National Zoo of Malaysia


The National Zoo is a zoo in Malaysia located on of land in Ulu Klang, Gombak District, Selangor, Malaysia. It was officially opened on 14 November 1963 by the country's first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman. The park is managed by a non-governmental organisation known as the Malaysian Zoological Society. For funding, Zoo Negara relies on gate collections and on support from donors and sponsors.
Zoo Negara is home to 5137 animals of 476 different species. Over the years, the zoo has transformed itself to an open concept zoo with over 90% of its animals kept in spacious exhibits with landscape befitting its nature.
Zoo Negara received MS ISO 9001:2008 certification in July 2007, and is a member of the South East Asian Zoos Association. The President and chairman of the zoo is Y. Bhg. Dato' Ismail Hutson.

History

In 1957, the Malayan Agri-Horticultural Association opened a miniature zoo. After the creation of the mini-zoo, the idea of proper zoo gradually gained momentum, and the federal government chose a spot in Ulu Klang, Selangor next to the border of Kuala Lumpur. In the 1960s, Ulu Klang was an undeveloped green area. In 1963, the first Prime Minister of Malaya YTM Tunku Abdul Rahman opened the zoo to the public. Zoo Negara was known as the "Zoo in the Jungle" due to the greenery that surrounded the area.
The zoo welcomed its millionth visitor on 14 February 1966, just three years after opening, and by 1986, the zoo was welcoming over 1 million visitors per year.
The area surrounding the zoo was covered with thick vegetation until the late 1970s as Kuala Lumpur underwent an economic boom. Given Ulu Klang's close proximity with Kuala Lumpur, the area was opened for large scale development as a planned residential area in the 1980s. It has expanded in terms of population ever since. The development has caused the zoo's surrounding areas and also increases the land value where the zoo is located.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, there were plans to move the zoo to other locations in Selangor. However, the plans were largely unpopular among the public as it is seen as an effort by some developers to capitalise on the value of the zoo's large land. With the support from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the State Government, Zoo Negara will not be relocated.

Getting there

Open daily from 9am to 5pm. Last admission at 4pm. The zoo is wheel-chair friendly. Guests with special needs should proceed to Information Counter B beside the ticket counter to seek assistance from the guest service ambassadors.

Admission Fees (info as of May 2019)

Malaysian: Adult RM45.00, Senior Citizen RM23, Children RM18.
Foreigner: Adult RM61 for ASEAN nationals. RM82 for others.
Children: RM33 for ASEAN nationals, RM43 for others.
i-Kad / Working Permit / Dependant Pass :-
Adult: Rm50, Children: Rm25
School Concession Rate: RM13.00 Student, RM17.00 per head for Teacher with min 10 students
OKU / Disabled person with Certificate: Free

Tram Ride

The tram route services eight stops, T1 to T8, via a counter clockwise route. Fees are as follows:
Adult: RM8 with Mykad
Children: RM5 with Mykad

