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

[snowleopard]

DAY 4: Monday, August 5th

I already posted an extensive review of the two tram tours (Savanna Safari and Predator Prowl), and now it's time to analyze the Jaguar Trail walking section of the zoo.

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

The setting for Chiang Mai Night Safari is brilliant, with mountainous, lush jungle surrounding the zoo. This photo shows a sign for the Tiger Show (which we didn't watch) and the rainforest must be absolutely packed with wild animals who wander down to the zoo from time to time. The location of some of these Asian zoos elevates them greatly as it's fantastic walking around in such an environment. It's so different from many European zoos, where there's often a backdrop of people hanging their laundry outside their homes! I admire urban settings, but I love jungle zoos.

The walking trail is 1.2 km/0.75 miles in length and it goes around a large lake in the central part of the zoo.

@twilighter

Later on that evening, we watched the musical fountain show, which is similar to what is at Disney's California Adventure Park and at Chiang Mai Zoo there's a total of 1,200 water jets, colour-changing lights and each night offers up this spectacular display free of charge for anyone wandering around the zoo.

The Jaguar Trail walking loop was by far and away my favourite part of Chiang Mai Night Safari, as the two tram tours hustled visitors through in a speedy fashion while with the walking section it's obviously possible to slow down and spend more time at each exhibit. The mammals come thick and fast here, with 8 cat species, 4 primate species, 2 tapir species, 2 otter species, 2 civet species, 2 porcupine species, etc., forming a total of 30 mammal species altogether.

Up first is a big cage with...you guessed it...Red-shanked Douc Langurs. It was the THIRD time in one day that Konstantin and I saw these guys, a species very common in Thai zoos. We almost got bored of them.

Later in the trip, we would visit Singapore's Night Safari, which is a special experience that North American and European zoos can only dream about, but there the darkness was almost total in places, with thick jungle around and it's a brilliant place. Here, at Chiang Mai Night Safari, it's still lovely but there's not quite that immersive feeling as the pathways are nicely paved and quite wide, with enough light to guide the way.

In this photo, it's just starting to get dark:

There's at least two or three Pygmy Hippo exhibits, a species as common as rats in Southeast Asian zoos.

Asian Palm Civet exhibit:

There's a massive walk-through aviary that lacked a species list anywhere, but this thing is yet another spectacular aviary in terms of the foliage and aesthetic appeal of the structure. By now, it was extremely dark and you can see how the zoo strategically places lights on the pathways.

There's a Smooth-coated Otter exhibit, a species that I don't believe exists in North American zoos these days.

Tanuki exhibit:

Side view into the Jaguar exhibit:

There is an annoying trend at this zoo to sometimes hotwire off sections of the large carnivore exhibits. This is an image of the Sloth Bear enclosure, with a fenced-off area limiting the roaming space of the bears.

White Tiger exhibit, with a wall that appears a bit on the low side in my opinion.

There's a very nice False Gharial exhibit, which is much larger than what is shown in my photo.

A pair of big floodlights shine into the Ring-tailed Lemur exhibit and it's really neat to be able to wander around a major zoo until 10:00 p.m. and see active lemurs at night. Compare that to the Bronx Zoo in New York City, which literally places its Ring-tailed Lemurs in an off-show, tiny metal cage for 17 hours a day. I'm surprised that famous zoo is even allowed to do that.

You can see a Fishing Cat down by the water in the bottom left-hand corner of this very stylish, nicely planted exhibit.

@twilighter

Jaguar Trail mammal species list (30 species): Tiger, Jaguar, Leopard, Clouded Leopard, Fishing Cat, Leopard Cat, Serval, Caracal, Sloth Bear, Fennec Fox, Bat-eared Fox, Raccoon Dog (Tanuki), Red-shanked Douc Langur, Squirrel Monkey, Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur, Ring-tailed Lemur, Pygmy Hippo, Malayan Tapir, South American Tapir, Lesser Mouse-deer, Smooth-coated Otter, Small-clawed Otter, Meerkat, Masked Palm Civet, Common Palm Civet, Binturong, Red-necked Wallaby, Capybara, Indian Crested Porcupine and Malayan Porcupine.

There’s also several smaller aviaries, plus the huge walk-through aviary, as well as enclosures for a few crocodilians, assorted lizards, turtles and tortoises.

Summary:

This zoo is packed as we saw approximately 70 mammal species in just under 3 hours. Chiang Mai Night Safari has its positives and negatives, just like any zoo. One issue is that photography is extremely difficult here, as the two tram tours are essentially 'rides' and it's very tricky to pull off some great shots while in a moving vehicle with a guide yelling at everyone to "wave at the animals". Then there's the walking trail and if one comes to the zoo at night then getting photos there is also hard to do because of the darkness. Remember though, this zoo is open from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and so daytime visits are possible.

There's lots of positives, as Konstantin and I are huge mammal fans and so for us to end the day by seeing a ton of mammal exhibits in semi-darkness was enormously fun to do. It's not every day you get to see so many Red-shanked Douc Langurs, or Gaur and Banteng in big paddocks, or 8 feline species in the dark. I would LOVE to see this kind of zoo replicated in North America, because many zoo nerds in that part of the world have no idea just how incredible it can be to come up to a zoo exhibit in the dark and hear some splashing around in a pool. It's eerie. Could it be a False Gharial or a Pygmy Hippo? There is a genuine sense of excitement to be peering into a darkened environment and then finally seeing a Sloth Bear right before your eyes and that's what makes Chiang Mai Night Safari such a wonderful zoo to visit.

Getting up at the crack of dawn and having an exhausting day of 5 zoos was well worth it. Chiang Mai Zoo was 5 hours of walking and parts of that zoo are excellent. Tiger Kingdom was a quick trip to see people petting Tigers but the place exceeded our low expectations. Siam Insect Zoo was packed with bugs in terrariums in every nook and cranny. Lanna Mini Zoo was a hodgepodge, home-made place but it had some nice sections and Laotian Langurs. Chiang Mai Night Safari was my first ever 'nocturnal zoo' and I don't quite understand why more places don't open late at night as it's such a popular idea here in Southeast Asia with Thailand (Chiang Mai Night Safari), Malaysia (Taiping) and Singapore (Night Safari). Yes, it would cost extra to run a zoo later in the day in terms of staff wages, but surely the crowds would more than compensate in terms of finances. Plus, instead of many zoos locking their animals into off-show areas in the late afternoon, now those creatures could be even more active in the evening and spend longer in their on-show exhibits.

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- Chiang Mai Night Safari (Chiang Mai, Thailand) 2-part review

Up next: For our next day, we got up early like normal and caught a two-hour flight from northern Thailand to the very southern part of Thailand as we had a date with Songkhla Zoo. It was time to see some Flat-headed Cats!

 

[Zhao yun]

DAY 4: Monday, August 5th

I already posted an extensive review of the two tram tours (Savanna Safari and Predator Prowl), and now it's time to analyze the Jaguar Trail walking section of the zoo.

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

The setting for Chiang Mai Night Safari is brilliant, with mountainous, lush jungle surrounding the zoo. This photo shows a sign for the Tiger Show (which we didn't watch) and the rainforest must be absolutely packed with wild animals who wander down to the zoo from time to time. The location of some of these Asian zoos elevates them greatly as it's fantastic walking around in such an environment. It's so different from many European zoos, where there's often a backdrop of people hanging their laundry outside their homes! I admire urban settings, but I love jungle zoos.

