5 Countries Famous for Animal Attraction
Here's a list of recommended places you may want to embark for that epic wildlife experience.
1. Swallows of San Juan Capistrano, California, USA
People who live in the town of San Juan Capistrano, California always know when spring is coming. The swallows tell them. Every year the swallows come to San Juan Capistrano near the first day of spring - around March 19. The swallows fly to the old Spanish mission of San Juan Capistrano and use the mission as their summer home. The swallows tell the people of San Juan Capistrano when winter is coming too. Every year the swallows leave the mission around October 23.
2. The Monkeys of Gibraltar in Spain
What would you do if a band of monkeys stole your dessert? What would you do if monkeys came day after day to steal vegetables from your garden? Such things happen to people living in a place called Gibraltar. Gibraltar is a narrow strip of land on the southern coast of Spain. A towering limestone rock called the Rock of Gibraltar stands at the water's edge. Barbary apes, the only wild monkeys living in Europe, scamper around Gibraltar. These animals are often called apes, but they're really tailless monkeys. A legend says that the British will never lose control of Gibraltar as long as the Barbary apes live there. So they keep and protect the apes.
3. Shetland Ponies from Scotland
Shetland ponies are the smallest ponies of all which are less than 3 feet high. These ponies are named for the islands they first came from - the Shetland Islands, north of Scotland. In the United States, the intelligent, sure-footed Sheltand is popular as a children's pet.
4. Kangaroo Island, Australia
South Australia's most popular tourist attraction, the island was named by Captain Matthew Flinders who was exploring the Indian Ocean when he discovered the place jumping with kangaroos.
5. Penguins of Galapagos Island in Ecuador
The Galapagos National Park is justifiably one of the world's great wildlife destinations. The Galapagos Penguin endemic to the Galapagos Islands is the only penguin that lives north of the equator. Other animal favorites includes blue-footed boobies, marine iguanas, giant tortoise and sea lions.