Sunday morning I joined SPUS's Science and Maths society, SMS in short, for a volunteer trip to the national zoo. It's not very far from my house, well, it's been years since my last visit with my sisters.
Around 50 of us went to the zoo at 8am, followed by 2 lecturers, Mr Low and Ms Choong, and another office staff. The zoo is not so far away, reached there around 15 mins (~10 mins if by car lol). For local KL's, we're somewhat familiar with this place because we at least been here before. As for those friends coming from outstation, this is their 1st visit.
Raymond, me, Johnson, Suyin, Lemon, Jolene (curi this pic from her blog).
So I said we're doing a volunteer work, we're here to assist the zookeepers with their daily chores. We're asked to clean the animals' dens, lairs, sanctuary, etc, whatever it's called. Note that there's some kind of smell in the zoo, you get what I mean, animal stench.... not a nose-friendly place. On the bright side, we're entitled to visit the zoo for free after completing our task. :D
We're separated into few teams. My team, are assigned to clean the big cat's display den. I wonder is this the right term to use, it's actually the miniature environment for the tigers and lions to walk around, displaying themselves to the visitors. They do not just stay there all the time, they're kept in an enclosure located just behind the den. Hard to describe the situation, pics to come....
First encounter with a tiger, so close! Looks cute isn't it? LOL....
Zookeeper playing with the tiger.
The tiger dont give us "face", cant see it clearly.
However the tiger seems to prefer Oga lol.
Lion staring at my direction!
Before we started to clean the place, we're brought into the enclosure to check out the big cats. It's surprise to see quite a number of tigers are kept in such a tiny cell, pity them. They're like prisoners.... though treated differently, as after all, they're animals to be displayed.
One of the tiger jump up when I'm trying to take a pic of it, it's really freaky eventhough we're separated by the steel barrier, to have a tiger jumping to you at such close range is a real shocker! Luckily I didnt drop my cam hahah. Blame it on my camera's red focus light.
Cleaning the tiger's den/lair/etc.
We do not have the chance to feed the cats as it's a dangerous job, obviously. Instead of giving them the food, we might turn ourselves into the other menu for the cats. *shrugs*
After cleaning 2 dens/lairs/etc, we're off to explore the zoo freely~ yay!
Pics of some animals to come....
Everyone's favourite elephant. A kid is feeding banana to the mammoth. Noticed something near the mammoth's rear? Hahah it's the poo!
Banana-peeler pro, none other than the ape!
Hermit-like orangutan.
The tiger, from the point of view of a visitor.
Big boulders from a tiny Africa island.
Croc
Arapaima Gigas, one of the longest freshwater fish. Origin from the Amazon.
Instead of joining friends tour around the zoo, I prefer to check out the animals by myself. Sometimes the others dragged too long on a single section, wasting time to look for the other parts of the zoo. I'm happy to explore the zoo by myself, with my camera. :P
I noticed some animals arent showing themselves up in the cage/enclosure/den/etc. Wonder what's happening with these animals? Also, some animals do not look in their best conditions..... so what's wrong again now?
Actually I noticed the zoo haven't change much since my last visit, except that now the aquarium is reopened, but to my disappointment they only kept small fishes. The largest species found in the aquarium sized just like a big fish that usually appears on the dining table, you get what I mean dont you?
Regardless of the zoo's condition, I still find this trip to the zoo quite interesting. Animals are such fascinating creatures.... all hail the wonderful creation of the Universe!
Group pic after the trip.
End of the animals' story. Unlike Piscine, I do not need to survive floating in the middle of the sea with some fierce animals on board lol.
P/S: Jolene wrote on her journal taking care of animals in Mammals Kingdom.
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