Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Other Bits - My Taiwan Trip - Taipei Zoo

Here are some pictures from my Taipei, Taiwan trip from a couple of years ago. I didn't manage to post them because my PC had crashed and, as you might have already guessed, I kept my photos in my PC .

Anyway, I have learnt my lesson the HARD WAY. Here are some of the photos that are still with me.
At the Zoo's entrance, there are some very life-like and accurate stone replicas of some of the Zoo's inhabitants. There are so life-like that you can't really tell the difference from the still photos (right?)Then visitors are ferried from the main entrance into the animals' section by a train!

Here are a few mountain goats. A first for me. 
Here is a live sample of one of the rarest animals on the planet - the White Rhino. 
The baby Hippo is so cute but don't let their cuteness fool you as they are one of the most dangerous of the large animals around. Responsible for many human deaths. 
This is the first time I had ever seen a real Dromedary (2-humped camel).
I believe this is called an Ibex.
This donkey is some kind of a local celebrity due to the deformed (from birth and not from injury I assume as I can'r read Chinese)
This is one of the iconic animals that represent Taiwan - A black Sun Bear. I say this because I see many places such as shopping malls that have cute mascots, cartoon caricatures, toys, etc.Here is the puma or mountain lion.
And here's its smaller cousin, the North American Lynx.
Here is a Bongo or a Striped Antelope (I always confuse this with the Okapi) 
A Gemsbok Antelope.

This little guy was just too cute to ignore. He wasn't a zoo animal but he lived there. He caught my eye when I saw him squirreling (heh...) around for food.
The Red Panda (which is actually more of a raccoon than a bear, is another one of the Taiwanese icons just like the Black Sun Bear.) There were many places for visitors to rest, get a quick bite or cool drink. This is one of them.This Tapir enclosure is very eye-catchy due to the extremely bright green moss covering the stream. This is the Panda Conservatory. Looking at the size of this guy, I won't be surprised if he's over 100 years old.
The Grey Crowned Crane is a very beautiful bird.
A pair of Mandarin Ducks (and the mother in law...).
Nicobar Pigeon (below)
White Wild Pheasant
Gold Pheasant
The South American Toucan (below)
A flock of Flamingos.
This should be familiar to Malaysians as it's the Sarawakian Hornbill.
 
We spent the entire day at the zoo! We left just before sundown.