The walking trail is 1.2 km/0.75 miles in length and it goes around a large lake in the central part of the zoo.

@twilighter

Later on that evening, we watched the musical fountain show, which is similar to what is at Disney's California Adventure Park and at Chiang Mai Zoo there's a total of 1,200 water jets, colour-changing lights and each night offers up this spectacular display free of charge for anyone wandering around the zoo.

The Jaguar Trail walking loop was by far and away my favourite part of Chiang Mai Night Safari, as the two tram tours hustled visitors through in a speedy fashion while with the walking section it's obviously possible to slow down and spend more time at each exhibit. The mammals come thick and fast here, with 8 cat species, 4 primate species, 2 tapir species, 2 otter species, 2 civet species, 2 porcupine species, etc., forming a total of 30 mammal species altogether.

Up first is a big cage with...you guessed it...Red-shanked Douc Langurs. It was the THIRD time in one day that Konstantin and I saw these guys, a species very common in Thai zoos. We almost got bored of them.

Later in the trip, we would visit Singapore's Night Safari, which is a special experience that North American and European zoos can only dream about, but there the darkness was almost total in places, with thick jungle around and it's a brilliant place. Here, at Chiang Mai Night Safari, it's still lovely but there's not quite that immersive feeling as the pathways are nicely paved and quite wide, with enough light to guide the way.

In this photo, it's just starting to get dark:

There's at least two or three Pygmy Hippo exhibits, a species as common as rats in Southeast Asian zoos.

Asian Palm Civet exhibit:

There's a massive walk-through aviary that lacked a species list anywhere, but this thing is yet another spectacular aviary in terms of the foliage and aesthetic appeal of the structure. By now, it was extremely dark and you can see how the zoo strategically places lights on the pathways.

There's a Smooth-coated Otter exhibit, a species that I don't believe exists in North American zoos these days.

Tanuki exhibit:

Side view into the Jaguar exhibit:

There is an annoying trend at this zoo to sometimes hotwire off sections of the large carnivore exhibits. This is an image of the Sloth Bear enclosure, with a fenced-off area limiting the roaming space of the bears.

White Tiger exhibit, with a wall that appears a bit on the low side in my opinion.

There's a very nice False Gharial exhibit, which is much larger than what is shown in my photo.

A pair of big floodlights shine into the Ring-tailed Lemur exhibit and it's really neat to be able to wander around a major zoo until 10:00 p.m. and see active lemurs at night. Compare that to the Bronx Zoo in New York City, which literally places its Ring-tailed Lemurs in an off-show, tiny metal cage for 17 hours a day. I'm surprised that famous zoo is even allowed to do that.

You can see a Fishing Cat down by the water in the bottom left-hand corner of this very stylish, nicely planted exhibit.

@twilighter

Jaguar Trail mammal species list (30 species): Tiger, Jaguar, Leopard, Clouded Leopard, Fishing Cat, Leopard Cat, Serval, Caracal, Sloth Bear, Fennec Fox, Bat-eared Fox, Raccoon Dog (Tanuki), Red-shanked Douc Langur, Squirrel Monkey, Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur, Ring-tailed Lemur, Pygmy Hippo, Malayan Tapir, South American Tapir, Lesser Mouse-deer, Smooth-coated Otter, Small-clawed Otter, Meerkat, Masked Palm Civet, Common Palm Civet, Binturong, Red-necked Wallaby, Capybara, Indian Crested Porcupine and Malayan Porcupine.

There’s also several smaller aviaries, plus the huge walk-through aviary, as well as enclosures for a few crocodilians, assorted lizards, turtles and tortoises.

Summary:

This zoo is packed as we saw approximately 70 mammal species in just under 3 hours. Chiang Mai Night Safari has its positives and negatives, just like any zoo. One issue is that photography is extremely difficult here, as the two tram tours are essentially 'rides' and it's very tricky to pull off some great shots while in a moving vehicle with a guide yelling at everyone to "wave at the animals". Then there's the walking trail and if one comes to the zoo at night then getting photos there is also hard to do because of the darkness. Remember though, this zoo is open from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and so daytime visits are possible.

There's lots of positives, as Konstantin and I are huge mammal fans and so for us to end the day by seeing a ton of mammal exhibits in semi-darkness was enormously fun to do. It's not every day you get to see so many Red-shanked Douc Langurs, or Gaur and Banteng in big paddocks, or 8 feline species in the dark. I would LOVE to see this kind of zoo replicated in North America, because many zoo nerds in that part of the world have no idea just how incredible it can be to come up to a zoo exhibit in the dark and hear some splashing around in a pool. It's eerie. Could it be a False Gharial or a Pygmy Hippo? There is a genuine sense of excitement to be peering into a darkened environment and then finally seeing a Sloth Bear right before your eyes and that's what makes Chiang Mai Night Safari such a wonderful zoo to visit.

Getting up at the crack of dawn and having an exhausting day of 5 zoos was well worth it. Chiang Mai Zoo was 5 hours of walking and parts of that zoo are excellent. Tiger Kingdom was a quick trip to see people petting Tigers but the place exceeded our low expectations. Siam Insect Zoo was packed with bugs in terrariums in every nook and cranny. Lanna Mini Zoo was a hodgepodge, home-made place but it had some nice sections and Laotian Langurs. Chiang Mai Night Safari was my first ever 'nocturnal zoo' and I don't quite understand why more places don't open late at night as it's such a popular idea here in Southeast Asia with Thailand (Chiang Mai Night Safari), Malaysia (Taiping) and Singapore (Night Safari). Yes, it would cost extra to run a zoo later in the day in terms of staff wages, but surely the crowds would more than compensate in terms of finances. Plus, instead of many zoos locking their animals into off-show areas in the late afternoon, now those creatures could be even more active in the evening and spend longer in their on-show exhibits.

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- Chiang Mai Night Safari (Chiang Mai, Thailand) 2-part review

Up next: For our next day, we got up early like normal and caught a two-hour flight from northern Thailand to the very southern part of Thailand as we had a date with Songkhla Zoo. It was time to see some Flat-headed Cats!

Thou shalth not covet thy neighbour's Flat-headed Cat photographs... the forgotten 11th commandment made specifically for zoochatters.

 

[Ned]

@snowleopard would you say that a huge lake is a typical feature of most large zoos in South-East Asia? I'm just thinking Negara, the old Dusit Zoo and Chiang Mai Night Safari are / were set around large lakes and Singapore Zoo is situated next to a lake. How many other big zoos featured an enormous lake? It's not such a common feature of European zoos.

 

[Flat headed cat]

Asian Palm Civet exhibit:

In the past, this exhibit was home to the Asian golden cat.

 

[Flat headed cat]

DAY 4: Monday, August 5th

I already posted an extensive review of the two tram tours (Savanna Safari and Predator Prowl), and now it's time to analyze the Jaguar Trail walking section of the zoo.

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

The setting for Chiang Mai Night Safari is brilliant, with mountainous, lush jungle surrounding the zoo. This photo shows a sign for the Tiger Show (which we didn't watch) and the rainforest must be absolutely packed with wild animals who wander down to the zoo from time to time. The location of some of these Asian zoos elevates them greatly as it's fantastic walking around in such an environment. It's so different from many European zoos, where there's often a backdrop of people hanging their laundry outside their homes! I admire urban settings, but I love jungle zoos.

