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Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens

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nmagann
nmagann
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5 out of 5
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1
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Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens

  • September 13, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by nmagann from Ventura, California
Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens

Visiting the Hong Kong Zoological & Botanical Gardens is like winning a free pass for an entire day to three great attractions. When the day is over, walk over the Peak Tram Station to watch the night show from the peak or dine above it all.

Reptiles and mammals make up the zoological sections of the park. An extensive variety of monkeys in large cages were a favorite of young students on a field trip. I was partial to the lemur because several types of them had just had babies. Perhaps lemur gives birth in certain season. I also enjoyed the trivia included with the statistics written on the plaques in front of the animals. The thought that sloth does everything upside-down conjured up some interesting pictures in my mind. I knew they slept upside and often wondered how often they woke up on the surface below. I was once told certain ones are mossy because they continually fell into the river below during the night. I also figured the joke about have cracker crumbs in your bed takes on new meaning if you eat on your back hanging from a branch. I prefer not to wake up with food in my lap. Agoutis have the ability to run within an hour after being born. If they tick their folks off right from the beginning, this would be a great asset. There were also porcupines, squirrels, deer mice, and many others.

The birds the park housed were in cages and included pheasants, peacock, pigeons, and ibis. Unfortunately, a fence was placed around all the bird cages to create a greater distance from the birds. Signs indicated this was due to fear of spreading the avian flu. Oddly enough, the other parks did not take such precautions. I don’t know if the species has anything to do with it.

The botanical portion of the park included a green house which closes early at 4:30pm, as well magnolia, camellia, herb, and bamboo gardens. I can’t recommend the green house enough. Make sure to arrive before it closes.

Large white and light purple cymbidium orchids were displayed in the center of the room. Smaller orchids of yellow with red specks grew just beneath them.

Most fascinating and rare was the variety of carnivorous plants. Venus fly traps planted in soil had tiny fibers that when touched closed on prey. Pitcher plants were anchored to the walls. Some caught insects by the lure of intoxicating nectar, while others were too sticky to escape and still others cone shape was enough to trap bugs. These plants survive on the nutrients from the decaying insects. Truly a delightful plant.

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