DAY 8: Friday, August 9th
After finishing off with the Giant Panda Conservation Centre in Part 1, here's the second half of the review.
Zoo/Aquarium #23: Zoo Negara (Ampang, Malaysia) - Part 2 of 2
At the top of the zoo are two great ape species, with the Chimpanzees having a long, narrow exhibit. While Konstantin and I were here the chimps were fed and the bedlam from rampaging, hungry chimps was a noisy affair.
There's also a spacious Sumatran Orangutan exhibit, with some trees hotwired while others appear to be accessible by the great apes. If so, this is a stupendous habitat.
Besides the Sumatran Orangutan exhibit, Zoo Negara also has TWO additional orang enclosures and both are for Bornean Orangutans. Here's the first one and the second one can be seen on the right-hand side. Multiple orangutan exhibits became a trend on this trip, particularly later on in Indonesia.
There's a long African Savanna with thick grass that has species such as Sable Antelope, Kafue Lechwe, Plains Zebra and Ostrich. The curator that spent 5 hours with Konstantin and I told us a great story about how the Sable Antelope often jump out of their African Savanna exhibit at night and can be found wandering near their enclosure by staff who arrive early in the morning. Incredible! The antelope then simply leap back into their paddock, as the barrier is extremely low. Apparently this has been going on for a long time and the zoo never has any problems with the animals going far into the zoo's grounds and so in a weird way I suppose the Sable Antelope are technically free-roaming.
My photo shows maybe 50% of the huge African Savanna field. Look at those jungle trees...magnificent!
Tall jungle trees are in the White Rhino exhibit, which is home to 3 rhinos, and there's a similar sized paddock next door for Asian Water Buffalo.
There's a complex that's billed as Mammal Kingdom (part two) and the species here include the following: Leopard, Common Palm Civet, Greater Mouse-deer, Lesser Mouse-deer (a dozen of them all together), Mara and Dusky Pademelon. The Leopard enclosure is a bit tight on space compared to the massive cage found at Taiping Zoo, but the rest of the exhibits here are all very nice.
Common Palm Civet exhibit:
Remember the Rimba Biodiversiti building that I discussed in the first half of this review? It contained what I estimated would be 45 species of mostly amphibians, crabs and insects. Well, elsewhere there is also the Rimba Reptilia building and it's a delightful structure crawling with reptiles.
From Aldabra Tortoises outdoors...
To Saltwater Crocodiles...
Plus outdoor exhibits for species such as False Gharial, Asian Water Monitor, Asian Brown Tortoise and African Spurred Tortoise, all in large, gloriously sun-drenched enclosures.
Indoors, one can find further reptile exhibits for species such as: Cuvier's Smooth-fronted Caiman, Spectacled Caiman, African Dwarf Crocodile, Mangrove Snake, Oriental Rat Snake, Red-tailed Green Rat Snake, Sunda White-lipped Pit Viper, Wagler's Pit Viper, Copperhead Racer, Dog-toothed Cat Snake, Yellow Anaconda, Reticulated Python, Burmese Python, Green Tree Python, Blood Python, Boa Constrictor, King Cobra, Monocled Cobra, Clouded Monitor Lizard, Black-and-white Tegu, Philippine Sailfin Dragon, Snake-necked Turtle and Mata Mata.
Between the indoor and outdoor exhibits, the Rimba Reptilia zone has circa 30 species, which includes 5 crocodilians and loads of snakes. Also, there are multiple enclosures with Reticulated Pythons and Burmese Pythons, featuring 'granite' colour morphs and albino specimens. There's a lot of photos of individual exhibits in the gallery as I took a ton of shots here, so feel free to check them out if you like.
This section is one of the highlights of the zoo.
Zoo Negara has a vast collection and further along the path we discovered an exhibit for perhaps 20 Agile Wallabies, a SECOND Javan Rusa Deer paddock, lots more porcupines, a 'Bee Museum' (which is slightly rundown these days), and there's an odd combination in the zoo's THIRD Malayan Tapir exhibit as the tapirs are combined with Barking Deer and Nyala.
An odd combo to say the least, but at least it's a gorgeous jungle exhibit:
Bee Museum:
At the time, the zoo had an elderly Grizzly Bear (now deceased), as well as Sun Bears and Asiatic Black Bears. Below is a Sun Bear exhibit, with a SECOND Sun Bear exhibit on the right-hand side. Along with Giant Pandas, the zoo had 4 bear species as of last August.
Gaur are seen in several Southeast Asian zoos and of course that includes Negara.
And every zoo in this part of the world adores Capybaras. These guys are up in the penthouse!
