FEEDING FRENZY

Today's excursion was to the Samut Prakan Crocodile Farm and Zoo.



Almost immediately, I knew this place was going to be a little different. One of the first things you see here is a display of deformed crocodiles. This is the place to go if you want to see crocs with misshapen mouths:





No eyes:



No tails:



Humpbacks:



And various other oddities. This next one was called "Single Tailed Albino" and there was also a six-legged crocodile, but I couldn't get a decent picture of it.



This is the reptilian equivilant of the carnival sideshow. About the only thing missing was was a bearded crocodile and Siamese twin crocodiles. I'm told that these poor creatures are manipulated before they are hatched by heating their eggs. It's kind of sad really.

Another thing that sets this zoo apart from others is the chance to feed the animals. They sell bananas on site to feed to elephants and hippos:





And buckets of chicken carcases to feed to hungry crocodiles:







I'm the kind of guy who wouldn't mind seeing a gazelle set loose in the lion's den at the zoo, so this kind of activity appealed to me.

There were also some friendly orangutans who beg for food, but since they didn't have anything available for purchase, I didn't want to give them anything except some dry grass.



I did see some lady toss an iced coffee (cup and all) into the chimpanzee cage. The whole thing splattered all over the ground. I'm not sure what she was expecting to happen, but the chimp didn't appear too pleased with the situation.

Several brave (or stupid depending on how you look at it) men put on a crocodile wrestling show. This mainly consists of them dragging the beasts out of the water by their tails and then provoking them with a stick so that their jaws snap down. One of the performers even had the guts to stick his hand into a crocodile's mouth. Both guys had all of their limbs and fingers, so I suppose they know what they were doing. If it was me, I wouldn't get close to those things unless I was wearing a suit of armor (all they had on were silky red pajamas without shoes).



Next was an elephant show where four pachyderms performed a series of cute tricks.







Afterwards, they allow kids to get on them for a photo opportunity. Surprisingly, this was free.





There were also chances to get your picture taken with a full grown tiger, but I wasn't goint to let my kids get anywhere near that thing, despite the sign that read: "I won't eat you - you are my friend."



Speaking of tigers, this was the first time I've seen a white tiger in person.



Snakes, turtles, porcupines, and various birds can also be found at the Samut Prakan Crocodile Farm and Zoo. It's not too large of a place, so it makes for a good destination to kill a few hours. My kids enjoyed it and that's always an accomplishment.