'd snap you up for breakfast. Everyone clap when you see the lion". It's not needed, but admittedly his style was popular with the Thai visitors while Konstantin and I rolled our eyes.

On a more positive note, seeing some of the species was a thrill and almost all the exhibits were at least adequate or better. Being a zoo that's not even 20 years old, obviously the quality is higher than many older, decrepit zoos in Southeast Asia.

Savanna Safari mammal species list (29 species in the approximate order that one sees them on the tour): Burmese Goral, Indochinese Serow, American Bison, Aoudad, Hog Deer, Sika Deer, Javan Rusa Deer, Gaur, Striped Hyena, Nilgai, Red Kangaroo, Barasingha, White Rhino, Red River Hog, Blue Wildebeest, African Lion, Giraffe, Plains Zebra, Common Eland, Defassa Waterbuck, Spotted Hyena, Greater Kudu, Pygmy Hippo, Common Hippo, South American Tapir, Watusi, Banteng, Asian Water Buffalo and Asian Elephant. There’s also Ostrich and Emu to represent birds on the tour.

As soon as we were done with the Savanna Safari, we were urged along by staff members to embark on the Predator Prowl tram tour. There's literally employees forming a line and pointing to the next safari tour so no one gets lost and it's extremely well organized.

Here can be seen not only predators but their prey, which explains why between the Spotted Hyenas and African Lions there's a big paddock for Kafue Lechwe.

African Lion exhibit:

There's an interesting mock-rock formation in the Sun Bear exhibit.

In the numerous Tiger exhibits, such as this one for Indochinese Tigers, space was at a premium and if you look closely you can see that there's even sections of the enclosure that are hotwired and inaccessible to the big cats. Many visitors come at night when it's pitch-black, as this zoo is open until 10:00 p.m., so there is the sense that the animals are showcased in such a way that they will remain on display in the darkness.

Siamese Crocodile exhibit seen via the moving tram:

One of the larger exhibits is for Asiatic Black Bears, right near the end of the tour, and here a different guide became even more annoying than the first one. "Everyone wave at the bear. Look at how cute he is. Isn't he a cutie? He's standing up to say hi. Can you give him a wave? Everyone say goodbye to the bear" while food was chucked at the animal. There's a clear focus on entertaining everyone on the tour and it's rather jarring.

A very small Cougar exhibit can be found here, with a hotwired fence stopping the cat from accessing the moat.

The Predator Prowl tram tour is also circa 20 minutes in length, meaning that once one arrives at the zoo, checks out the entrance zone, goes on TWO tram tours, then they've only been inside the zoo for one hour and all that is left is the walking trail. This is a fast-paced zoo visit.

Predator Prowl mammal species list (14 species in the approximate order that one sees them on the tour): Spotted Hyena, Kafue Lechwe, African Lion, Sun Bear, lots of Tigers (Indochinese, Bengal, Amur, ‘Golden’ and ‘White’), Sambar Deer, Axis Deer, Javan Rusa Deer, Nyala, Alpaca, Scimitar-horned Oryx, Golden Jackal, Asiatic Black Bear and Cougar. There’s also White-bellied Sea Eagle, Painted Stork and Siamese Crocodile.

Up next: Chiang Mai Zoo Night Safari: Part 2 of 2 (Jaguar Trail walking zone, which is very enjoyable and the best part of the zoo in my opinion)

 

[Flat headed cat]

Golden Jackal

Alpaca

Both species were replaced by the striped hyena and the red river hog.