Moving beyond birds to the full animal kingdom

On a previous visit to Singapore a handful of years back, I had seen the Night Safari, a great dark journey through part of the Singapore Zoo. I remember the haunting sounds of the lions roaring off in the distance still. Finding myself back in the city, and with a two year-old in the mix, it was time to experience the zoo in broad daylight.

For the most part, this zoo had done pretty well to provide the animals with large enclosures filled with natural elements and with human viewers hidden away (with some exceptions, like that of the elephants). There were also lots of fun facts: did you know that rhinoceroses horns are made of matted hair and can be regrown if knocked off? Neither did I.

Right at the entrance, there were a handful of very odd looking primates running around overhead. I went in for a closer look.

These guys looked like very old men that had dyed their beards a bright blonde color.

The orangutan enclosure gets special mention because it wasn't really an enclosure, it was a bunch of tree platforms connected by vines. The world's largest tree-dwelling creature seemed to make good use of the situation.

Beyond that, there was pretty good variety, with Africa particularly well-represented. there were zebras, rhinos, giraffes, lions, and more.

About two thirds of the way in, we stopped by a breather at the kids playground in the back of the park. Coincidentally, there was a Ben & Jerry's outlet stationed right there as well. It being a day of fun and all, we went for a rather large sundae to share as a group. Alas, Sahana couldn't get full enjoyment out of it. Part of the playground had a huge water play area that including a big bucket, the size of the kind you crush grapes in, that would fill with water and then dump it all over the young ones below. On her last trip, this deluge had caught her by surprise, and the trauma of the experience had made a mark. She needed to face the water to make sure it didn't come near us, and could only take her eyes off the play area for fleeting moments. We'll have to make sure she gets some more ice cream later on!