The walking trail is 1.2 km/0.75 miles in length and it goes around a large lake in the central part of the zoo.

@twilighter

Later on that evening, we watched the musical fountain show, which is similar to what is at Disney's California Adventure Park and at Chiang Mai Zoo there's a total of 1,200 water jets, colour-changing lights and each night offers up this spectacular display free of charge for anyone wandering around the zoo.

The Jaguar Trail walking loop was by far and away my favourite part of Chiang Mai Night Safari, as the two tram tours hustled visitors through in a speedy fashion while with the walking section it's obviously possible to slow down and spend more time at each exhibit. The mammals come thick and fast here, with 8 cat species, 4 primate species, 2 tapir species, 2 otter species, 2 civet species, 2 porcupine species, etc., forming a total of 30 mammal species altogether.

Up first is a big cage with...you guessed it...Red-shanked Douc Langurs. It was the THIRD time in one day that Konstantin and I saw these guys, a species very common in Thai zoos. We almost got bored of them.

Later in the trip, we would visit Singapore's Night Safari, which is a special experience that North American and European zoos can only dream about, but there the darkness was almost total in places, with thick jungle around and it's a brilliant place. Here, at Chiang Mai Night Safari, it's still lovely but there's not quite that immersive feeling as the pathways are nicely paved and quite wide, with enough light to guide the way.

In this photo, it's just starting to get dark:

There's at least two or three Pygmy Hippo exhibits, a species as common as rats in Southeast Asian zoos.

Asian Palm Civet exhibit:

There's a massive walk-through aviary that lacked a species list anywhere, but this thing is yet another spectacular aviary in terms of the foliage and aesthetic appeal of the structure. By now, it was extremely dark and you can see how the zoo strategically places lights on the pathways.

There's a Smooth-coated Otter exhibit, a species that I don't believe exists in North American zoos these days.

Tanuki exhibit:

Side view into the Jaguar exhibit:

There is an annoying trend at this zoo to sometimes hotwire off sections of the large carnivore exhibits. This is an image of the Sloth Bear enclosure, with a fenced-off area limiting the roaming space of the bears.

White Tiger exhibit, with a wall that appears a bit on the low side in my opinion.

There's a very nice False Gharial exhibit, which is much larger than what is shown in my photo.

A pair of big floodlights shine into the Ring-tailed Lemur exhibit and it's really neat to be able to wander around a major zoo until 10:00 p.m. and see active lemurs at night. Compare that to the Bronx Zoo in New York City, which literally places its Ring-tailed Lemurs in an off-show, tiny metal cage for 17 hours a day. I'm surprised that famous zoo is even allowed to do that.

You can see a Fishing Cat down by the water in the bottom left-hand corner of this very stylish, nicely planted exhibit.

@twilighter

Jaguar Trail mammal species list (30 species): Tiger, Jaguar, Leopard, Clouded Leopard, Fishing Cat, Leopard Cat, Serval, Caracal, Sloth Bear, Fennec Fox, Bat-eared Fox, Raccoon Dog (Tanuki), Red-shanked Douc Langur, Squirrel Monkey, Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur, Ring-tailed Lemur, Pygmy Hippo, Malayan Tapir, South American Tapir, Lesser Mouse-deer, Smooth-coated Otter, Small-clawed Otter, Meerkat, Masked Palm Civet, Common Palm Civet, Binturong, Red-necked Wallaby, Capybara, Indian Crested Porcupine and Malayan Porcupine.

There’s also several smaller aviaries, plus the huge walk-through aviary, as well as enclosures for a few crocodilians, assorted lizards, turtles and tortoises.

Summary:

This zoo is packed as we saw approximately 70 mammal species in just under 3 hours. Chiang Mai Night Safari has its positives and negatives, just like any zoo. One issue is that photography is extremely difficult here, as the two tram tours are essentially 'rides' and it's very tricky to pull off some great shots while in a moving vehicle with a guide yelling at everyone to "wave at the animals". Then there's the walking trail and if one comes to the zoo at night then getting photos there is also hard to do because of the darkness. Remember though, this zoo is open from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and so daytime visits are possible.

There's lots of positives, as Konstantin and I are huge mammal fans and so for us to end the day by seeing a ton of mammal exhibits in semi-darkness was enormously fun to do. It's not every day you get to see so many Red-shanked Douc Langurs, or Gaur and Banteng in big paddocks, or 8 feline species in the dark. I would LOVE to see this kind of zoo replicated in North America, because many zoo nerds in that part of the world have no idea just how incredible it can be to come up to a zoo exhibit in the dark and hear some splashing around in a pool. It's eerie. Could it be a False Gharial or a Pygmy Hippo? There is a genuine sense of excitement to be peering into a darkened environment and then finally seeing a Sloth Bear right before your eyes and that's what makes Chiang Mai Night Safari such a wonderful zoo to visit.

Getting up at the crack of dawn and having an exhausting day of 5 zoos was well worth it. Chiang Mai Zoo was 5 hours of walking and parts of that zoo are excellent. Tiger Kingdom was a quick trip to see people petting Tigers but the place exceeded our low expectations. Siam Insect Zoo was packed with bugs in terrariums in every nook and cranny. Lanna Mini Zoo was a hodgepodge, home-made place but it had some nice sections and Laotian Langurs. Chiang Mai Night Safari was my first ever 'nocturnal zoo' and I don't quite understand why more places don't open late at night as it's such a popular idea here in Southeast Asia with Thailand (Chiang Mai Night Safari), Malaysia (Taiping) and Singapore (Night Safari). Yes, it would cost extra to run a zoo later in the day in terms of staff wages, but surely the crowds would more than compensate in terms of finances. Plus, instead of many zoos locking their animals into off-show areas in the late afternoon, now those creatures could be even more active in the evening and spend longer in their on-show exhibits.

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- Chiang Mai Night Safari (Chiang Mai, Thailand) 2-part review

Up next: For our next day, we got up early like normal and caught a two-hour flight from northern Thailand to the very southern part of Thailand as we had a date with Songkhla Zoo. It was time to see some Flat-headed Cats!

During the initial opening in 2005, there used to be an owl monkey, red ruffed lemur , manned wolf , Bornean orangutan , western chimpanzee, siamang, Himalayan red panda, red dhole, But these things are gone. And there used to be imports of koalas and Tasmanian devils from Australia, but the Australian government did not allow them.

 

[snowleopard]

@snowleopard would you say that a huge lake is a typical feature of most large zoos in South-East Asia? I'm just thinking Negara, the old Dusit Zoo and Chiang Mai Night Safari are / were set around large lakes and Singapore Zoo is situated next to a lake. How many other big zoos featured an enormous lake? It's not such a common feature of European zoos.

I think there's definitely a few trends that I saw in Southeast Asian zoos, including the idea of a large central body of water. Other than the ones you mentioned, I know that Ragunan Zoo and Gembira Loka Zoo (both in Indonesia) are facilities with large lakes as well. One thing for sure is that many of the Asian zoos I visited had grandiose entrances, which was amazing to see but at times frustrating when some of the animal accommodation was less than impressive.

During the initial opening in 2005, there used to be an owl monkey, red ruffed lemur , manned wolf , Bornean orangutan , western chimpanzee, siamang, Himalayan red panda, red dhole, But these things are gone. And there used to be imports of koalas and Tasmanian devils from Australia, but the Australian government did not allow them.

