SAFARI WORLD

Description

Essentials about Safari World in brief

Safari World is one of the zoos in the world that even avowed zoo opponents can visit. This is mainly due to the fact that many of the animals here have a lot of free range and accordingly feel undisturbed by zoo visitors. If you want to trade the noise and crowding of Bangkok for a more natural environment for a day, you should visit Safari World.

The grounds of Safari World

General information

Opened in 1988, the zoo consists of two sections: The 480-hectare Safari Park (+ 180 hectares for birds), which you cross by car or bus, and Marine World, a traditional zoo for aquatic life.

The Safari Park

The open-air Safari Park is an impressive eight kilometers long and is divided into two sections. First, you drive through the herbivore habitat and can watch zebras, camels, antelopes, gazelles, rhinos, ostriches, pelicans, cranes and storks trudge devoutly through the grounds (or take a rest). As long as you follow a few rules (drive slowly, don’t honk or shout, don’t get out of the car, and don’t feed the animals), you’re even allowed to drive through this part of the park with the windows open.

Following the herbivore section, you come to a massive gate with a watchtower that looks a bit like Jurassic Park – a clear sign that things are about to get a little more dangerous. Now you enter the area of the carnivores. A guard reminds you to always stay in the car and never open the windows. If your car breaks down, you should honk and never think of calling for help yourself. In a race with a bear or tiger, the winner is determined in advance. Behind the gate, tigers, lions and black bears from the Himalayas await the zoo visitors. Most of the time, the animals lie lazily in the shade (who can blame them in Bangkok’s climate) – if you want to see them in action, you should come during feeding times.

Marine World

Marine World is a traditional zoo in the middle of a huge adventure park that specializes in animal shows. Here both elephants, birds and sea lions perform their tricks. The show with boxing orangutans is certainly the most controversial. Adults may shake their heads at so much nonsense, most children love the show. Of course, the most spectacular and popular performance is delivered by the dolphins. Being just an animal park is apparently not enough for the operators of Safari World, which is why the animal show interludes have been supplemented with a cowboy stunt show and “Spy War,” a Hollywood-like performance with explosions that can be heard throughout the zoo.

The feeding of the giraffes

Last but not least, a hint should be given to a really animal attraction. In no case should you skip the feeding platform for the giraffes. If you are not afraid of the incredibly long tongues of the long-necks, you can “bribe” them with a banana for a great snapshot. By the way, the giraffe herd at Safari World is reportedly the largest non-free-ranging one in the world.