Feb
05
Filed Under (Things to do in Bamako) by Rob on 05-02-2010

Visit the zoo!

Now, I must confess I was dubious about visiting the place; I’d been to other African zoos and generally not been impressed by the conditions (of the animals and how they’re kept). However, I was pleasantly surprised by Bamako zoo, which was well laid out and with a good range of animals to see. AND…they were all still alive!!

Okay, I admit that they’re not kept in conditions comparable with many European zoos, but after seeing Cotonou’s attempt at a zoo (ie a donkey, a sad-looking lion and two pots full of snakes), it really wasn’t all that bad. Here’s a list (from memory) of animals we saw:

Lions
Monkeys
Chimps
Hyenas
Deer
An elephant
A crocodile
A warthog
Marabou Storks
Pelicans
Snakes
Turtles
Fish

They even used to have manatees, but their pool is now empty. The guys at the zoo assured me more manatees were ‘on order’ and would arrive soon!

However, a relatively new addition was the baby elephant, which the kids loved:

Click here for another blogger’s description of Bamako Zoo and here for a couple more nice photos of the place. The best thing was the entry fee: 50cfa per person (that’s about 8 pence!) Mind you, to enter the elephant enclosure, we had to pay an extra 500. T.I.A.!!!



Comments:
2 Comments posted on "Things to do in Bamako no.2"
anne on February 5th, 2010 at 8:37 am #

sweet elephant. what is the animal in the second pic? it looks like a warthog, but cant see properly.


The Vickers on February 8th, 2010 at 9:56 pm #

(Jackie) I’m so jealous – Ruth, your face reflects what mine would be like being that close to a gorgeous little ellie!! Lucky you.