That's a lot of notable species that aren't there now. It's interesting to see how different zoos alter their animal collections as the years go by. However, between Chiang Mai Zoo and Chiang Mai Night Safari there's still a lot of great species and I'm so glad that Konstantin and I made the time to spend a day up in northern Thailand.

On a side note, there's at least one Thai zoo ownership group that has already read and studied my review of their facility and I'm hopeful to get in contact with them as they are looking at future development. If possible, and if allowed, I will provide more information in my thread later on. If I can perhaps help close down that rooftop Pata Zoo with my review, photos and publicity, maybe I can help out this other zoo with its future plans.

 

[twilighter]

I think there's definitely a few trends that I saw in Southeast Asian zoos, including the idea of a large central body of water. Other than the ones you mentioned, I know that Ragunan Zoo and Gembira Loka Zoo (both in Indonesia) are facilities with large lakes as well. One thing for sure is that many of the Asian zoos I visited had grandiose entrances, which was amazing to see but at times frustrating when some of the animal accommodation was less than impressive.



That's a lot of notable species that aren't there now. It's interesting to see how different zoos alter their animal collections as the years go by. However, between Chiang Mai Zoo and Chiang Mai Night Safari there's still a lot of great species and I'm so glad that Konstantin and I made the time to spend a day up in northern Thailand.

On a side note, there's at least one Thai zoo ownership group that has already read and studied my review of their facility and I'm hopeful to get in contact with them as they are looking at future development. If possible, and if allowed, I will provide more information in my thread later on. If I can perhaps help close down that rooftop Pata Zoo with my review, photos and publicity, maybe I can help out this other zoo with its future plans.

Chiang Mai reviews brings a lot of special memories! I wish we could have a bit more time at Northern Thailand and especially at the Night Safari.

 

[Jurek7]

Wonderful thread, with so many interesting zoos and unusual species!

Zoo/Aquarium #6: Wildlife Rescue Center No. 1 (Nakhon Nayok, Thailand)

(...)held a single Marbled Cat and of course that put the zoo on our radar.

I hope zoos in Thailand and neighbouring countries will start cooperating and loan such animals to a single zoo which has best conditions and experience in a given species, and try establishing breeding groups.

Zoos in Europe worked with rescued lynx and European wildcats and offspring were rewilded in several national parks in Europe. Some zoos initially feared giving away valuable animals, but when they started breeding, it became clear there is much offspring to give back. Why not replicate it with marbled cats in Thailand and Malaysia?

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

Or why not replicate with the Laotian langurs the success of regular breeding of red-shanked douc langurs?

Wildlife Rescue Center No. 1 (Nakhon Nayok, Thailand)

shocking 1,200 Crab-eating Macaques, all in barren, old-fashioned cages

Some safari parks in Europe keep large groups of baboons rather cheply on parcels of land with a chainlink and electric fence. Maybe this would work better for problem macaques than these concrete cages?

I think there's definitely a few trends that I saw in Southeast Asian zoos

One trend I noticed is that zoos in Europe usually build to last and renovate. In South Asia it is common to see whole old exhibits or entire sections of a zoo left to decay, with no attempt to renovate or repurpose them. Maybe it is a function of the destructive tropical climate?

 

[snowleopard]

DAY 5: Tuesday, August 6th

Konstantin and I woke up early, yet again, and we caught an Uber/Grab to the airport in Chiang Mai and it was a two-hour flight from the north of the country to the south of Thailand as we were on our way to Songkhla Zoo. This is another relatively new zoo in Southeast Asia, as it opened in 1998. Here is a zoo with zero new photos on ZooChat in the past 7 years and so my recent addition of approximately 180 photos will be very helpful for anyone interested in this facility.

Zoo/Aquarium #18: Songkhla Zoo (Songkhla, Thailand) - Part 1 of 2

Here is a third Thai zoo, just like Khao Kheow Open Zoo and Chiang Mai Zoo, where it's possible to rent golf carts in order to get around. We rented carts at KK Zoo as it's physically impossible to see the whole place without them, we chose to walk for 5 hours at Chiang Mai Zoo, and at Songkhla Zoo we had a mixture of walking and renting a golf cart. The place is huge, circa 350 acres/140 hectares, but that includes tons of jungle and we saw a small number of people walking but the zoo is hilly and exhausting without a golf cart. Other than a side road with a Children's Zoo, Songkhla Zoo is essentially one large loop with a few offshoots here and there.

The entrance is not nearly as grandiose as other zoo entrances in this part of the world.

Konstantin spent many months emailing Songkhla Zoo back and forth, valiantly attempting to organize an opportunity for he and I to go behind the scenes in order to view the Flat-headed Cat Breeding Centre. Thankfully, after being initially quite reluctant, the zoo relented and once we were inside the entrance gate we texted one of the curators and he met us and was very gracious with his time. We were treated like royalty and escorted around approximately 50% of the zoo and that included a behind the scenes area to see Flat-headed Cats. Later on, we went into another behind the scenes zone and the zoo took photos with us and even gave us commemorative drawstring bags that became super handy later in the trip. To have two visitors, a Canadian and a Bulgarian, was probably unique for this establishment and the kindness shown to us was amazing. We are incredibly grateful for the staff at this fine zoo.

Songkhla Zoo has 1 female and 3 male Flat-headed Cats and we saw 2 out of the 4 felines during our visit. There's a series of enclosures that are functional cages from a distance, but up close they are packed with vegetation and are well furnished with natural undergrowth. There's covered areas and also sections that are in bright sunshine, allowing the 4 cats choice and options. We met the coordinator for the breeding centre and she showed us her office with 24/7 cameras and surveillance equipment that monitors the cats. We silently crept up to the enclosures and barely breathed as the cats are not accustomed to visitors and were highly alert to anyone sneaking up on them. It was a wonderful moment to see two Flat-headed Cats, in separate exhibits, and afterwards the workers allowed us to hold a stillborn Flat-headed Cat kitten. We took photos of the deceased animal, but decided not to upload them onto ZooChat out of respect. This section of the zoo also has a big yard with some breeding tortoises next to the Flat-headed Cats and we went in with the chelonians and that was a neat experience.

Later on during our visit, in a separate part of the zoo, we were again taken behind the scenes and it's amazing what one can find back there.

Large Indian Civet:

Various civet exhibits are found here: Large Indian Civets, Common Palm Civets and Masked Palm Civets. This photo shows just one section as in truth there's a few rows of enclosures all with civets in every direction. There's more civets in this little area than probably the entirety of North America!

Songkhla Zoo is a facility that has been fairly stagnant for a number of years, with the curator telling us that there was a burst of progress from 1998 onwards, but quickly the zoo fell into disrepair. However, there is a genuine attempt to change that these days and construction projects include SIX new exhibits near the entrance. All these enclosures are brand-new as of 2024 and feature the following 5 species: Ring-tailed Lemur, Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur, Binturong, Small-clawed Otter (two exhibits) and Two-toed Sloth. There's a big sign proclaiming this area as the new Children's Zoo and even though the species lineup might be boring to zoo nerds, it's a clear sign of progress for the zoo.

One of the Small-clawed Otter exhibits:

Two-toed Sloth exhibit:

There's a big Asian Hoofstock Yard, with species such as Javan Rusa Deer, Axis Deer, Sambar Deer, Eld's Deer and Hog Deer, all 5 species that Konstantin and I saw hundreds of in Southeast Asian zoos, as well as spacious paddocks for species such as Nilgai and Indian Muntjac. There's even a walk-through deer enclosure as well.

