Zoo Negara

So I went to the Kuala Lumpur Zoo the other day (Zoo Negara). The zoo itself was decent; my favorite part being the rain forest setting...it was literally built into the rain forest; there was even still a river going through it! I got to feed an elephant sugar cane, which ended up leading to an intersting situation.

I decided to feed the smaller elephant (on the left), because everyone else was feeding the bigger one (on the right). The big guy wasn't around yet, but after he saw me feed the smaller one he quickly came over and bullied it out of the way. I was now standing right in front of the big elephant, completely out of reach of the small one. There was no way this bully was going to get fed after that act! Every time I walked towards the small elephant though, the big one just kept coming and pushing it aside. I persisted and finally got my chance...at full reach (both of us)...to feed the elephant who really deserved it!

As a huge monkey lover I was severely disappointed that the primate exhibition was closed!! Got to spend a good deal of time with my ape buddies though....first glimpse of Orang-utans, which I will hopefully soon be seeing in the wild!! Also, at this point I need to HIGHLY recommend a documentary called Chimpanzee...its phenomenal.

A lot of people dislike zoos, saying that the animals shouldn't be caged up. I've always felt differently. Yes, these animals deserve to be in the wild, but i truly feel that they are necessary sacrifices for the rest of their race. It is important for educational reasons to have zoos...run properly of course. How are children, for example, supposed to someday grow up to help fight the extintion and for the well-being of these beautiful creatures, without ever having laid eyes on one before!? These animals are having to rely on our help more than ever...and zoos play/should play a huge role its success rate. 

By the way...the animals in Zoo Negara are sponsored :)

See what happens when you lose your sponsors :(