We usually spend about 20 minutes on each trail. Someone doing them for the first time might want to take a little longer, but I think 30 minutes should definitely be enough.
It is really personal. I could easily spend an hour just watching the meerkats. Then add on the gorillasâŚ
And if the baby tigers are out and playing, that could take time as well.
Thanks!
Youâre welcome!
That is the âproblemâ with live animals. Sometimes they just nap and other times they are so adorable you cannot bear to leave! So it makes scheduling hard if you are a minute to minute scheduler.
3 wordsâŚSumatran Tiger CubsâŚ
Itâs really hard to say. If there are no crowds to deal with and you donât really stop to âwatchâ any of the animals, you can probably âwalk the trailsâ in about 10 minutes. But if itâs crowded - especially the Gorilla Falls Trail - it could take twice that. I am a serious animal lover (and photographer) so I can spend 20 min at just the tigers or gorillas (if they are out). When itâs crowded, you may have to âwait your turnâ if you want to get right up in front of the glass/rails.
I am not a minute-by-minute planner in any of the parks, and especially not at AK because so much depends on the animal behavior on that day. As a general rule of thumb, if I didnât know I had at least 30 min available, I probably wouldnât commit to one of the trails.
Excellent point!
Also as an aside, if you are doing the safari, allot extra time just in case. In February we were held up for 20 minutes because an Ankole Cattle decided to stand in the road. Finally a keeper managed to coax him just far enough off the road vehicles could start again. I swear he stuck his tongue out at us as we drove past. (I thought I took a pic but cannot find it at the moment.)
On one of our safaris, a mother rhino and her calf(?) decided to sun themselves in the middle of the road. Rhinos are one of my favorites, so it was pretty cool - but it did add most of 20 min to the safari. Other have reported âgiraffic jamsââŚ
Admittedly stupid question, but will the tiger Cubs still be cute and âcubbishâ in 3 weeks?
The second picture I posted shows the cubs in mid July. Theyâve gotten pretty large (it wonât be long until theyâre as big as their mother), but their behavior is still very much like young cats, chasing each other around, stealing food/toys from each other, and practicing pouncing on their mother. Of course, being cats, thereâs also a fair amount of napping, too, but the cubs and mom are far more active than mom was when she was on her own.
Tigers are always cute and cubbish!
Whichever one it was that had the Okapi. I took over 300 photos of that gorgeous creature. I might just be a nutter though!