Is there another zoo in the world with THREE Nilgai statues?

We particularly enjoyed the Reptile Kingdom zone, as we parked our golf cart and puttered around in this area for quite a long time.

There's loads of chelonians in this section, including species such as Asian Leaf Turtle, Spiny Turtle, Black Marsh Turtle, Giant Asian Pond Turtle, Southeast Asian Box Turtle, Alligator Snapping Turtle, Pig-nosed Turtle, Yellow-headed Temple Turtle, Red-eared Slider, Painted Terrapin, Northern River Terrapin, Elongated Tortoise and Asian Giant Tortoise.

There's also a whole section of crocodilian pools for Saltwater Crocodiles, Siamese Crocodiles and False Gharials. I really enjoyed seeing all those big crocs in the sunshine.

Last, but not least, is an open-air, covered area with rows of snake terrariums. We didn't make a species list, as the signage in this zone is very poor and several of the exhibits are being refurbished, but it's a noteworthy section although one major flaw is that many of the terrariums have green coverings (see below) with little holes cut out for viewing. It's awkward to see into the exhibits. Overall, Reptile Kingdom is a highlight of the zoo, with many turtles, tortoises, crocodilians and snakes in all directions.

Less successful is a water-themed zone with South American Fur Seals with both an outdoor and indoor area available for public viewing. The zoo has Humboldt Penguins next to the fur seals, but a team of workers were upgrading the exhibit. Nevertheless, the penguin accommodation doesn't look to be that great either.

South American Fur Seal indoor exhibit:

Continuing with the water-themed trend, there's no less than THREE exhibits for Common Hippos, as Southeast Asian zoos LOVE hippos. None of the hippo enclosures are that memorable, but they are at least what I would deem adequate.

And up the hill is a big sign announcing the Capybara exhibit, the rodent rock stars of Southeast Asian zoos. The exhibit turned out to be a single Capybara next to a tiny pool and with a lot of bare land space. Hmmm...not exactly rock star accommodation here!

Much better is the Asian Elephant exhibit, home to two animals and with a deep pool. This next chunk of the zoo is home to big mammals, from elephants to Banteng to rhinos.

@twilighter

@elefunz

Across the pathway from the elephants is a large paddock for female Banteng, with a separate yard for a couple of enormous male Banteng. It's nothing like KK Zoo's hillside masterpiece, but seeing a big herd of Banteng up close is always going to be a thrill for a zoo nerd.

One thing about Songkhla Zoo is that there's several areas that have been abandoned, such as this public swimming pool in the middle of the zoo. There's a few empty enclosures, this pool, and even a big waterpark all now becoming totally overgrown by the ever-present jungle. It's weird that there's no fence protecting anyone from falling into the pool and I even took a photo of the exterior of the changing rooms and it's possible to walk inside and see all the mold that's taken over the place. In a zoo in North America or Europe, these areas would all be fenced off and loads of signs would be up telling visitors to stay away. In Thailand, visitors can still wander through decrepit sections of a zoo with no concern for health and safety.

A gorgeous exhibit for White Rhinos:

Up next: Songkhla Zoo review - Part 2 of 2

 

[snowleopard]

DAY 5: Tuesday, August 6th

Here's the second part of my review:

Zoo/Aquarium #18: Songkhla Zoo (Songkhla, Thailand) - Part 2 of 2

After the 'big mammal' section of elephants, rhinos and Banteng, we parked our golf cart and walked around the Cat Complex. This is essentially a trio of grottoes that houses African Lions, a White Tiger and what were signed as Indochinese Tigers (below).

The next part of Songkhla Zoo is arguably its most memorable area, as it's a vast network of hornbill aviaries. One goes down a tunnel, with aviaries on either side and hornbills above one's head. With hanging vines and thick vegetation, it's a fantastic experience and a world-class part of the zoo.

The Hornbill Breeding Center is enormous and not accessible to the public, although it's possible to get fairly close and one can still see birds from the road. It's spectacular and contains trees of vast height.

There's a large area to park golf carts at the 'Love Station', and a series of 8 huge informational signs all about hornbills can be found here.

Signage on the actual aviaries is limited, but Konstantin and I had the scare of our lives as we were strolling through this covered path that goes through one of the huge hornbill aviaries. A pair of Great Hornbills swooped down out of nowhere and clattered against the metal, with one of them being incredibly aggressive and jamming its beak through the barrier. We had a good laugh about it afterwards, but at the time our hearts were beating quite fast as the two birds were massive up close and clearly delighted in scaring us.

There's a pair of bear exhibits up next, similar to the big cat grottoes in that the enclosures are adequate but nothing special. Asiatic Black Bears and Sun Bears (below) are the species.

Driving down the road in our golf cart, we next came to an African Savanna, with a very large paddock somewhat devoid of animals. This area had maybe one or two Giraffes, a couple of Ostriches, a few Plains Zebras (held separately) and a sandy yard for Meerkats. It's a really beautiful exhibit and has a lot of potential to be a great area if more animals were added.

An empty exhibit is adjacent to the Giraffe and Plains Zebra paddocks. I'd be intrigued to know what was held here in the past if anyone knows.

At this point, there's another whole hornbill area and again with limited signage and so we didn't compile a species list. (We also saw what seems like hundreds of hornbills throughout our 3-week Southeast Asian journey) Colourful eggs adorn the entrance area and there's a series of aviaries in an off-shoot path.

Here's an example of one of the aviaries, in this case for Rhinoceros Hornbills.

Songkhla Zoo takes a taxonomic approach to its animal displays, hence there's the sprawling Reptile Kingdom zone, a Cat Complex, the bears, two hornbill areas, and visitors soon come across a section devoted to primates.

An Orangutan exhibit is in the foreground, with a Chimpanzee exhibit behind it. Both are a little 'meh'.

A large walk-through space is devoted to Madagascar, meaning Ring-tailed Lemurs and Black-and-white Ruffed Lemurs. Honestly, as much as I try not to be too critical of this zoo, the combination of cement, black tarps and cut-out signs are not at all aesthetically pleasing. At least the space is a good one for the primates.

There's also Dusky Leaf Monkeys in this primate zone, with copious amounts of mock-rock added to traditional cages.

There's Squirrel Monkeys, White-handed Gibbons and Raccoons found in the primate section, plus a large network of gibbon islands. This is the area where Konstantin and I saw wild Javan Rusa Deer just wandering around and also resting on the islands with gibbons above their heads.

Similar to Chiang Mai Zoo, there's a lookout point at Songkhla Zoo that reminds visitors that they are literally on the outskirts of the city and immersed in thick jungle. We were told that all manner of wild civets, macaques, large snakes and loads of deer wander through the zoo every single day. Visitors looking at captive animals while coexisting with nature is a regular occurrence at these tropical zoos.

And just like Chiang Mai Zoo, there's a massive walk-through, semi-abandoned aviary that is now closed to the public. It's a real shame, as the structure has been built into the hillside at possibly the highest point of the zoo and the views to the right are outstanding.

If you recall from part 1 of my review, there's SIX brand-new exhibits that all opened in 2024 as part of a Children's Zoo complex. In a completely different area, the zoo also has TWO brand-new, very spacious Malayan Tapir exhibits that were not yet occupied. We did see two Malayan Tapir yards that clearly had tapirs in them, but these new habitats are a major upgrade.

