Lok Kawi Wildlife Park Lok Kawi review, 12 Sept 2009 (and follow-up, 12 May 2014)

The Lok Kawi Wildlife Park (aka Lok Kawi Zoo) is south of Kota Kinabalu (state capital of Sabah, Borneo). There’s no public buses going out that way so the only two choices if you don’t have a car, as most tourists don’t, are to take a taxi for around 100 Ringgits or (as I did) to use the very handy shuttle bus operated by Innotravel which only costs 60 Ringgits return and includes the 20 Ringgit entry fee as well. The downsides to it are that it only runs four days a week and it leaves the zoo at 12.30 so you only get about two and a half hours there. As the zoo is 280 hectares that works out at a viewing rate of almost two hectares per minute! In actual fact part of the grounds are taken up by a botanic gardens which I would have visited but time was too short. As it was I just made it round all the exhibits in the allotted time, but didn’t get much leeway for general browsing or even talking much to keepers.

I’ve decided I shall do this review as a tour of the zoo in order to describe the cages, and then at the end I’ll have a little discussion on general affairs. Apologies for all the detail but I know lots of people on the forum like species lists, so I’ll include all the species I saw in the description. I’ll just say first up that I certainly wouldn’t call Lok Kawi a bad zoo, more of an average zoo that could be much better. Some of the cages are terrible, most so-so, a few very good. I get sort of annoyed whenever I see a fairly new zoo that has been built from scratch with lots of available government money, and its been done in a really half-arsed way. Also I should probably point out the obvious, that judgements on whether a cage is large or small are entirely personal and subjective.

Rather depressingly, the first thing you see as you enter the zoo is the elephant riding arena where big fat tourists ride on the back of a very small Bornean “pigmy” elephant. This is the area described as the Children’s Zoo, and also has aviaries for rabbits, guinea pigs and a flying fox (Pteropus vampyrus). Just after this the path forks. The right branch loops back round to the entrance, with along one side being a huge planted cage for squirrel monkeys (marked “hornbill” on the map), then a row of rather unpleasant bare concrete aviaries for a variety of birds. The first is an odd mixed collection consisting of two black lories, a male and two female grand eclectus parrots, a yellow-fronted amazon, a male crimsonwing and what appeared to be a hybrid Trichoglossus lorikeet. Second aviary contained a Goffin’s cockatoo and a lesser sulphur-crested cockatoo; third aviary five hill mynahs; and fourth two Brahminy kites. And then there was a horrible cage for a magnificent white-bellied sea-eagle, the sort of tall narrow cage that really belongs in a zoo museum, where the eagle basically just sits on top of a branch all day and can’t go anywhere. The cages along the other side of the path are a small dark one for a beautiful female clouded leopard (of the Bornean species, which is even more beautiful than the regular mainland species, but maybe that’s just me), and two more the same size for a Malay civet and a common palm civet. The clouded leopard cage has a sign saying that it is “temporary” – it would be interesting to know how long its been in there because I’d wager its for the whole time the zoo’s been open.

The path that goes to the left from the Children’s Zoo leads directly to the Sumatran rhino paddock, which was one of the animals I was most looking forward to seeing. It really was a disappointment though. Not in the animal but in the way it was being kept. There’s a pool at the front and a couple of wallows but there’s basically no shade apart for two roofs on stilts, and worse is that the “paddock”, which isn’t overly large to begin with, also houses at least 23 sambar deer! It is dreadfully overcrowded. There’s an informational signboard about rhinos but really I have no idea what value there is in having one individual of such a critically endangered species here. (I haven’t got time to wade through the forums to find the origin of this animal – was it captured in a plantation? – but there seems little likelihood of any breeding here even if they did get a mate).

