TK's adventure at the Singapore Zoo at 9m 1w old

We set off at about 11 o'clock in the morning for the Zoo 新加坡动物园 for the first time.

Marmy took the information researched online earlier
(Dardy printed out) and
we planned out our itinerary and decided which show we can possibly catch
(Marmy hoped to catch 1130a show)

as we set off in the MRT with Grandma.

Went to AMK bus-interchange and boarded bus 138.

It was very crowded
and there were 4 baby strollers including ours.

We met an Indonesian family visiting Singapore (flying back in the evening)

and we chatted
with the elderly grandmother towards the later half of the bus journey.
She's the only one
who can converse in Mandarin in the group.

We took a map at the entrance
 We saw a monkey-like creature up in the tree.

They are also known as Sea Cow 海牛.
They spend 6 to 8 hours a day grazing on aquatic plants and

eat 50-100kg of food

(5-10% of their body weight).

The upper lip is split to form 2 flexible lobes, which function as 'hands' to grasp water plants.

This is the Caribean Manatee, also known as the nail manatee.
They are classified as hoofed animals and are closely related to elephants.

 We looked for the Shaw Foundation Amphitheatre to watch the show
'Rainforest Fights Back' at 12.30pm.

The Orang Utans team up and fight for their home in this exciting presentation.

Dardy missed the remaining part of the show

when he went to the washroom.

Marmy carried TK when he woke up and was fortunate to see up-close

one of the monkey-like 'performers'
when it walked along the wooden fence from the top where
Marmy was standing
to where the audience was seated.

 Next, TK stared at the white tigers as one of them walked in the shallow waters.

 A tired TK posing here with a White Tiger.

Marmy posing with the hippo.
Hippos yawn to show off their teeth and threaten rivals.
But when a male yawns in the presence of a female, it's a sign of affection and as part of the courtship display.
So Marmy is definitely not a rival nor a subject of courtship.

 We saw an Iguana crossing the road before we saw the giraffes.
Marmy was the first to take a shoot of the little friend
before the other visitors struggled to follow suit
but the little friend quickly disappeared into the bush.

Marmy took a video of the giraffes and Grandma saw one of them peed.
Marmy took some time to locate the giraffe and found out to her pleasant surprise,
the giraffe took almost 5 minutes to finish its 'business'.

At the Australian Outback,
we walked to the feeding area around 430p and overheard that the Caucasian lady was the last person.
Subsequent visitors are only to pat the animals but no feeding allowed.

Kangaroos can hop for a long time.
The special tendons in their hind legs release more and more energy as they hop along.

 

Do you know?

When European explorers first saw kangaroos in Australia,

they asked an Aborigine what are they called.

He replied

'kangaroo' to mean

'I don't understand your question'.

The explorers took 'kangaroo' to mean the name of the animals.

We sat down briefly at the Ah Meng Kopi but no one served Dardy when he went to the counter.
We left shortly after.

 TK watching the African penguins in his baby stroller, better known as his 'Mercedes'.
African penguin is also known as
the jackass penguin because of its donkey-like braying call.

Can you spot the penguin eggs?
Do you know that
the African Penguin is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies?
The African Penguin is listed in the Red Data Book as an endangered species.^[3]
In September 2010, the African Penguin was listed as endangered under the U.S.A Endangered Species Act.^[1]

 We saw the penguins

but Marmy felt there're more penguins at the Jurong Bird Park compared to the Zoo.

We went for lunch

at the fast food outlet outside the Zoo near the entrance.

Marmy feed TK and pee him in the washroom (no need to change the diapers).

We continued to look for the next show 'Elephants At Work & Play'
at Elephants of Asia.
This is a spectacular show of skills and humour with an after-show feeding session,
as the elephants gently pick up bananas from their hands.

We reached there just when the show ended
as we stopped on the way to see some of the animals.

Next we saw the skeleton of the flightless bird on the left and that of a flying bird on the right.
The breastbone of ratites is flat.
Without a keel for attachment, wing muscles cannot develop into huge muscle mass.
Thus they are small and not powerful enough for flight.

 

 

The lionesses and lions lying around.
We saw the Dwarf Hippo, the zebra..too
We even went to the main attractions too (Australian Outback and Cat Country).

Welcome to the Wild Animal Carousel!

The Rainforest KidzWorld Waterplay area was closed for cleaning.
Dardy's colleague only found out when they reached there in the morning and the Lil' ones were very disappointed.

We came to the Tropical Crops and spent some time looking at the crops.
Most of the crops were familiar to us and we wondered if anyone get to eat them.

More of the tropical crops will be featured in another post.

Dardy is showing Lil' TK the birds flying
in the sky
when we rested at the water fountain
in Honour of
Dr. Ong Swee Law
25 August 1919 - 4 February 1995

He conceived the Zoo in 1968 and
served as Executive Chairman from 1973 to 1995.
For his achievements,
he's rightfully known as the "Father of the Zoo".

We went to the Malayan Tapir before we headed for home.

We thought the baby tapirs look somewhat mouse-like but
we learnt that they look like black and white 'walking watermelons'.
They will lose their spots and stripes by about 5 months' old.

This is the adult tapir.
The upper lip and nose are fused to form the trunk.
The trunk acts as a finger
to grasp leaves and guide them into the mouth.

There's an Orang Asli Folklore..
The Malayan tapir was said to be a handsome animal
with black glossy coat.
He was strong and had an impressive horn.
However, he was vain and a bully.
One day, the bamboo rat and some mice drugged him,
cut off his horn, and filed down his sharp teeth.

They also painted part of his body white to brand him like a criminal.
When the tapir woke up, he felt disgraced and went into hiding.
This is how he got his black and white coloration,
became so shy and a vegetarian.

We didn't take the Tram which cost $5 (for adult) or
paid for any animal photography or feedings.
By the time we left the Zoo, we were all dead beat.
Dardy and Marmy both dozed off (Dardy was standing then) on the bus journey
and felt really refreshed after that.
Don't worry, there's Grandma who is carrying a sleepy TK in her arms.

Nonetheless, we had an enjoyable adventure at the Zoo.
Next adventure
should be back to the nature.