:: fun day at zoo negara ::

Last Saturday was spent in an extraordinary way. It was a day with animals (and humans) at the Zoo Negara. Not that I never been to a zoo before but this time it was more than mere visit because I was there as a volunteer and also to witness launching of Kelab Pencinta Alam TM and signing ceremony between TM and the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS). 

When an email invite reached my mailbox about the opportunity to become a zoo volunteer due to early membership as Kelab Pencinta Alam TM member, I was straight away excited. I have something for zoo and animals (especially furry ones) and this might be caused of too much exposure and frequent visits to such place. Zoo is always on the list during our family vacations and besides our local zoos, I've also been to Sydney Zoo, London Zoo, Auckland Zoo and Melbourne's Healesville Sanctuary. Well, that should explains why I'm such a zoo craze!


Back to the event on Saturday, the program started around 8 something in the morning when everybody was all gathered in the zoo compound. All of us were given an eco friendly goodie bag each which consists of a t-shirt, a cap, a pen and a cute notepad. We were asked to divide ourselves into groups of 8 so we could be given specific animal area to be in charged. That time, I really hope our group will be assigned to the big cats area because I love cats family, particularly tiger and panther so I've always wish to be as close as possible to them. My heart soared when the MNS girl said our group is assigned to the big cats. It was like a dream comes true...

 

...but "ku sangka panas sampai ke petang rupanya hujan di tengahari". It was not even noon yet though because when we reached the big cats area we were told that another group of volunteers from other organization has taken the area earlier. My dream was shattered. There was no animal area left for us and our group ended up picking trashes from the ground :-( 

Ok, good thing about our new duty was the ability to walk all around the zoo. Honestly, there was not much trash anyway so we enjoyed observing the animals and took some photos instead.

Giraffe showing his long tongue - Miss sun bear - Fierce looking gaur aka. Mr Seladang

 

Voluntary work ended up at 10 something because next in line was the launching of Kelab Pencinta Alam TM and the signing ceremony. There were speeches by Director of Zoo Negara, Executive Director of MNS and last but not least, Chairman TM who officiated the Pencinta Alam club which is also known as Tapir Malaya. The lucky animal was chosen not only because it shares the same acronym with 'TM' but it is also among endangered species in the world. After the signing ceremony took place, we were given a talk about tapir and among new knowledge learnt was a tapir usually has one child and it took them around 2 years to be separated, hence results to long reproduction timeline, which literally explains why they already become endangered species.The VIPs were then lead to exhibition booths and last but not least given the chance to feed and pet a tapir. I managed to grab some leaves from our Chairman when he distributed them and later got the chance feeding the tapir and pet her head. Just to share, tapir's head is very muscular and hard. It has very short fur, stiff like a new painting brush.

There was another activity for us volunteers after lunch which was called Zoo Hunt. Basically it was like a treasure hunt where we were given a set of questions to answer and checkpoints to visit in one hour. It was another trip around the zoo for our group and I was really exhausted. We didn't have enough time to complete all questions so we didn't win anything, while three groups that won the challenge were happy and contented.

From my observation, even at the end of the day most people were still enjoying themselves and full with enthusiasm. Everybody was happy with all the activities and those who got the chance to clean cages and help feeding animals were very satisfied with their voluntary work. They were also excited to know what other activities are next on the list. All in all it was a successful and memorable event to all of us, the Tapir Malaya and kudos to the organizer. Volunteering for the zoo is the least that we could do but hey, it's better than nothing rite? Look forward to join other beneficial activities but as for now Love the Earth, Save the Earth!

*Additional Info*

Zoo Negara not only accepts group volunteers but also individual volunteers and it could be done not only during weekends but also weekdays. If interested, call 03-4108 3422 to set an appointment or you could just walk-in. Make sure you come before 8:00 am because voluntary works need to start early before the zoo opens at 9:00 am daily.