Exhibits

There are 16 exhibits in this zoo. They are:
;Reptile Park
The Reptile Park has both indoor and outdoor exhibits, and includes estuarine or saltwater crocodiles, freshwater crocodiles, false gharials, and African dwarf crocodiles. It also exhibits tortoises and terrapins, including Aldabran tortoises and local Tutong or river terrapins. Snakes in the collection include reticulated pythons, and many venomous snakes.
The Amphibian World center at the Reptile Park has a variety of frogs and toads that originate from various habitats in Malaysia.
;Monkey/Lesser Apes
The zoo's collection of monkeys and lesser apes include gibbons, siamang, silver leaf monkeys, long tailed macaques, and pig-tailed macaques.
Giant Panda Conservation Centre
In 2014, Xing Xing, a male panda, and Liang Liang, a female panda, went on public display at an air-conditioned, purpose-built Giant Panda Conservation Centre next to tram stop T5. The pandas are on a 10-year loan to Malaysia. On 26 May 2018, a yet-unnamed four-month old female panda went on show for the first time. The cub is the second born in Malaysia. The cub's sister, Nuan Nuan, was born in August 2015 and sent back to China in 2017 as part of Beijing's agreement with Malaysia that cubs born in captivity must be sent back to China at the age of two.
;Malaysian Elephants
The Malaysian Elephants exhibit is home to three Malaysian elephants: Siti, a female, was born in 1979 in Frasers Hill and has prominent pink spots on the trunk. Sibol, a female, was born in 1978 and is from Temerloh. The male, Teriang, was born in 1980. His name comes from his birthplace, Triang Pahang. The trio have been in the zoo since they were very young.
;Lake Birds
The Lake Birds exhibit includes painted storks, Black-headed ibis, egrets, swans, pelicans, Black-crowned night heron, and milky storks.
;Bird Aviary
With over 100 species of birds from all around the world, walk in Aviary is also home to a variety of free flying birds. The Birds Photo Corner in the aviary lets visitors take souvenir photos with a variety of macaws and cockatoos on weekends.
;Nocturnal Exhibits
These indoor exhibits are home to fruit bats, the largest bat in the world, which are sometimes called flying foxes, as well as mousedeer and a Malayan tapir.
;Pouchland
Pouchland is home to a variety of marsupials including wallabies, kangaroos, and pademelons.
;Humboldt Penguins
This exhibit is home to Humboldt penguins.
;Children's World
Children's world houses a variety of mostly domestic animals including rabbits, ducks, and chickens running around freely, as well as parrots and Guinea pigs. It includes a mini-rainforest with a variety of plants and insects, as well as a small aviary, fish pond, miniature horse barn, and playground.
;Bear Complex
The Bear Complex is home to several types of bear including Asiatic black bears, brown bears, sloth bears, and Malayan sun bears.
;Savannah Walk
The Savannah Walk is one of the largest open concept exhibits in the zoo, and is home to giraffes, zebras, ostriches, white rhinoceroses, sable antelopes, and scimitar horned oryx.
;Nile Hippopotamus
This exhibit is home to hippopotamuses and pygmy hippos. The zoo has three Nile hippopotamuses: Duke, Kibu, and Chombie. Chombie was born at the zoo.
;Mammal Kingdom
The Mammal Kingdom exhibit includes Leopard, Black Phanter, golden cats, flat-headed cats, raccoons, pumas, leopards, binturong, capybaras, Brazilian agoutis, otters, and porcupines.
;Freshwater Aquaria
Zoo Negara's Tunku Abdul Rahman Aquarium is the first ecological-based freshwater aquarium that highlights the Malaysian river and wetlands. The aquadrium exhibits show the ecosystem or the habitats of Malaysian river systems in the upper, middle, lower estaurine zones and finally, the sea. The aquarium features fish that are commonly seen in Malaysian rivers, as well as rare and endangered species including invertebrates such as crabs, prawns, corals, and aquatic insects.
;Cat Walk
The Cat Walk features African lions, Malayan tigers, White tiger and Cheetah.
;Ape Centre
The Ape Centre is home to Bornean and Sumatran orangutans, and chimpanzees.
;Insect Zoo
The Insect Zoo is the latest attraction at Zoo Negara and displays more than 200 species of insects from around the world. This exhibit is the first of its kind in the country and the largest in the region.
Among the insects at the zoo are butterflies such as the Rajah Brooke's birdwing, tree nymph and Indian leafwing species, orchid and dead leaf mantises, man-faced stink bugs, tarantulas, Malaysian giant scorpions and many more. According to the zoo, "The Insect Zoo is working on compiling a unique collection of insects, including the largest and longest butterfly in the world.”
;Other animals
Other animals in the zoo's collection include swamp deer, guanacos, nyalas, sugar gliders, barasingha, sambar deer, chital, sika deer, wild boar, banteng, gaur, and seladang.

Other attractions

Zoo Negara has bred over 200 highly endangered milky storks. The zoo is currently working with the local Wildlife Department on a release program for these birds. Other breeding achievements include hornbills and the freshwater crocodile - false gharial.

Education

Education is one of the main objective of Zoo Negara. The zoo strive in providing free educational services to schools and group visits. Amongst the free activities include guided tours, talks, seminars and interactive sessions. The zoo has also published its first storybook on 'Manja' the orangutan which covers the life story of 'Manja' the tame orangutan at the zoo and conservation facts on orangutans. Other notable publication is the Animal Classification Workbook which is distributed for free to primary school students.

Zoo Negara Live!

Zoo Negara Live! was a 24-hour internet video feed streamed live from Zoo Negara Malaysia, and was a joint project between Zoo Negara and the Faculty of Art & Design at UiTM Shah Alam. Two Malayan tigers Pacin and Zanah, which were transferred from the Melaka Zoo on 4 April 2007 in an exchange program, are the main attractions of this program.
Three cameras are located inside the show area and one inside the night quarters. Feeding time is around 4:30–6:30 pm. The tigers are usually active in the morning when they are released from the night quarters into their show area. The stream has been unavailable since 4 January 2010.