This is obviously a Southeast Asian zoo, and so it seems to us that it's a mandatory requirement for all zoos in the area to have at least one or two gargantuan walk-through aviaries on the grounds. It's amazing at how many zoos in this part of the world have enormous aviaries, but one thing that's disappointing is the fact that some of the zoos don't take advantage of how spectacular their structures are (this one is called Bird Land). Signage here is very limited, there's a few cockatoos squawking away, a lot of Jungle Fowl, at least a half-dozen Lesser Mouse-deer (which were great to see!), but one could have flocks of large birds in such a space and at the end of the day this aviary is a little underwhelming. It looks magnificent though!

The last section of Songkhla Zoo is a Children's Zoo, a very old area (a 1998 original?) that has basically been replaced by the newer Children's Zoo exhibits elsewhere. One can find an awful enclosure for Spotted Hyenas, plus dusty yards for Red Kangaroos, Emus, Meerkats and two Cassowary exhibits.

Australia Zone:

The entrance/exit zone of the zoo has a lot of big animal sculptures and statues, several areas for photo opportunities, a Muslim Prayer House (common in SEA zoos), and even a Taxidermy Building which was closed by the time we were done as Konstantin and I were the last visitors to leave the zoo at the end of the day.

Mammal species list (37 species): Asian Elephant, White Rhino, Common Hippo, Malayan Tapir, Giraffe, Plains Zebra, Banteng, Javan Rusa Deer, Axis Deer, Sambar Deer, Eld’s Deer, Hog Deer, Southern Red Muntjac, Lesser Mouse-deer, Nilgai, Tiger (Indochinese and White), African Lion, Sun Bear, Asiatic Black Bear, Spotted Hyena, Orangutan, Chimpanzee, White-handed Gibbon, Dusky Leaf Monkey, Squirrel Monkey, Ring-tailed Lemur, Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur, Small-clawed Otter, Meerkat, Binturong, Capybara, Raccoon, Malayan Porcupine, Red Kangaroo, Two-toed Sloth, South American Fur Seal and South African Fur Seal.

Off-show mammal species list (4 species): Flat-headed Cat, Large Indian Civet, Masked Palm Civet and Common Palm Civet.

Summary:

We had a special day at Songkhla Zoo and even though we cut back our schedule drastically and only saw the one zoo, it was still a very long day. We woke up early, had a two-hour flight from northern Thailand to southern Thailand, spent 5 hours at the zoo, then took an Uber/Grab to the airport and we had a 10:00 p.m. flight to Bangkok that was an hour and a half in length. By the time we arrived at our motel it was past 1:00 a.m. and for the next day we were up early yet again for a trip to Safari World Bangkok (which turned out to be a 6-hour zoo!). This trip is not designed for 95% of the people reading my reports, but Konstantin and I were thrilled to pack in a lot of amazing zoological attractions and we woke up with loads of energy each morning. I think it was all the excitement of the 'great unknown'.

Songkhla Zoo is definitely worth visiting, but looking back I can fully understand why very few zoo nerds have ever heard of this place, let alone visited. Funnily enough, two fellow nerds were there just days after us, but in general this zoo is too remote and unknown to attract non-locals. The big draw is obviously the behind the scenes Flat-headed Cat Breeding Center, plus there's a separate zone with all those civet cages. I've toured more than 600 different zoos and aquariums, and Songkhla Zoo is the ONLY facility where I've seen Flat-headed Cats and Large Indian Civets, which is remarkable. Nowhere else. That alone makes this zoo a truly memorable experience for me, plus the hospitality shown to Konstantin and I was first-rate. The curators and management team at this zoo are passionate about their zoo and also about conservation and I would urge anyone interested in visiting to arrange a behind the scenes tour months in advance.

As for the bulk of the zoo, there's certainly a lot of ABC animals to satisfy families in the area. One can see Asian Elephants, White Rhinos, Common Hippos, Giraffes, Malayan Tapirs, Tigers, Lions, two bear species, penguins, pinnipeds, some massive aviaries, 7 deer species and even wild Javan Rusa Deer, 7 primate species, etc. Very few of the exhibits are true stand-outs, but very few are poor. Everything seems solid and respectable, with one blemish the fact that the zoo still has areas that remain closed or a few empty exhibits scattered around that should be filled with animals. It gives the appearance of being a tad rundown and shabby in certain sections, but at least there's been EIGHT new exhibits opened just in 2024 and so the zoo's future is rosy. For us, seeing the Flat-headed Cats and the Large Indian Civets and marveling at the massive Hornbill Breeding Center, all the while being in a thick jungle rainforest, made for a noteworthy day in tropical Thailand.

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- Chiang Mai Night Safari (Chiang Mai, Thailand) 2-part review

DAY 5: Tuesday, August 6th

18- Songkhla Zoo (Songkhla, Thailand) 2-part review

Up next: Safari World Bangkok (our 19th and final Thai zoo)

 

[Philipine eagle]

Both that hornbill walk-through and the Indochinese tiger enclosure look very good.

Were you under the impression that the large numbers of hornbills you saw in Thai zoos also represent a wide range of species?

 

[Flat headed cat]

The Hornbill Breeding Center is enormous and not accessible to the public, although it's possible to get fairly close and one can still see birds from the road. It's spectacular and contains trees of vast height.

There are currently great hornbills laying eggs, which is good news.

An empty exhibit is adjacent to the Giraffe and Plains Zebra paddocks. I'd be intrigued to know what was held here in the past if anyone knows.

It used to be a Burchell's zebra exhibit, but is now being transformed into a spotted hyena exhibit.

The last section of Songkhla Zoo is a Children's Zoo, a very old area (a 1998 original?) that has basically been replaced by the newer Children's Zoo exhibits elsewhere. One can find an awful enclosure for Spotted Hyenas, plus dusty yards for Red Kangaroos, Emus, Meerkats and two Cassowary exhibits.

Australia Zone:

This exhibit will be improved in the future while budget is being requested.

 

[snowleopard]

Were you under the impression that the large numbers of hornbills you saw in Thai zoos also represent a wide range of species?

With a trip of this magnitude (59 zoos in 3 weeks), we certainly became accustomed to seeing certain species on a regular basis. Just as in the case with our daily dose of Javan Rusa Deer, Hog Deer, Sambar Deer, Eld's Deer and Axis Deer, when it came to hornbills we saw a ton of Great Hornbills, Rhinoceros Hornbills, Oriental Pied Hornbills and Wreathed Hornbills, sometimes in multiple aviaries, and less common but still present would be other species such as Wrinkled, Black, White-crowned, Plain-pouched, Luzon, Papuan and Rufous. I know that Khao Kheow Open Zoo has Bushy-crested and Tickell's Brown behind the scenes.

 

[snowleopard]

DAY 6: Wednesday, August 7th

After a long day of two flights and Songkhla Zoo, it was back to Bangkok for the 19th and final Thai zoo of the trip. We spent 6 hours at Safari World Bangkok and then had a little bit of downtime before catching a 3-hour evening flight to Penang, Malaysia. We would finally move on to our next nation!

