A couple of weeks ago we went to Paradise Wildlife Park.
Thanks to a special offer pointed out to us by a friend, we had tickets for a “Monkey Tour”, which turned out to be absolutely brilliant.
We got to meet ruffed lemurs, who were very laid back, and like to be tickled under the arms. Also they were keen on sunbathing, and when something startles them they’re VERY LOUD. We got to feed dried apricots to golden-cheeked gibbons, who were very appreciative, and have very soft little hands. We were given a guided tour of the littlest primates (tamarins and marmosets, mostly), some of whom shared an enclosure with the world’s happiest sloth (bless him!) and a little armadillo. SO CUTE. Steve, the Head of Primates, suggested that we might like to smell the armadillo, so we did. He smelled a little bit like cheesy crisps. Adorable.
The last part of the tour was to go in and actually feed the ring-tailed lemurs, which was AWESOME. As long as you’ve got food, they’re quite happy to leap all over you and scoff it out of your hands. They don’t like to be stroked, but you inevitably touch them, and they’re so soft. A baby lemur held onto my thumb with both of his little hands. Awwww. I was very sad when we ran out of banana and the lemurs lost interest in us.
We also saw the most evil emu in the world ever, some Mara, who look like a very odd cross between a little deer and a massive guinea pig, and a lynx who reminded us of Skycarrots‘ cat. Oh, and we learned that reindeer antlers are soft, gibbons can kill you (which is why we fed them through the bars), and squirrel monkeys are evil.
Paradise was a fabulous place. Brilliantly geared up for kids, but not in a boring-for-adults kind of a way. I very heartily recommend it.
Reminded you of my cat in appearance or in attitude? 🙂