My friend asked us if we would like to go to Zoo Negara again with her and her children on New Year’s Eve and we quickly said yes. The last time we went to the zoo together was 4 years ago. My friend said she would like to support the zoo since there has been news about Zoo Negara needing funds to keep the animals alive. The zoo was without any visitors for a few months in 2020 due to the Movement Control Order. The pandemic is really killing a lot businesses and even the zoo is not spared.
The tickets to Zoo Negara is not cheap and for an adult or child above 12 years old, the price is RM38. My friend who is a foreigner has to pay RM75 for a ticket. Parking is RM10. Very steep eh? Well, we took it as a donation to the zoo to help the poor animals.
We were all super excited and went to the zoo at 9am. With the maps in hand, we walked everywhere to see the animals. I must say that the animals look tired or bored. The place is unkempt with no proper signages in certain areas. So sad to see the state of the zoo. The only new development is the new building for reptiles. The old reptile house has been torn down and is now replaced with new one with aircond. However, it is still a work in progress so we only got to see a handful of snakes and 2 huge tortoises.
We waited for the multi-animal show time which starts at 12pm. As we were late, the seating area was closed by the time we got there. They are limiting visitors into the area to practice social distancing. We all hovered around the outside and climbed onto the steps to watch the show. Alas, it was a let-down. They have the same routine since 10 years ago and even the music is the same. Wish Zoo Negara came out with some new tricks.
Here are some photos taken on that day.
Photo taken outside the zoo
Leopard roaming around its cage
Wallaby
Sad little miniature horse
Giraffes feeding time. There is a new lookout point for visitors to get close to the giraffes.
I think the pandas are the most taken care of and comfortable animals in the zoo.
Elephant
The white tiger
My friend bought the zoo negara tickets online because she thought they are limiting the number of visitors into the zoo due to the pandemic but from what we saw, there was no limit. We left at around 2 pm and the zoo was getting crowded. I wish more is being done to keep the zoo in a better shape.
