Few people realize that in the back roads of Ubud exists one of Indonesia’s rarest and most extensive collections of reptiles and amphibians, more than 181 specimens, exhibited in individual enclosures amid a superbly maintained horticultural garden. Here you can step back into the dawn of time to man’s first encounter with the awesome world of reptiles.
In the Indo-Malayan region dwell about 16% of the world’s 10,000 known reptile and amphibian species, including the giant Komodo dragon, the reticulated python, flying lizards, chattering cikcak, deep-croaking geckos, forest toads and frogs and about 35 species of turtles and tortoises. Of the world’s 22 crocodile species, four live in the region, including the man-eating estuarine crocodile.
Inspired by the adjacent bird park, the Rimba Reptile Park was founded one year after the bird park in 1996. Visited by 300-400 guests per week, for the most part from Europe, Australia and Russia, the attraction’s gardens are alone worth the visit. The whole environment is a dark, cool and verdant labyrinth of winding leafy stone pathways, stairways, walled enclosures, waterfalls, lotus and water lily ponds lily ponds.
It’s bigger than it looks. Towering tupai, cebug and bottle palms, stately waringin and rubber trees, bamboo stands and other exotic tropical flora grace the environs. The 50-are park is in fact a miniscule and well cared for botanical gardens.
A large, attractive canopied courtyard contains pools, waterfalls and trees in which slithering pythons and iguanas roam about and bask in the branches. In this unique open-air space visitors, under supervision, may pose for photographs with the animals. A 6-meter-long reticulated python, as well as number of gentle iguanas are more than obliging.
There is also an enclosed walk-in reptiliarium where visitors may get a glimpse at rare terrestrial species in glass exhibits and cases mounted on the walls. Well over 100 snakes inhabit Indonesia, the majority of which are non-poisonous, but this exhibit concentrates on the more venomous creatures king cobras, deadly mambas and vipers, delicate multi-colored tree pythons. Like Indiana Jones’s Temple of Doom, these exhibits are attractively and imaginatively decorated with such props as canon, hangman’s noose, stone temples and fountains, ancient relics, driftwood, wooden wagon wheels and pocked voodoo statuary.
Local specimens were sourced from various islands of Indonesia while foreign specimens were acquired through breeders and dealers abroad.
Among species on display are false gavials, African bull frogs, African golden baboon tarantula, rattlesnakes, South African cobra, Papuan pythons, slender-snout and saltwater crocodiles. Among the snakes is the sharp nosed viper than can leap 1.5 meters upon its prey, a very unusual albino Burmese python, a red-tailed boa constrictor from Surinam, and the extremely toxic taipan snake whose average bite has enough venom to kill over 300 people.
The pride of the park is a young 1.5 meter long Komodo dragon. If you arrive in the middle of the day, it’s more likely that this famous monitor lizard will be more active. The park’s non-poisonous reticulated python is the world’s largest snake. Feeding on birds and small animals, it can reach a length of eight meters. More common and recognizable species such tokay lizards, frogs and turtles are not neglected.
Feeding takes place every Friday afternoon at 5pm or 6pm, although the public is not invited because onlookers disturb the animals.
Visitors are also asked not to tap on the windows because the noise stresses out the animals(reptiles are more intelligent and sensitive than most people give them credit for).
There’s a drink and ice cream kiosk, a concession that produces in five minutes a computer-generated T-shirt emblazoned with a photo of guests holding a python or iguana (Rp153,000 including tax and service); also a gift shop that sells T-shirts, sarongs, ikat and other textiles, cards, bamboo boxes and trays.
The Rimba Reptile Park is located next to the Bali Bird Park, Jl. Serma Cok Ngurah Gambir, Singapadu, Batubulan, Gianyar Regency, tel/fax: (0361) 299-344, email: herpindo@denpasar.wasantara.net.id. Admission: $8 adults, $4.50 children from 1 to 12 years old. Open daily from 9am to 6pm.
E-mail : pakbill2003@yahoo.com
Copyright@2005 PakBill
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