TOP 10 ANIMAL ENCOUNTERS

It's Top 10 time.

Since much of our trip revolved around looking for, swimming with, and hiding from beasts big and small, we kick things off with a list of our 10 favorite animal encounters. 

From the world's biggest fish in the Philippines to a lake full of jellyfish in Palau to an overly-friendly lemur in Madagascar, it was one wildlife-filled ride.

Hugging Lemur, Madagascar

On a visit to a wildlife refuge in central Madagascar, a lonely but loving lemur decided Kip needed a hug. Then he wrapped himself around Kip's leg and wouldn't let go.

Whale Sharks, Philippines

The reason we started our trip in the Philippines--swimming with the world's largest fish. Swam with them...check. Counted and cataloged them for an international conservation group working to protect them...check.  Dream about seeing them again someday soon...check.

 









Happy Pygmy elephants, Borneo

Prior to this trip, we weren't sure Pygmy Elephants existed. But after taking a boat up the Kinabatangan River in Borneo, we got to see for ourselves. The elephants' smiles made for some happy tourists, too.

Baby Orangutan, Borneo

We had the pleasure of meeting this swinging creature and his mamma up close, at the Semmengoh Orangutan Reserve, just outside of Kuching, Borneo.

Great White Sharks, South Africa  

Who couldn't love that face to the left? He was even kind enough to donate one of his teeth, after Liz did her most incredible, and surprisingly accurate seal impression.

Hungry Ocelot, Costa Rica 

This pretty lady gave us her best "Blue Steel," at least until we presented her with a plate of perfectly sliced beef hearts that we'd spent the morning cutting up.

 










 Millions of Jellyfish, Palau 
Swimming in a hidden mountain lake with millions of stingless jellyfish should be on everyone's list. And Palau is one of the only places to do it. 

Feeding Mother Leopard, Serengeti 
Watching this mother leopard drag a wild boar carcass across the road, up into a tree, and feed it to her two leopard cubs is as close to live National Geographic as we will ever get. And it was awesome. 

Sharks, Palau

The ocean in Palau is the purest we've ever seen. And with lots of fish, come lots of sharks. And we got to see lots of them up close and personal, including this curious grey-tipped reef shark.

Baby sloth,Costa Rica
When visiting Cahuita, Costa Rica, you're bound to see a sloth or two. After all, it is the sloth capital of the world. We caught this little guy napping just outside of our bedroom window.

PHOTO FRIDAY: MOM AND BABY SLOTH

If ever you wanted to see a sloth, get yourself to Cahuita, Costa Rica. The slow-moving creatures are everywhere, as you'll see from our blog posts over the next couple of days.

We get you started with the photo above of a young three-toed sloth sleeping comfortably in his mother's arms. The two adorable little animals hung out for hours in a tree just outside our hotel door. 

The day before we asked Jenny, the irreverent, longtime owner of Cabinas Jenny, if she had seen any sloths around. She replied, "Well, since they tried to move into my kitchen last year--and I kicked them out--I haven't seen quite so many. But I'm sure you'll see one in the trees around here if you look around." 

Just another day with the sloths in Cahuita.

PREPARING LUNCH FOR AN OCELOT

Mmmmmm. Lunchtime. Liz and Cinde cut up beef hearts for the many animals of the Monkey Park.

When was the last time you made an all-meat lunch for an ocelot? How about slicing up a fruit snack for a group of cute marmosets (see photo below)?

If the answer is "never," get yourself immediately to the Monkey Park Foundation, a wildlife rescue center just outside of Costa Rica's popular coastal town of Tamarindo.

The Monkey Park is home to numerous animals, some formerly in captivity, and some rescued to be rehabilitated and released back into the wild. For more on what's happening with the exotic animal population in Costa Rica, read Kip's article for National Geographic.

This adorable marmoset is glad that he's not part of lunch for the Ocelot.

But, back to the ocelot lunch. 