The last section of Zoo Negara is the most outdated, with what must be the tiniest Common Hippo pool I've ever seen in my life. I'm guessing that this exhibit is a 1963 original, but I don't know for sure. There are two hippos squeezed into that thing.
Just when you think that Zoo Negara already has a ton of smaller animals across its acreage, visitors walk up to an Aquarium that contains 56 exhibits. Originally telling the story of how a waterway leads to the ocean, geography has been somewhat tossed out the window and now it's mainly full of Asian species in a haphazard order. There are stunning, beautiful murals on the wall, mostly painted by the curator who spent the day with us, but a flaw with the Aquarium is that almost every tank is of a small to average size and the whole setup is a bit old-fashioned.
I'm sure that some zoo nerds who love fish would cherish a visit here, but the way the fish are showcased is in a series of tanks that are not that exciting and Konstantin and I went past the 56 tanks (some of which are even unsigned) at a decent pace. Presentation counts in zoos and this Aquarium is well-done for its era, but it needs modernization in certain parts.
Back outside and further along the path is an outdoor tank called River Giants, which was an old California Sea Lion exhibit. The pinnipeds would escape by leaping over the glass and there was even a couple of unfortunate deaths. The zoo switched to fish and the exhibit now works beautifully and it's enormous.
The last section of the zoo has many old-fashioned cages, which are mostly functional but aesthetically poor. The species list includes: Siamang (two exhibits), White-handed Gibbon (three exhibits), Bonnet Macaque (two exhibits), Stump-tailed Macaque, Lion-tailed Macaque, Ring-tailed Lemur, Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur, Small-clawed Otter, White-bellied Sea Eagle and Griffon Vulture.
This Bonnet Macaque exhibit is an example of the older, 'cagey' part of Zoo Negara. Many of the exhibits here look like this one.
Summary:
Zoo Negara is a wonderful, must-see zoological attraction and it deserves its title as the 'National Zoo of Malaysia'. There's 55 mammal species, including iconic Giant Pandas, mostly in above-average accommodation. The bird collection is mainly confined to one section of the zoo, but in very nice aviaries and there's literally hundreds of wild birds all over the grounds. Rimba Reptilia and Rimba Biodiversiti have a combined 75 reptile, amphibian, crab and insect species, again in excellent exhibits with informative graphics. Then there's an Aquarium with 56 tanks and I'm sure that there's a very long list of fish species of Asian origin if one were to take photos of each individual tank. This is a comprehensive zoo that showcases a wide range of biodiversity from the world's animal kingdom.
I really enjoyed seeing all the smaller critters, from the crab tanks to frog exhibits to the many snake terrariums and outdoor crocodilian pools. Some of the large mammal enclosures (elephants, rhinos, Gaur, tapirs, deer) were amongst the best of their kind we saw on the trip, and there's a wonderful ambience to the grounds with Dusky Langurs, Crab-eating Macaques and White-thighed Surilis all easily seen during a day. If you are lucky you will come across a python or King Cobra on the visitor's path! Malaysia as a whole is a step above Thailand in terms of animal welfare, which is why Taiping and Negara are zoos that should be experienced by any zoo nerds who travel to this part of the world. In many ways, they are superior to North American and European zoos due to the tropical environment and abundant native wildlife that adds a sense of adventure to a zoo visit.
This list might not be 100% accurate but it's probably pretty close.
Mammal species list (55 species): Asian Elephant, White Rhino, Common Hippo, Giraffe, Plains Zebra, Malayan Tapir, Gaur, Axis Deer, Hog Deer, Sambar Deer, Javan Rusa Deer, Barasingha, Southern Red Muntjac, Greater Mouse-deer, Lesser Mouse-deer, Sable Antelope, Kafue Lechwe, Nyala, Banteng, Asian Water Buffalo, Watusi, Dromedary, Tiger (Malayan), African Lion, Leopard, Cheetah (including a King Cheetah), Cougar, Serval, Giant Panda, Brown Bear, Asiatic Black Bear, Sun Bear, Striped Hyena, Bornean Orangutan, Sumatran Orangutan, Chimpanzee, Siamang, White-handed Gibbon, Lion-tailed Macaque, Bonnet Macaque, Stump-tailed Macaque, Ring-tailed Lemur, Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur, Small-clawed Otter, Binturong, Common Palm Civet, Agile Wallaby, Dusky Pademelon, Asiatic Brush-tailed Porcupine, African Crested Porcupine, Indian Crested Porcupine, Cape Porcupine, Malayan Porcupine, Capybara and Mara.
