PHOTO: There’s less than 2,000 giant panda left, many of them in Sichuan’s Bifengxia Panda Reserve.

The popularity of safaris in Africa, Alaska, Australia and India and other close encounters with wildlife has grown exponentially over the last couple of decades. For many travelers seeing wildlife in zoos is the equivalent is the equivalent of visiting a penitentiary during visiting hours.

Seeing animals in their environment comes in a range of experiences from leaping humpback on whale watching tours to intimate encounters with mountain gorillas in Uganda. The Pacific Asia region is rich in such encounters and we’ve assembled a few ways to meet new friends in the wild.

A new program in China’s Sichuan Province allows people to get up close with wild pandas and help a species that is down to less than 2,000 individuals survive in the process. The vast forests of Sichuan are home to the panda and DestinationAsia is making it possible for travelers to volunteer as a helper at a panda reserve in Chengdu.

The Bifengxia Panda Reserve is located in Bifeng Gorge, 90 minutes drive south of Chengdu. Here is a live Panda Cam at the reserve from Animal Planet’s website. 

The research institute carries out essential work into the preservation of a species that numbers around 1,600 in the wild and about 160 in zoos worldwide.

Participants prepare food, clean the enclosures and carry bamboo, which Giant Pandas eat for up to 16 hours a day, consuming around 18 kg of bamboo leaves and stems daily. There will also be plenty of time to photograph the animals. The excursion can be combined with a Destination Asia program that has a Chengdu or Sichuan component.

Bats and Beef Down Under

Experiencing the wild life in Australia is one of the primary reasons that people go Down Under. Australian species from wombats to the majestic Red Kangaroo lure visitors out into the Aussie wild, which tends to steal the scene even from the most glamorous animals. About 400 miles from Brisbane on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast the landscape and the wildlife team up to offer one of the country’s most spectacular events.

The town of Capricorn features a bat cave that is one of only five recorded bat maternity sites in Australia. It’s the Niagara Falls of bats. Bat Cleft is home to 80 percent of the country’s known population of breeding females. Between December and February, visitors have the rare chance to see up to 180,000 insect-eating bats swarm out from Mount Etna Caves at sunset to feed.

The 1.5 mile torchlight tour requires medium to high fitness levels and takes three hours to complete. Tours are held four nights a week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Numbers are limited.

PHOTO: Visitors in Queensland can spend a day exploring a stud farm at The Bull Shop. (courtesy The Bull Shop)

Getting up close to animals takes many forms. While Destination Asia is there to help pandas, The Bull Shop, a working stud farm, on Australia’s Sunshine Coast is there to fatten them up so they can fatten us up. The Bull Shop is now offering visitors a chance to spend a day working with a few tons of testosterone  and horns.

Every Saturday morning, the Bekker family opens their stud-farm to teach visitors the inner workings of the cattle industry. Guests will get hands on by feeding cattle, holding a branding iron and nose ring before striking a pose with a bull 15 times their own weight. In a fitting finish, there’s a steak cooking class and gourmet steak burger on the tour menu.

Dragon Cruise to Komodo

PHOTO: The Amans Amanikan takes passengers to Komodo Island to see the only carnivorous monitor lizard, the Komodo Dragon. (courtesy Amansresorts)

Amanresorts’ Amanikan, a custom-built 105-foot coastal cruiser, based out of Amanwana, a luxury tented hideaway on Moyo Island in Indonesia, offers seven-night Komodo Expeditions to the waters of Komodo National Park. Amanikan, built in the style of traditional Indonesian vessels of wood known as Phinisi, features three above-deck cabins, a foredeck with an outdoor dining and bar area, as well as extensive dive facilities.

The Komodo Expedition is a five-night excursion on Amanikan capped by a two-night stay at Amanwana where guests can take wall dives from the beach and treks to jungle waterfalls, as well as spa treatments and a range of water- and nature-based activities. During the cruise, guests encounter komodo dragons. The journey cruises through the Nusa Tenggara island chain to some of the world's most biologically diverse and acclaimed snorkel and dive sites.

The Komodo National Park is a World Heritage Site where park rangers escort guests to view Komodo dragons in their natural habitat. Other wildlife on Rinca and Komodo Islands includes buffalo, deer, monkeys and wild horses. From the reefs of Tatawa Island to Komodo's Pink Beach, Amanikan's island-hopping itinerary takes guests to several marine environments.

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