Zoo/Aquarium #19: Safari World Bangkok (Bangkok, Thailand) - Part 1 of 2

This is a big, popular zoo and one that by all accounts has made a steady stream of improvements in recent years. It's sort of a half-theme park type place, with 7 daily shows, 5 places to eat, a lot of space and a lot of animals mixed with entertainment. Opened in 1988, the facility is divided into two and there's a Safari Park and a Marine Park, which is kind of odd to be honest as even though there's some aquatic animals in the Marine Park (dolphins, walruses, African manatees, crocodilians), it's really more of a traditional zoo with a few water-based elements. There's certainly some negatives to this zoo in the form of the elephant, dolphin and orangutan shows, which we did our best to avoid, but also many positive sections to the establishment. Without a doubt this place is enormously popular, by far and away the most crowded zoo of the entire trip, and from my research it seems that it's possible that Safari World Bangkok averages 5 million visitors a year. This place was absolutely bursting at the seams, even though it was a normal Wednesday, and the zoo is at the very least 200 acres/81 hectares in size, if not larger depending on the online source.

Zoo map:

The Safari Park, shown in the bottom left-hand corner of the map, is epic in length, as by the time Konstantin and I found our seats on the first bus of the day, to the time when we departed the vehicle, it was basically a full hour. What is really fascinating is that the bus actually leaves the entrance gate of the zoo, drives down the exact road that visitors use to enter the premises, and goes back down the street to the Safari Park entrance. From there, it's a good 50 minutes of looking at animals while on a bus, which is very tricky for photography as the vehicle stops only for brief moments and there are windows as well.

There's lots of birdlife here, in the form of Marabou Storks, Painted Storks, Milky Storks, and hundreds of ibis and pelicans galore. With the Safari Park being located amidst large bodies of water, there's plenty of swampy areas that attract wild birds and the blending of captivity and wild becomes vague here. I can only imagine what this area looks like in the middle of the wet season!

@twilighter

Pelicans were everywhere and there's some of the 41 Giraffes that we saw.

We had our daily dose of Javan Rusa Deer and Hog Deer, plus Blackbuck and Watusi Cattle can be seen in this photo. Note that the flooded areas in the background were full of hundreds if not thousands of birds.

@twilighter

There's a spacious, muddy paddock for Cape Buffalo.

@twilighter

Later on, we'd walk over to the Giraffe Terrace and we counted 41 Giraffes at one time. Safari World Bangkok used to have more than 200 Giraffes, but we were told by a curator at another zoo that they've sold a lot off and have nowhere near that many these days as the park is making an attempt to comply with modern regulations. They also probably made a ton of money selling the Giraffes to other zoos (mainly in the Middle East) and 41 is still a very impressive number.

@twilighter

There's one section with African Lions strolling alongside the bus in a spacious enclosure.

@twilighter

The safari tour travels past some massive enclosures, including a huge lake for Common Hippos. It might be the largest hippo exhibit I've ever seen.

@twilighter

You can see an Asiatic Black Bear (labeled as 'Himalayan') under a bizarre mock-rock covering. There's an extreme close-up of a sleeping bear in the gallery if someone wishes to take a closer look at the 'Himalayan' type at this zoo. Notice the damp, watery ground in the exhibit.

@twilighter

There's large groups of hooved mammals that can be seen on the safari tour, such as White Rhino, Giraffe, Plains Zebra, Asian Water Buffalo, Cape Buffalo, Watusi, Dromedary, Impala, Gemsbok, Blackbuck, Sambar Deer, Hog Deer, Javan Rusa Deer, Axis Deer, and a few others. Signage is very minimal, but the enclosure sizes are superb and for the most part the entire Safari Park experience is terrific. Visitors are even taken through the exhibits for Tigers, with lots of trees and grassy areas for those big cats.

@twilighter

Once the hour-long Safari Park tour is finished, visitors are deposited back at the main entrance gate and then proceed to the Marine Park, which is like a regular walking zoo that happens to have many aquatic-based elements sprinkled throughout the vast grounds.

This being Southeast Asia, each section of the zoo has either a big entrance arch or a variety of statues to greet people and to offer up a photo opportunity. Here's the entrance zone to the Dolphin Stadium.

I really struggle with the notion of cetaceans in captivity and after seeing the beautiful dolphin lagoon at Harderwijk in the Netherlands, with its naturalistic appearance, I don't have time or patience to see dolphins stuck in sterile stadium tanks. Konstantin and I watched perhaps 5 minutes of the show and then we left. It's crazy loud, with pounding music, the dolphins were wearing little cowboy hats at one point (!!), and the crowd was loving every second. Not for us...but obviously massively popular for many people and that's one thing that zoo nerds have to consider. Dolphins bring in huge crowds, even though their accommodation at many zoos is abysmal.

On a much more positive note, there are terrific pools for Saltwater Crocodiles (see below) and Siamese Crocodiles. Interconnected waterways, lots of shade and sunny spots, plenty of foliage, etc. These exhibits are terrific and much larger than what is shown in my photo. In general, crocodilians do really well in Southeast Asian zoos, with big outdoor pools everywhere and I honestly don't even know if most zoos have indoor accommodation for their crocs. It's possible that at some zoos there's zero indoor quarters as that type of structure isn't required.

Right next door to the two crocodile exhibits is a big complex for West African Manatees, a species that neither of us had ever seen before.

The manatees are a major attraction here.

I counted 7 West African Manatees and during feeding time they were extremely active and fantastic to see in their pool.

The zoo even has a Manatee Food Stand with some sort of popular 'biscuit' being bought by loads of locals.

The Giraffe Terrace, which could earlier be seen via the Safari Park tour, is massive and there's two lengthy walkways. The zoo heavily promotes the fact that they have 200 Giraffes, but that's not the case these days and 41 was what we counted on-show to the public. You can buy food for the animals and hands-on petting was rampant, which in truth is similar to many Western zoos and particularly American facilities. The difference is that here in Thailand there isn't a lot of supervision of the visitors, so if you want to hug a Giraffe's neck then this is the place for you!

Up next: Safari World Bangkok review - Part 2 of 2

 

[Jurek7]

Great thread! I wonder how did you manage to keep such a pace for weeks? When did you travel, eat and sleep?

Exotic deer walkthroughs are a trend which zoos in Europe and the USA did not catch so far. There are lots of walkthroughs with native deer in small wildlife parks and country gardens. But exotic deer, small antelope and goats would benefit from such arrangement. Vietnamese sika deer were in danger of extinction because no space for it was in zoos...

Giant aviaries are another trend which zoos in Europe and the USA did not really catch so far. There are some examples like Beauval, Doue or Villars des Dombes, but nothing like the giant aviaries in Singapore, for example.

Partially the reason may be snow. Aviaries in most of Europe need to be robust enough to survive snowfall. I am not sure if it is so difficult and expensive with the current materials. Maybe some Zochatters can comment?

Another thing is that communal aviaries have a reputation to be poor places to breed most species - birds disturb each other or steal eggs and chicks.

 

[ralph]

Safari World Bangkok is a place I considered visiting when in Thailand in 2023, especially because they have African manatees.
But when I googled the zoo, I did stumble upon photos of the animal shows, and that's what made me decide against it.

I'm happy to see it isn't all bad though. The safari does look quite nice indeed.

 

[birdsandbats]

DAY 6: Wednesday, August 7th

After a long day of two flights and Songkhla Zoo, it was back to Bangkok for the 19th and final Thai zoo of the trip. We spent 6 hours at Safari World Bangkok and then had a little bit of downtime before catching a 3-hour evening flight to Penang, Malaysia. We would finally move on to our next nation!

