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For people who both have a personal and professional or scientific interest in southeast asian wildlife, there's no better place to go than a zoo. You can spend days, weeks in the jungle, and you will still never see most of the animals at the average zoo in Vietnam, Thailand or Cambodia (the latter pictured here). The other fun but risky element is that zoos in the region tend to be virtual "petting zoos." There are usually no guard rails to keep visitors away from cages, and voids in the fence are usually more than big enough for animals to reach outside, and visitors inside. Touching wild animals does come with serious risks however, including the transmission of deadly forms of Herpes, Hepatitis, Rabies, as well as the opportunity to lose fingers, cameras and gain serious injury. Having professional zoo experience under my belt, and a few years working hands-on with apes all helps me to avoid mishap most of the time, but not 100% of the time...







Otters may be cute but they can deliver a nasty bite...