The only hippopotamus in Montenegro escaped from the zoo on Wednesday. So if you took your trip to Podgorica specifically to see the two-ton animal, named Nikica, pack up and go home. Maybe you can catch a train to Greece instead. Whatever you choose to do, just know that the damned hippo isn’t there any more. She broke free from her cage and swam away after seasonal floods reached the zoo.
Davor Mujovic, the zoo’s manager, told Reuters, “She remains at large, but one of the guards is keeping an eye on her and is feeding her daily.” Nikica found a dry spot about a mile from the zoo, which is sufficient for now. Mujovic and the zoo guards are going to wait until the water pulls back more before trying to lure the hippo back to the zoo.
The hippo is already charming the locals, according to the zoo’s owner, Nikola Pejovic. “People like her,” Pejovic said, “villagers are bringing her fresh hay.”
The zoo, someone once said, is an excellent place to study the habits of human beings. Some people rush to see everything, others spend two hours staring at the crocodiles. Some parents spend the entire day trying to entertain (and placate) their children, others leave the kids with a babysitter. So what’s the best way to see the zoo?
Over at Curator Magazine, Matt Kirkland offers some thoughtful tips for making the best of your trip to the zoo, whether its in your hometown or in a city thousands of miles away. Among them:
“Go cold. Winter is often best: the crowds are thinner and the animals are more active.” So what if it’s cold? Remember, there’s no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.
“Underno circumstances bring children.” Sure, the zoo is typically thought of as a great place for kids, but, Matt writes, “Children, for all their wide-eyed wonder at the world, have very little sense of subtlety, of artistry, of the eye-opening encounter with The Other that a zoo should offer.” While I don’t personally endorse this tip– I think the zoo is a great place for kids– I suggest trying to bring one at a time if possible. This will increase your own enjoyment as well as that of your child.
“If possible, wear khaki. Yes, the zookeeper look is unfashionable, but the animals dig it.” Who knew?
And perhaps most importantly, “Take your time,” Matt writes. “Remember, when you approach an animal at the zoo, you’re not a patron demanding a performance. Think of yourself as a student, patiently waiting for the master to reveal something. One of the most thrilling half-hours I’ve spent in the last year was watching a slow-motion battle between two long-necked turtles in a very small tank.”
The first Night Safari in the world is in Singapore — it’s a 40 hectare property with over 120 species of animals; most of them nocturnal and best viewed at night.
You take a zebra-striped tram ride deep into the forest, past the dimly lit habitats of all kinds of animals. Once your eyes adjust, you might just find that you are actually being watched by thamins and Malayan tapirs — that’s before you get to the elephants, tigers, hippos, lions and even rhinos (above right). What’s really special about the night safari is that some of these animals just lie around all day, and though you may previously have thought the ones at the zoo were “boring,” or even “tame,” at night, it’s a different story. I mean, even the sioth bear was busy. And you get really, really close to the animals. No glass.
There are also the options of several walking paths, which are really not for the faint-hearted. Not only are you wandering around paths, winding amongst the lairs of some very dangerous animals, but you start to worry that the local fauna might jump out and attack you at any time, too. There is glass on parts of the walking paths (and really, how close did you want to get to that wide-awake leopard?), but you also have the option of entering several enclosures for an up-close experience with giant flying squirrels (that’s their name; I didn’t add the “giant”) and even — I shudder to recall it — bats. (warning, creepy bat photo coming …)
Yes, you can walk, unguarded, down a path surrounded by bats just like this one at left. I personally have no fear of heights; bats are my thing. They strike terror into my soul. I think I walked like a stage-hand trying not to be seen by the audience, my arms curled up like a t-rex’s. They were just as close to me as your computer screen probably is to you now, dangling from the trees on either side of the path. Some of them were like, dog-sized. And in case I might have felt lulled into any sense of security, they had no qualms about flying directly in front of me across the path. I could feel the wind from their young greyhound-sized wings.
It’s the kind of moment when you wonder just what insurance is like in Singapore, and why this is the only place that has a “safari,” or basically a nighttime outdoor zoo, like this.
In any case, what an experience. The Night Safari is absolutely not to be missed if you are in Singapore — you’ll probably never see anything like it.
The zoo to which it’s attached, Singapore Zoo, is no slouch, either. You can even have breakfast with free-roaming orangutans — just ask Michael Jackson, who, after having the Jungle Breakfast, famously invited the orangutans back to his suite at Raffles for tea. And they accepted. There’s also the affiliated 600-species Jurong Bird Park, but the Night Safari was one of the most exceptional and unforgettable tours I’ve ever taken.
As a bonus for experience junkies out there, you can also get your feet nommed at the Night Safari by garra rufa fish, or, as they’ve come to be known in exotic spas around the world, doctor fish. You literally stick your feet in a tank of water and a swarm of fish eats the dead skin off. It’s amazing. Here’s a video I took of a woman getting the treatment (about $7.09 for 5 minutes).
