SMU Update 4/19/11

The other day Denis Kelleher and I went to Shanghai Wild Animal Park. It took us about twenty minutes to get there via taxi, and we arrived about twenty minutes before the gates opened. It was great to get there early because as soon as the gates opened, it was like we had the entire zoo to ourselves. The zoo consisted of two sections. The first section was the walking section, and the second section was the safari section.

The walking section was filled with a huge variety of animal species. Our first encounter was by a man holding the reins of a camel. He offered to let me ride the camel for 50 RMB, which is under 10 USD. Of course I couldn’t say no! The ride was enjoyable especially since it was something I have never done. It was a great start to a day that would only get progressively better and better. We continued our tour and got to see things like the endangered golden monkey, kangaroos, crocodiles, a rhinoceros, anteaters, ostriches, and many more. What was even more amazing is that these animals were not in cages, it was as if they were out in the open. Next we came to a section called the “Animal Kindergarten.” This was an area where the young animals were kept. We saw animals such as baby monkeys and meerkats. The most exciting however were the baby tigers, and baby brown bears. We got to see baby tigers wrestling on the ground two feet in front of us! When I thought it could not have gotten any better, a man offered us the opportunity to hold the baby brown bears. Again, of course I could not say no. Denis held the baby, and I held one that was a little bit older. It was funny because the bear acted similar to the way an infant would. It was so great playing with them that I did not want to leave. I really wanted to take one home.

From there we headed to the lion and tiger section. Along with seeing typical lions and tigers that you would see at every zoo, we also saw the White Lion, and two Ligers. The White Lion (see picture) was ferocious, and judging by his loud roar it seemed as if he was not too happy to see us. The Liger is a mix between a tiger and a lion (see picture). Its skin was similar to a lions, but it also had faded stripes of a tiger. Its face was like a tiger, but its head had the mane of a lion. What is even more amazing is that the possibility of this happening is about 2% and it is believed that there is only eight existing in the entire world! From there we were again greeted by a man standing next to an elephant. Before he even asked I handed him some money to ride it. He told me to put my hand on the elephant’s head, so I did. Instantly the elephant’s trunk wrapped around me and he lifted me over his head! For a second I thought he was going to put me in his mouth! The elephant was great, and definitely my favorite part of the day. To top it off I hand fed a giraffe right afterwards. The safari section was surprisingly a disappointment. The ride was way too quick, and the bus was severely over packed. Even after that, I can still say the zoo was my favorite experience here so far, and my close encounter with so many animals is something that not many get to experience. I recommend for any one who ever comes to China, to make a pit stop at Shanghai Wild  Animal Park.