Next to the rhino paddock is a larger one, but steep and very dry, for about 18 rusa deer, and then the elephant enclosure. These are all Bornean “pigmy” elephants and the enclosure really is very small for the number they have. Counting the one in the Children’s Zoo and the off-display male, there are twelve elephants here. Three of them are babies, all conceived at Lok Kawi I was informed (rather than originating from captured pregnant females). The male was being kept separate I was told while the babies were young. Sounded reasonable until I saw where he was, chained in a concrete stall with no yard, where he was apparently going to be remaining until the babies were older! That was one of the more depressing things I saw here.

Following along the path you come to a small almost-pit-style enclosure for some young sun bears (I saw four) and then a similar one for two “Malayan” tigers (which also had a tiger-level glass viewing window), and then a reasonable island for five (?) orangutans which was no worse or better than many other orangutan enclosures in other zoos around the world. The path forked again here, so taking the right fork you come to a very good heavily-planted island for 3 Bornean gibbons and 4 or 5 smooth-coated otters. Both species were very active and seemed to be very content with their surroundings. Further along were two rather bare but not too small enclosures for lesser mouse deer and red muntjac (I would have preferred to see the endemic Bornean yellow muntjac, but you take what you get). A small paddock for tembadau followed (tembadau being the Bornean name for the banteng) and then bizarrely a paddock for ankole cattle and a Grant’s zebra. Talk about your surprise exotics!

Following the loop back round to the orangutans again, there’s first a small stall for miniature horses and then one of the absolute worse cages I saw, for proboscis monkeys. There were ten of them including the big male and two little babies, and the cage was just bare concrete with a concrete pool and some metal-bar shelves up near the top. The monkeys were sitting on the floor on their browse, feeding. After being disgusted by this cage and taking a bunch of photos, I realized that the larger cage right next door was the actual proboscis monkey cage which was under renovation. This had a glass viewing window at the front, and was planted and had fake trees. It still wasn’t particularly large though, but maybe I’m hard to please.

The cages that followed were absolutely awful though and there’s no hiding it. They were basically tall glass-fronted boxes, the first for Western tarsier (one) and last for slow loris (two) while the middle two were for brown capuchins (absent, under renovation) and ring-tailed lemurs (two) which was just shocking to me as the cages weren’t even large enough for the single tarsier let alone monkeys and lemurs. Unlike lemurs seen in other zoos, the two here seemed almost moribund.

The walk-through aviary in complete contrast was very large and had been constructed over a well-treed stream gully. There was no signage at all that I saw, so I’m not sure of a full species list but the birds I saw were lots of green imperial pigeons and spot-necked doves, pairs of great argus and crested fireback pheasants, green peafowl, wandering whistling ducks, a pied imperial pigeon, bantams, hill mynahs, a lesser adjutant, a rhinoceros hornbill, and three wreathed hornbills (one of which was obviously hand-raised!).

The reptile area was no worse than that in most zoos (in my opinion reptiles are often given less room than they should). There were three open-topped enclosures for a water monitor, a pile of small estuarine crocodiles, and various freshwater turtles; and glass-fronted cages for two reticulated pythons, an albino Burmese python, dog-toothed cat snakes, Wagler’s pit vipers, and young common iguanas (as well as an empty one that had previously held a king cobra).

After the reptiles there were two adjoining very small pens for three ostriches and a common cassowary, and then a paddock for nilgai, and then you’re back at the rusa again.

So that’s the layout of the zoo. Several enclosures were under renovation although it didn’t seem like they were increasing the size of them, just fixing them up. The area labeled as “Jungle World” was entirely closed off which was disappointing as I’m sure there would have been some interesting small mammals in there (Writhedhornbill may be able to fill that blank in).

