Online - June 06, 2007

Wild Kingdoms

Animal Travels

If you could talk to the animals, you would. But until then, you’ll settle for silent-but-heavy bonding with critters both beastly and beautiful. (Really — the tigers? They get you.)

Black & White & Cute All Over
Get up close and personal with fuzzy wuzzy at China’s Wolong Panda Preserve in the mountains between the Sìchuan Basin and the Tibetan Plateau. A professional trainer will teach you how to feed and care for the bears. Excursions last seven or eleven days — i.e., enough time for a loving connection.

Horse on the Range
In need of a little horseplay? You’ll get just that on trail rides at The Home Ranch in gorgeous Northwest Colorado. The dude ranch’s wranglers make it easy for everyone (newbies to jockeys) to learn natural horsemanship, wherein you put the horse’s thoughts before your own. (Clever, that Mr. Ed.)

Swim with the Turtles
If only you could be so calm, peaceful, and happy in your own shell. The Turtle Sanctuary at Le Méridien Bora Bora is a haven for the reptiles — and a whole new swimming experience for you. Fall in love with one in particular? You can adopt it and track its progress online. A globe away, on the Riviera Maya, volunteers in the turtle hatchling program help protect eggs and release little babies into the sea through the Grand Xcaret, near animal-dense Xcaret Park.

Polar Opposites
Sail to nature’s extremes with Quark Expeditions. In Antarctica, march with penguins at a rookery or photograph the King Penguin colony at Salisbury Plain. (Wave to the seals and whales!) There’s no guarantee you’ll see a polar bear or a narwhal whale in the Arctic, but if you celebrate the International Polar Year on the Greenland Odyssey, you’ll reach Oodaaq Island, the northernmost point of land in the world. And who knows what you’ll bump into there.

Big Trunks, No Baggage
The densest population of elephants lives at Addo Elephant National Park in South Africa, and luxe “camp” (such a cute term) Gorah is at the heart of it. You might not want to get too close to them at the watering holes, but if you do, try a safari on elephant-back at Nguni River Lodge. You’ll have plenty of time with the so-called Big Five: lions, leopard, elephants, buffalo, and rhinos.