Vanessa, the head of the park, directed us to the large pick-up truck that just arrived full of fresh fruit and meats. We loaded them into the tiny kitchen and got to work.

Liz and our new friend Cinde, who runs the Hotel Villa Amarilla, were put on beef duty, which involved carving up over 100 lbs. of beef hearts for the various birds of prey, the coyote, and of course, the ocelot. It was a bloody, messy job, but the two animal lovers were up to it. (Click here for a reminder about how much Liz loves animals.) 

Kip had the even less glamorous job of helping to cleaning out cages. But sometimes, volunteering can be a dirty job. 

Once the carnivores were cared for, we passed out fruits and veggies to the herbivores. This pig was so grateful, he gave Cinde a kiss.

Cinde gets an appreciative kiss from a happy collared peccary.

The Monkey park is not only a great place to volunteer, but it's a great place to visit as well. The park gets no government funding, and relies on donations, and the funds they earn from admission fees to feed and care for the animals.  

For directions to the park, click here. 

And, if you're interested in becoming a volunteer (after all, you will get to prepare lunch for an ocelot....we may have mentioned that twelve times already), check out their volunteer page. 

The happy volunteers and employees of the Monkey Park--Johnny, Cinde, Liz, Kip and Vanessa. 

A happy scarlet macaw eats fresh sunflower seeds out of his food puzzle Kip filled up for him.

PHOTO FRIDAY: KIP'S OCELOT IN NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

A female ocelot looks for her lunch at an animal rescue center in Costa Rica.

Actually, what National Geographic published was Kip's photo of an ocelot, together with a story he wrote about the issues Costa Rica is having caring for some of its most vulnerable animals. 

Read the full NatGeo story here, or check out the preview below. 

More next week on our time prepping lunch for an ocelot, toucan, tamarind, and spider monkey while volunteering at Costa Rica's animal-rehab centers. 
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Costa Rica Closes Zoos--Where Will the Animals Go?
Influx of captive animals has wildlife-rescue centers strapped.

By: Kip Patrick in Tamarindo, Costa Rica

for National Geographic
Published August 5, 2013

At the Monkey Park wildlife-rehab center near Tamarindo, Costa Rica, volunteers clean animal cages, wash dirty dishes, and even prepare the animals' meals.

"It's a labor of love," said Cinde Jeheber, a California native and frequent volunteer at the park. One of her duties might be cutting up fruit for the white-faced monkeys or slicing beef parts to feed to the resident ocelot.

"To be surrounded by all these amazing animals that might someday be released back into the wild—I wouldn't miss it for the world," she said. "Plus, I get to feed an ocelot!"

Yet Monkey Park and other such facilities are facing an unprecedented crunch as Costa Rica struggles with how to care for its captive wildlife, most of which will soon be without a home.

In July, the government announced controversial plans to close the country's two public zoos...

Read more here...

PHOTO FRIDAY: CHAMELEON ROAD CROSSING

Why did the Flap Necked Chameleon cross the road? 

We have no idea, but it sure made for a cool photo, especially when he looked right at us with one of his beady little eyes. 

To learn more about these color-changing animals, check out this site. 

KIP'S FIRST CNN STORY: THE GATHERING: ELEPHANTS IN SRI LANKA

An adolescent elephant and its mother search for food after a quick mud bath in Sri Lanka.

For those who missed it, Kip's first story for CNN recently posted about Sri Lanka's elephant migration, called "The Gathering."  Here's an excerpt:

"In north-central Sri Lanka's Minneriya National Park, hundreds of elephants travel each year to the shores of an ancient reservoir built by a king more than 1,700 years ago. They've made the trip for centuries, coming from across the region to bathe, mate, socialize and, most importantly, to feed as part of an annual event known as "The Gathering."

View the full story HERE.

For more wildlife adventures, including some pygmy elephants, check out our post about a visit to a remote river in Borneo. 

If that's not enough, here are a few photos of baby animals in the Serengeti.