By Mark Papazafiropoulos
Any animal lover knows that one of the big things that sets them apart from us is their abundant majesty (or in some cases, pure cuteness). It’s a quality that can never be done justice with any photograph, and there’s no substitute for being able to experience that feeling in person. Visiting the Animal Park for my first tour recently, I experienced it in droves, and it never wavered.
From the very first minute I set foot in the Park, I could hear the residents greeting each other with their own “Good morning!” Hearing the groggy calls of waking lions was the perfect first impression to kick off the tour.
The real privilege of visiting a facility like the Animal Park, beyond the beauty of its inhabitants, is feeling every sense and emotion that gets lost in translation from screen to brain. While the volunteers and staff encourage photography and videography, I’m sorry to say that your phone’s speakers won’t be able to recreate the breathtaking sensation of a quartet of wolves howling into the sky just a stone’s throw away from you. I was so hypnotized by their song that I only had the presence of mind to record the very tail end of it!
I felt that way during the entire guided tour: hypnotized. I was smitten with the quiet beauty of Indra, a gorgeous white tiger; enthralled by the bellowing vocalizations of lions like Willow (pictured above), Omot, and Kabaka; and very pleasantly surprised by the smell of one of the residents—if you’ve had the pleasure of meeting Sash Binturong, you know what I mean.
You can only experience these intense, up-close, powerful feelings and senses by being lucky enough to share the same space as creatures like the residents at the Animal Park. I eagerly recommend a tour to anyone with a love for animals or an interest in conservation.