My Favourite Animals

​I hope you had a good Valentine's Day! After my declaration of love to chocolate (Article Chocolate Sweetheart), here is another topic my heart enjoys.

I rarely choose my travel destinations at random, it may be for the beaches, the architecture, the history, all of this, but there is certainly a reason that has often been chosen, it’s my passion for animals.

My article this week is about those who fascinate me and who led me to cross the globe, to sit on beaches all night, to catch a monumental allergy, to swim with an injured knee, to push away my fears and to dream of more wonder!

Prepare to be captivated in this animal world tour:

• Penguins

These are my favourite animals, I even started a collection of small objects. I don’t know where it comes from, but I find them adorable and incredible at the same time, and for once the male takes care of his offspring, there is enough to celebrate hahaha!

Obviously, it’s quite easy to see them in captivity, many zoos and water parks take care of them. You can even see some at Ski Dubai in the Mall of the Emirates.

Penguins are aquatic birds that can’t fly, and they live in the Southern Hemisphere.

But like all animal species, our greatest pleasure is to be able to admire them in their natural habitat, and for that Australia is the perfect place!
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So, on Phillip Island, not far from Melbourne, you can see little penguins very close...

• Turtles

​Another animal that I love and another collection of items.
Turtle is often associated with longevity and wisdom, some can live up to 150 years old!

It’s an animal easier to meet because it’s almost everywhere on the planet, and most of you I'm sure have already seen one.

They live in different types of habitat, which generally classify them in 3 categories: terrestrial (called tortoise in the U.K.), aquatic (called terrapin in the U.S.) or sea turtle.

My favourites are sea turtles, unfortunately many of them are threatened with extinction. I’ve been to two islands that help and have programs of protection: Heron Island in Australia and Crete in Greece which I have already spoken to you several times.

Heron Island is located on the north-eastern part of Australia, on the Great Barrier Reef, making it an idyllic destination for sea and nature lovers. Here, you not only swim among rays and sharks, but it’s also the preferred place for Green sea turtles and Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta, its scientific name). I was lucky enough to go during the turtle nesting and hatching season, a unique and magical experience.

​In Australia, you can observe lots of animals, which makes this country the most beautiful animal park in the world.

• Lemurs

Another incredible destination, Madagascar, destination in the top 5 of my favourite trips. The reason for this adventure, the lemurs! But also, another kind of little monkeys, two to be exact, my godchildren that I joined there for a few weeks of vacation.

I feel that you’re very curious, don’t worry, an article on this wonderful country is scheduled for 2019.

For now, let's talk about lemurs. It’s a suborder to primates, hence great similarities with the monkeys. These small creatures, which number no less than 101 species, are for the most part unfortunately in danger of extinction, due to deforestation and poaching.

They are very sociable and therefore live in a group. Many of you have seen DreamWorks Studios' animated movie Madagascar, and without a doubt, they look and act like in the movie, it's so impressive. Just for your information, there are penguins in this movie too!

​In my life, I rode a horse, a dromedary and an elephant. I swam with giant sea turtles, sea lions, sharks and rays. I saw polar bears, and I also met some Komodo dragons. I cuddled koalas and kangaroos and fed wild dolphins.

​I still have 2 dreams to realise ... See pandas in Sichuan (China) and admire unicorns!! (Read Article Unicorns). Which do you think I'll do first?!?

Don’t hesitate to choose your holidays according to the animals you like. Nothing more incredible than discovering them with your own eyes!
 
Have a good week!
Love & Joy,
L