After finishing off with the Giant Panda Conservation Centre in Part 1, here's the second half of the review.
Zoo/Aquarium #23: Zoo Negara (Ampang, Malaysia) - Part 2 of 2
At the top of the zoo are two great ape species, with the Chimpanzees having a long, narrow exhibit. While Konstantin and I were here the chimps were fed and the bedlam from rampaging, hungry chimps was a noisy affair.
There's also a spacious Sumatran Orangutan exhibit, with some trees hotwired while others appear to be accessible by the great apes. If so, this is a stupendous habitat.
Besides the Sumatran Orangutan exhibit, Zoo Negara also has TWO additional orang enclosures and both are for Bornean Orangutans. Here's the first one and the second one can be seen on the right-hand side. Multiple orangutan exhibits became a trend on this trip, particularly later on in Indonesia.
There's a long African Savanna with thick grass that has species such as Sable Antelope, Kafue Lechwe, Plains Zebra and Ostrich. The curator that spent 5 hours with Konstantin and I told us a great story about how the Sable Antelope often jump out of their African Savanna exhibit at night and can be found wandering near their enclosure by staff who arrive early in the morning. Incredible! The antelope then simply leap back into their paddock, as the barrier is extremely low. Apparently this has been going on for a long time and the zoo never has any problems with the animals going far into the zoo's grounds and so in a weird way I suppose the Sable Antelope are technically free-roaming.
My photo shows maybe 50% of the huge African Savanna field. Look at those jungle trees...magnificent!
Tall jungle trees are in the White Rhino exhibit, which is home to 3 rhinos, and there's a similar sized paddock next door for Asian Water Buffalo.
There's a complex that's billed as Mammal Kingdom (part two) and the species here include the following: Leopard, Common Palm Civet, Greater Mouse-deer, Lesser Mouse-deer (a dozen of them all together), Mara and Dusky Pademelon. The Leopard enclosure is a bit tight on space compared to the massive cage found at Taiping Zoo, but the rest of the exhibits here are all very nice.
Common Palm Civet exhibit:
Remember the Rimba Biodiversiti building that I discussed in the first half of this review? It contained what I estimated would be 45 species of mostly amphibians, crabs and insects. Well, elsewhere there is also the Rimba Reptilia building and it's a delightful structure crawling with reptiles.
From Aldabra Tortoises outdoors...
To Saltwater Crocodiles...
Plus outdoor exhibits for species such as False Gharial, Asian Water Monitor, Asian Brown Tortoise and African Spurred Tortoise, all in large, gloriously sun-drenched enclosures.
Indoors, one can find further reptile exhibits for species such as: Cuvier's Smooth-fronted Caiman, Spectacled Caiman, African Dwarf Crocodile, Mangrove Snake, Oriental Rat Snake, Red-tailed Green Rat Snake, Sunda White-lipped Pit Viper, Wagler's Pit Viper, Copperhead Racer, Dog-toothed Cat Snake, Yellow Anaconda, Reticulated Python, Burmese Python, Green Tree Python, Blood Python, Boa Constrictor, King Cobra, Monocled Cobra, Clouded Monitor Lizard, Black-and-white Tegu, Philippine Sailfin Dragon, Snake-necked Turtle and Mata Mata.
Between the indoor and outdoor exhibits, the Rimba Reptilia zone has circa 30 species, which includes 5 crocodilians and loads of snakes. Also, there are multiple enclosures with Reticulated Pythons and Burmese Pythons, featuring 'granite' colour morphs and albino specimens. There's a lot of photos of individual exhibits in the gallery as I took a ton of shots here, so feel free to check them out if you like.
This section is one of the highlights of the zoo.Zoo Negara has a vast collection and further along the path we discovered an exhibit for perhaps 20 Agile Wallabies, a SECOND Javan Rusa Deer paddock, lots more porcupines, a 'Bee Museum' (which is slightly rundown these days), and there's an odd combination in the zoo's THIRD Malayan Tapir exhibit as the tapirs are combined with Barking Deer and Nyala.
An odd combo to say the least, but at least it's a gorgeous jungle exhibit:
Bee Museum:
At the time, the zoo had an elderly Grizzly Bear (now deceased), as well as Sun Bears and Asiatic Black Bears. Below is a Sun Bear exhibit, with a SECOND Sun Bear exhibit on the right-hand side. Along with Giant Pandas, the zoo had 4 bear species as of last August.
Gaur are seen in several Southeast Asian zoos and of course that includes Negara.
And every zoo in this part of the world adores Capybaras. These guys are up in the penthouse!