Zoo/Aquarium #19: Safari World Bangkok (Bangkok, Thailand) - Part 1 of 2

This is a big, popular zoo and one that by all accounts has made a steady stream of improvements in recent years. It's sort of a half-theme park type place, with 7 daily shows, 5 places to eat, a lot of space and a lot of animals mixed with entertainment. Opened in 1988, the facility is divided into two and there's a Safari Park and a Marine Park, which is kind of odd to be honest as even though there's some aquatic animals in the Marine Park (dolphins, walruses, African manatees, crocodilians), it's really more of a traditional zoo with a few water-based elements. There's certainly some negatives to this zoo in the form of the elephant, dolphin and orangutan shows, which we did our best to avoid, but also many positive sections to the establishment. Without a doubt this place is enormously popular, by far and away the most crowded zoo of the entire trip, and from my research it seems that it's possible that Safari World Bangkok averages 5 million visitors a year. This place was absolutely bursting at the seams, even though it was a normal Wednesday, and the zoo is at the very least 200 acres/81 hectares in size, if not larger depending on the online source.

Zoo map:

The Safari Park, shown in the bottom left-hand corner of the map, is epic in length, as by the time Konstantin and I found our seats on the first bus of the day, to the time when we departed the vehicle, it was basically a full hour. What is really fascinating is that the bus actually leaves the entrance gate of the zoo, drives down the exact road that visitors use to enter the premises, and goes back down the street to the Safari Park entrance. From there, it's a good 50 minutes of looking at animals while on a bus, which is very tricky for photography as the vehicle stops only for brief moments and there are windows as well.

There's lots of birdlife here, in the form of Marabou Storks, Painted Storks, Milky Storks, and hundreds of ibis and pelicans galore. With the Safari Park being located amidst large bodies of water, there's plenty of swampy areas that attract wild birds and the blending of captivity and wild becomes vague here. I can only imagine what this area looks like in the middle of the wet season!

@twilighter

Pelicans were everywhere and there's some of the 41 Giraffes that we saw.

We had our daily dose of Javan Rusa Deer and Hog Deer, plus Blackbuck and Watusi Cattle can be seen in this photo. Note that the flooded areas in the background were full of hundreds if not thousands of birds.

@twilighter

There's a spacious, muddy paddock for Cape Buffalo.

@twilighter

Later on, we'd walk over to the Giraffe Terrace and we counted 41 Giraffes at one time. Safari World Bangkok used to have more than 200 Giraffes, but we were told by a curator at another zoo that they've sold a lot off and have nowhere near that many these days as the park is making an attempt to comply with modern regulations. They also probably made a ton of money selling the Giraffes to other zoos (mainly in the Middle East) and 41 is still a very impressive number.

@twilighter

There's one section with African Lions strolling alongside the bus in a spacious enclosure.

@twilighter

The safari tour travels past some massive enclosures, including a huge lake for Common Hippos. It might be the largest hippo exhibit I've ever seen.

@twilighter

You can see an Asiatic Black Bear (labeled as 'Himalayan') under a bizarre mock-rock covering. There's an extreme close-up of a sleeping bear in the gallery if someone wishes to take a closer look at the 'Himalayan' type at this zoo. Notice the damp, watery ground in the exhibit.

@twilighter

There's large groups of hooved mammals that can be seen on the safari tour, such as White Rhino, Giraffe, Plains Zebra, Asian Water Buffalo, Cape Buffalo, Watusi, Dromedary, Impala, Gemsbok, Blackbuck, Sambar Deer, Hog Deer, Javan Rusa Deer, Axis Deer, and a few others. Signage is very minimal, but the enclosure sizes are superb and for the most part the entire Safari Park experience is terrific. Visitors are even taken through the exhibits for Tigers, with lots of trees and grassy areas for those big cats.

@twilighter

Once the hour-long Safari Park tour is finished, visitors are deposited back at the main entrance gate and then proceed to the Marine Park, which is like a regular walking zoo that happens to have many aquatic-based elements sprinkled throughout the vast grounds.

This being Southeast Asia, each section of the zoo has either a big entrance arch or a variety of statues to greet people and to offer up a photo opportunity. Here's the entrance zone to the Dolphin Stadium.

I really struggle with the notion of cetaceans in captivity and after seeing the beautiful dolphin lagoon at Harderwijk in the Netherlands, with its naturalistic appearance, I don't have time or patience to see dolphins stuck in sterile stadium tanks. Konstantin and I watched perhaps 5 minutes of the show and then we left. It's crazy loud, with pounding music, the dolphins were wearing little cowboy hats at one point (!!), and the crowd was loving every second. Not for us...but obviously massively popular for many people and that's one thing that zoo nerds have to consider. Dolphins bring in huge crowds, even though their accommodation at many zoos is abysmal.

On a much more positive note, there are terrific pools for Saltwater Crocodiles (see below) and Siamese Crocodiles. Interconnected waterways, lots of shade and sunny spots, plenty of foliage, etc. These exhibits are terrific and much larger than what is shown in my photo. In general, crocodilians do really well in Southeast Asian zoos, with big outdoor pools everywhere and I honestly don't even know if most zoos have indoor accommodation for their crocs. It's possible that at some zoos there's zero indoor quarters as that type of structure isn't required.

Right next door to the two crocodile exhibits is a big complex for West African Manatees, a species that neither of us had ever seen before.

The manatees are a major attraction here.

I counted 7 West African Manatees and during feeding time they were extremely active and fantastic to see in their pool.

The zoo even has a Manatee Food Stand with some sort of popular 'biscuit' being bought by loads of locals.

The Giraffe Terrace, which could earlier be seen via the Safari Park tour, is massive and there's two lengthy walkways. The zoo heavily promotes the fact that they have 200 Giraffes, but that's not the case these days and 41 was what we counted on-show to the public. You can buy food for the animals and hands-on petting was rampant, which in truth is similar to many Western zoos and particularly American facilities. The difference is that here in Thailand there isn't a lot of supervision of the visitors, so if you want to hug a Giraffe's neck then this is the place for you!

Up next: Safari World Bangkok review - Part 2 of 2

Those look like Masai Giraffes! Do they really have (at least) 41 Masai Giraffes!?!

 

[twilighter]

Those look like Masai Giraffes! Do they really have (at least) 41 Masai Giraffes!?!

Those are Cape giraffes ( Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa )

 

[snowleopard]

Thanks for your comments @Jurek7 and you are correct that giant aviaries are certainly a focus in Southeast Asian zoos. Khao Kheow Open Zoo has a world-class walk-through aviary, Chiang Mai Night Safari has a smaller but still delightful one, Songkhla Zoo has a massive walk-through and both Songkhla and Chiang Mai Zoo also have enormous walk-through aviaries that are closed to the public. Later on in this thread, I will post reviews of SEVEN bird zoos.

I have been through several deer walk-throughs in European and Asian zoos, but that idea is very rare in North America. There's a thousand walk-throughs in zoos for primates or deer, or even with big pythons (Randers in Denmark) all over the world, but these sort of things don't really exist in any number in North American zoos. In the USA, almost 80 million people decided to vote for a pseudo-dictator and yet no one can endorse a single macaque walk-through even though it's common practice in Europe. Fools!

Stay tuned @ralph for part 2 of my Safari World Bangkok review and if one avoids the shows then it's quite a good zoo. Even then, the dolphin show was typical of ones I've seen before and the elephant show is very much a cultural thing. Both @twilighter and I had a great day out and I'll provide the highlights in my next installment on this thread.

 

[birdsandbats]

Those are Cape giraffes ( Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa )

That's perhaps even crazier!