Singapore Zoo! (Round Three)

I love Singapore Zoo. It's one of the few places I can visit several times and still look forward to each trip - mostly because of the fantastic photographic opportunities it presents.

Me with little sis no.2

Unlike most other zoos, the enclosures in Singapore Zoo are very photographer-friendly and allow you to get real close to the animals. Plus, it's got fantastic facilities and very helpful staff.

I like helpful staff.

I also like tigers, but I've shot a few hundred pictures of them already (see previous posts) so I'll spare you from more tiger pictures. So without further ado, I present to you the non-feline animals of Singapore Zoo


Cottontop Tamarin

Many thanks to Kit for telling me what this is (there weren't any signs at the zoo). The Cottontop Tamarin is a small (at most 20cm tall and less than 0.5kg) primate found in the jungles of South America. It's also got a rather cool haircut, which can be puffed up to make it appear bigger when threatened. It eats mostly insects, fruits, buds and small lizards.

Unfortunately, the Cottontop Tamarin is currently an endangered species, initially because they were exported for scientific experiments, though the primary cause now is deforestation (Kill the forest and kill its inhabitants).


Cotton-Eared Marmoset
Another small primate, the Cotton-Eared Marmoset is also found in South America. But unlike the Cottontop Tamarin, it seems to be doing fine, which is strange when you consider how it's the same size and shares the same habitat and diet.

The only difference is that the Cotton-Eared Marmoset is found in Brazil, which brought us wonderful stuff like coffee, Ronaldinho and Ayrton Senna. So yes, Brazil is a great country.

In contrast, the poor Cottontop Tamarind is found in Colombia, which brought us drug lords and Juan Pablo Montoya. Yes, it's doomed...


Giraffe
This is a Giraffe. It is tall (up to 18ft), does everything standing (even sleeping), has the same number of bones in its neck as a human (that's seven, if you're wondering) and has no voice. And, a single kick from a giraffe can kill a man. Yes, this is a giraffe. Yes it is.


Jackass Penguin
Whoever gave the Jackass Penguin its name obviously had a lot of fun. It's a medium-sized penguin (grows slightly over 2ft tall) found off the southern coast of Africa. They are currently a vulnerable species because of pollution, changes to their habitat and because their eggs taste damn good. Apparently. They normally live for up to 10 years, although some specimens have been known to live for up to 40 years in controlled environments (i.e. in an aquarium with optimum space, temperatures, diets and loads of stupid children making silly faces at them).


Common Green Iguana
It's an iguana! And it's bloody ugly. Well, not sure what else to say, really. I don't particularly like lizards - they give me the creeps...


Jaguar
Often confused with leopards (wait... these are jaguars, right?), jaguars are big cats with spots all over their bodies, though they sometimes have very dark fur instead. Found only in South America, jaguars are very similar to tigers in that they're solitary animals, live in dense jungles and actually like swimming (just try dipping your cat into a tub of water...). Their method of attack is damn cool, though - because they have much stronger jaws than most other animals, they are able to bite right through the skulls of its prey, stabbing their brains to death until they die.


Striped Ass
This is the backside of a zebra, normally found on its posterior (e.g. the opposite end to the one with eyes, a mouth, a pair of nostrils and long, goofy looking ears). It also isn't a very good place to stand for at least three very good reasons.


Cannibalism
Here, we see an orange-coloured bird eating another orange-coloured bird of the same species. Which is actually rather good for the bird on the left because its usual diet of fruits, seeds and insects is rubbish. Just be wary if one of these little buggers land on your shoulders - they could lop off your head in a single peck. Honest.