The last section of Zoo Negara is the most outdated, with what must be the tiniest Common Hippo pool I've ever seen in my life. I'm guessing that this exhibit is a 1963 original, but I don't know for sure. There are two hippos squeezed into that thing.
Just when you think that Zoo Negara already has a ton of smaller animals across its acreage, visitors walk up to an Aquarium that contains 56 exhibits. Originally telling the story of how a waterway leads to the ocean, geography has been somewhat tossed out the window and now it's mainly full of Asian species in a haphazard order. There are stunning, beautiful murals on the wall, mostly painted by the curator who spent the day with us, but a flaw with the Aquarium is that almost every tank is of a small to average size and the whole setup is a bit old-fashioned.
I'm sure that some zoo nerds who love fish would cherish a visit here, but the way the fish are showcased is in a series of tanks that are not that exciting and Konstantin and I went past the 56 tanks (some of which are even unsigned) at a decent pace. Presentation counts in zoos and this Aquarium is well-done for its era, but it needs modernization in certain parts.
Back outside and further along the path is an outdoor tank called River Giants, which was an old California Sea Lion exhibit. The pinnipeds would escape by leaping over the glass and there was even a couple of unfortunate deaths. The zoo switched to fish and the exhibit now works beautifully and it's enormous.
The last section of the zoo has many old-fashioned cages, which are mostly functional but aesthetically poor. The species list includes: Siamang (two exhibits), White-handed Gibbon (three exhibits), Bonnet Macaque (two exhibits), Stump-tailed Macaque, Lion-tailed Macaque, Ring-tailed Lemur, Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur, Small-clawed Otter, White-bellied Sea Eagle and Griffon Vulture.
This Bonnet Macaque exhibit is an example of the older, 'cagey' part of Zoo Negara. Many of the exhibits here look like this one.
Summary:
Zoo Negara is a wonderful, must-see zoological attraction and it deserves its title as the 'National Zoo of Malaysia'. There's 55 mammal species, including iconic Giant Pandas, mostly in above-average accommodation. The bird collection is mainly confined to one section of the zoo, but in very nice aviaries and there's literally hundreds of wild birds all over the grounds. Rimba Reptilia and Rimba Biodiversiti have a combined 75 reptile, amphibian, crab and insect species, again in excellent exhibits with informative graphics. Then there's an Aquarium with 56 tanks and I'm sure that there's a very long list of fish species of Asian origin if one were to take photos of each individual tank. This is a comprehensive zoo that showcases a wide range of biodiversity from the world's animal kingdom.
I really enjoyed seeing all the smaller critters, from the crab tanks to frog exhibits to the many snake terrariums and outdoor crocodilian pools. Some of the large mammal enclosures (elephants, rhinos, Gaur, tapirs, deer) were amongst the best of their kind we saw on the trip, and there's a wonderful ambience to the grounds with Dusky Langurs, Crab-eating Macaques and White-thighed Surilis all easily seen during a day. If you are lucky you will come across a python or King Cobra on the visitor's path! Malaysia as a whole is a step above Thailand in terms of animal welfare, which is why Taiping and Negara are zoos that should be experienced by any zoo nerds who travel to this part of the world. In many ways, they are superior to North American and European zoos due to the tropical environment and abundant native wildlife that adds a sense of adventure to a zoo visit.
This list might not be 100% accurate but it's probably pretty close.
Mammal species list (55 species): Asian Elephant, White Rhino, Common Hippo, Giraffe, Plains Zebra, Malayan Tapir, Gaur, Axis Deer, Hog Deer, Sambar Deer, Javan Rusa Deer, Barasingha, Southern Red Muntjac, Greater Mouse-deer, Lesser Mouse-deer, Sable Antelope, Kafue Lechwe, Nyala, Banteng, Asian Water Buffalo, Watusi, Dromedary, Tiger (Malayan), African Lion, Leopard, Cheetah (including a King Cheetah), Cougar, Serval, Giant Panda, Brown Bear, Asiatic Black Bear, Sun Bear, Striped Hyena, Bornean Orangutan, Sumatran Orangutan, Chimpanzee, Siamang, White-handed Gibbon, Lion-tailed Macaque, Bonnet Macaque, Stump-tailed Macaque, Ring-tailed Lemur, Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur, Small-clawed Otter, Binturong, Common Palm Civet, Agile Wallaby, Dusky Pademelon, Asiatic Brush-tailed Porcupine, African Crested Porcupine, Indian Crested Porcupine, Cape Porcupine, Malayan Porcupine, Capybara and Mara.
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