I had the treatment too, but I’m not about to post a video of myself screaming like a little girl. Puh-lease.
This trip was paid for by the Singapore Board of Tourism, but the views expressed within the post are 100% my own.
Hello and welcome to this Tuesday’s edition of Gadlinks. How does it work? The wise and ever-watchful writers of Gadling scour the best of the day’s travel news from around the Internet, summarizing it in one easy to read post. What caught our eye today? Read on below:
Frenchman Alexis de Toqueville might have been the first foreign visitor to write about his experiences in America, but he certainly wasn’t the last. Jaunted’s Brit “londontown” is on a cross country road trip from Los Angeles to New York. See what road trip tips he’s learned on his way. [Via Jaunted]
Heading to Amsterdam? Why not make your way over to the Herenstraat and Prinsenstraat corridor, two parallel streets that have filled in recent years with hopping bars, restaurants and quirky stores. [Via The New York Times]
Stephanie Carrie went to Saint Petersburg to brush up on her Russian language skills. All was going well until her encounter with the barrel of a police machine gun. What happened? Read the full story here. [Via World Hum]
Tired of seeing the same old elephants and zebras at the zoo? If you’re in search of something more exotic, head to these zoos which feature some downright bizarre looking creatures. How about some proboscis monkeys and mustached tamarins? [Via MSNBC]
It’s good to be the king. All the world lies before your gaze, waiting to be discovered. You entertain visitors from far-away lands. Someone is ready with refreshments whenever you desire. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Then we suggest on your next trip to New York, you stop in Queens, home to an area little-known to tourists called Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.
Corona Park is staring New York visitors in the face every time they visit, yet most don’t even know it. Ever been to Shea Stadium or to the National Tennis Center for the U.S. Open? Corona Park is literally across the street. Caught a flight at LaGuardia Airport? Those crazy looking towers you saw on the highway are part of Corona Park.
Yet this little known attraction is jam-packed with enough crazy monuments, open green space and hidden Summer fun to ensure the royal treatment for just about any visitor. This is an area, after all, that’s been home to two World’s Fairs: one in 1939-40 and another in 1964-65. Did we also mention it was the temporary home for the United Nations from 1946 to 1950? AND it has two museums and its own zoo? To top it all off, Corona Park is increasingly an area that’s home to a diverse patchwork of immigrant communities, each showcasing its own unique culinary pride – who could forget to mention the self-proclaimed “King” of Lemon Ice?
Have you ever wanted to feel like king for the day? This week is your chance. Come along as Undiscovered New York takes you inside the amazing ruins, interesting museums and lush greenery of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. New York State Pavillion and Unisphere Two giant landmarks dominate visitors’ view of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park: the New York Pavillion and The Unisphere, both remnants of the 1964-65 World’s Fair. It was one of the largest World Fairs ever organized, boasting an early version of Disney’s famous “It’s a Small World” ride, a showcase of Michelangelo’s Pieta on loan from Italy, and a life-sized robotic Abraham Lincoln among its exhibits.
Though the exhibits have long since packed up and been moved back to Italy and Orlando, you can still get a sense of the site’s greatness and scale. The giant Unisphere rises 140 above the park, still a popular meeting place for park explorers and local skateboarders. Looming nearby is the ominous New York State Pavillion. The modernist structure was designed as a showpiece of local culture, including a huge mosaic map of the state of New York, three observation towers and a theater called “The Circarama,” showing a 360 degree film. Today the entire structure sits decayed and rusting, a lonely ghost of a future that never came to pass. Haunting and beautiful.
Museums, Zoos and Halls of Science Flushing Meadows-Corona Park isn’t just a place to dig up the glories of the past. It’s also the site of some great Queens-based culture. Onsite at the park are great local institutions like the Queens Museum of Art. The museum, which was the temporary home of the United Nations from 1946-50, houses works of art by Salvador Dali as well as an amazing Panorama of the City of New York composed of over 890,000 scale-size buildings.
If you have any kids, make sure to stop by the New York Hall of Science. In addition to two huge rockets donated by the U.S. Space program, the museum contains around 400 hands on exhibits focusing on physics, chemistry and biology. After all that if you’re still looking for things to do, check out the Queens Zoo featuring a collection of animals native to North America and a geodesic dome designed by Buckminster Fuller.
The Lemon Ice King of Corona Word has spread far and wide of Queens’ reputation for delicious, unique food. In addition to an amazing selection of delicacies from across South America, Corona Park also boasts an establishment better known as the Lemon Ice King of Corona. The famed Benfaremo Family, who started their local business more than 60 years ago, churns out the most refreshing Italian Ices this side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Each paper cup is scooped full of one of the Lemon Ice King’s 30 plus flavors, each made with real pieces of fruit. It’s a refreshing treat to finish any hot summer day, one that is best enjoyed on a bench in the nearby park watching old gentlemen hurl Bocce on the local court. It’s exactly the kind of unique New York experience you’ll find in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park – a wealth of options fit for a king.