Excited to feed animals with my own hands
Recorded on September 20 - right on the weekend and only a few days left until the full moon of August, the atmosphere at Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens (Saigon ward) is bustling with people and tourists, especially families with young children coming to play.
The cage area for grass-eating animals such as giraffes and goats is a stop that attracts many young children. Here, children are excited to experience feeding each piece of carrot and sweet potato to animals with their own hands. This direct interactive activity brings excitement to children.
Bringing his young daughter to play since morning, Mr. Nguyen The Hao (Binh Phu ward, HCMC) said that the atmosphere here is very bustling.
My child's favorite thing is to see big animals like elephants or giraffes in person. The space here is diverse, with both shade and many interactive activities, so he goes all day without feeling tired at all" - Mr. Hao shared.
Sharing the same excitement, Ms. Yen Phuong (Phu Dinh ward, Ho Chi Minh City) took advantage of the Mid-Autumn Festival to take her children to visit and experience.
Besides watching tigers and white lions, babies like to hold sweet potatoes for deer to eat with their own hands. These practical experiences both help children relieve stress after a week of studying and are a vivid visual lesson about nature instead of just looking through the phone screen" - Ms. Phuong said.
Familiar green picnic spot
Not only stopping at interacting experiences with animals, Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens is also a familiar outdoor picnic spot for many generations in families. Under the shady old trees, many parents and elderly people prepare tarpaulins with snacks to both rest and watch their children run and jump freely.
Sitting resting with his 2 grandchildren on the lawn, Mr. Ngo Minh Duc (Chanh Hung ward, Ho Chi Minh City) shared: "The whole week the children were busy going to school, so today I brought my 2 grandchildren here to stroll and play to be airy. I proactively chose a shady area for the children to run and jump safely, and at the same time, prepared bread, boiled eggs, cheese and drinking water to bring along. The family both ate lunch and enjoyed the scenery very comfortably.
Currently, Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens cares for and raises more than 1,940 animal individuals of 117 species along with a rich vegetation with over 2,300 green trees. This diverse ecosystem turns the campus here into a vivid visual "green classroom", helping young children cultivate love for nature and form environmental protection awareness through each trip.
The attractiveness of this outdoor destination is evidenced by the figure of about 1,780,000 visitors and experiences in the first 8 months of this year.
