The Singapore Zoo

While my parents live here in Singapore, me? I'm still a tourist. To the zoo!
Just a few steps inside the zoo, we were greeted by tamarins. Chilling in a tree, in the middle of the entrance. No cage, no fencing. You can just reach out and touch someone, no AT&T necessary. Two tiny little black and white monkeys. Right there! How's that for a good start?

On to mousedeer, false gharials (like crocodiles) and proboscis monkeys. Singapore has the largest collection of proboscis monkeys in the world. They've had great success breeding them. They just look funny. Like they should be telling jokes to every visitor that cruises by. Were there ever a stand-up comedian of the monkey family, the proboscis would be it.

And white tigers. White and brown striped with blue or green eyes, the three lazed around in the afternoon heat. Omar, Winnie and Jippie are their names. Singapore also has a night safari, too, but the sightings are limited. I hear the best of it is the cats growling while prowling. Did you know that all tigers are Asian?

Oh, and I fell in love today at the zoo! The pygmy hippo?!? I've never been to much of a hippo lover, but this thing is the cutest creature I have ever seen. It scoots along the bottom, too dense to float or swim, and has been named the underwater ballerina of West Africa. I love it! Tiptoeing through the rivers of Africa, they can hold their breath for up to 6 minutes.

While zoos tend to depress me, creatures locked up, out of their normal habitats, the Singapore zoo seems so much freer. Kangaroos hopping around, curious emus hoping you have a snack, it's a much more interactive zoo than I've seen. Cranes and storks cruise far overhead pilfering food from flightless flamingos.

There are polar bears here, too, which surprised me a bit. A mother and son pair, Sheba and Inuka respectively, the son is the first polar bear to have been born in Singapore. They live year-round in an air-conditioned 16 degree Celsius space. We attended a feeding of the bears and watched Inuka hunt live fish in the water. From what the feeder said, at birth, he weighed about one pound. Now, however, at 18 years of age and full grown, he weighs over 1200 pounds. Damn! In the spirit of the polar bear, I guess, the woman next to me had on black jeans and a turtleneck. In 30+ Celsius...that's 90+ F.

And have you ever seen a mandril? No, it's not a bluegrass instrument, although it does have a blue, well, bum. A long red bridge of a nose, blue cheeks and a white beard compliment pink, purple and blue fur on its tail end. Astonishing. My camera battery died, so unfortunately no pics. Boo his. But a baby orang utan stole the show today. Ropes link trees together in the orang utan exhibit, but in the heat most of them seek shelter. The only baby of the group, however, did a bit of showing off. Holding on with his right arm and leg, he stretched his body out, hanging. Then, switched to the other side. And then he did cartwheels along the rope, all the while watching us watching him. At times at the Singapore zoo, it's hard to know who is on display.