According to one of the keepers I spoke to (and I don’t know how much of it was spin and how much true), most of the animals at the zoo are there because they’ve been confiscated or brought in by locals. The female clouded leopard, for example, was being kept illegally as a pet in Ranau. They also have a male but he is permanently off-display as he only has three legs after being caught in a poacher’s trap. There were six tarsiers originally and all apparently were being kept in just one cage which is pretty shocking because I know just how fast and far they can move; I’m not surprised there’s only one left now. I was also told the elephants were all rescued. “Rescued from where?” I asked. “From plantations,” was the answer. Take from that what you will. I can understand the exotic parrots and even the monkeys being donated or confiscated pets but I can’t see how the nilgai, rusa and particularly the zebra were anything but deliberate acquisitions which is a shame as I feel the focus of the zoo should really be solely on the native wildlife.

I don’t personally see the need for a zoo for tourists at all in Borneo as most of them go to the wild areas to see wildlife, such as at the Kinabatangan River, but for the locals I think its great. Most of them never have the opportunity to go where the tourists go so this is their only chance to see some of their native animals, and it’s the locals who need the most educating about the uniqueness of their natural heritage (sorry if that sounds corny!). There are good signs at most of the enclosures, and even some educational posters about wild cats and so forth, but some of the enclosures themselves are just awful and having exotics scattered through the collection does nothing to help the locals appreciate their own wildlife.

I shall look forward to comments from those other members I know have been here, and their opinions (differing or not)

Photos to come in November or so.....

 

over the last few days I've been slowly uploading photos from this visit, and here they are: Lok Kawi Wildlife Park Gallery

 

I returned to the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park today to see how things have changed and what new/different species are on display five years later. I was not impressed. The zoo has not so much stood still as slid backwards – and it wasn't so grand to start with!! Because there is no point doing a whole new review for somewhere basically at a stand-still, I shall just go through the original review and make comments on the various sections. I have also included some of the comments made by easytigger at the time. As before, all species on show are mentioned in the review.

For this visit I had discovered that I could catch mini-bus number 17B or 17C from the KK bus terminal, and this would drop me off at a point from which one can get a “private car” (i.e. an unregistered taxi) for the last 5km for 20 Ringgitts. I found the bus terminal (right outside the Marina Courts Resort Apartments, near the Plaza Wawasan) but there I was told to catch mini-bus number 20B. This went to a township called Kinarut (and cost 3 Ringgitts), and from there I got a private car for 20 Ringgitts. The zoo is 5km from here. There are no buses or taxis at the zoo so one needs to either arrange a time for the taxi to pick you up again, or get the driver's phone number so you can call when ready. I don't know if the Innotravel bus still operates.

There were two elephants in the riding enclosure this time, one a youngster and the other a bull with big tusks. I had forgotten how small these elephants actually were! The highest point of this bull's back was less than six foot off the ground. That's right – I was taller than the elephant!! In the main elephant enclosure there were larger individuals though. The flying fox was gone, so just rabbits and guineapigs in the cages.

The huge cage, now not so well planted, had two blue and gold macaws, a green-winged macaw, a rhinoceros hornbill, a green imperial pigeon, a green peacock, and two tortoises (I think Manouria emys but there was no signage and the person I asked said they were “giant tortoises, native to Borneo”). The squirrel monkeys are now housed elsewhere in the zoo. The entire row of parrot aviaries was empty and being renovated. The parrots were off-show in the aviaries behind so I don't know what is there, apart for one cockatoo of some sort. The eagle aviary was mostly covered in black shade-cloth but now held (totally unexpectedly) three lesser birds of paradise! One fully-plumed male, one un-plumed male and a female. I wonder if they came from the Melaka Zoo.

The female clouded leopard is still in the horrible little cage, and the sign saying it is temporary is still on the cage! Just appalling. They still have the three-legged male clouded leopard off-display as well. They haven't put them together for breeding because apparently the male is very aggressive and the female is very timid/relaxed, and they are afraid he will kill her. (The female was an illegal pet confiscated from someone in the town of Ranau, and the male has three legs because he had been caught in a poacher's snare). The two civet cages now held a solitary leopard cat and two common palm civets.

The rhino has been gone from the zoo for years now. The enclosure has become green with grass and holds only three sambar deer. The next-door paddock, still dry and dusty, had something like thirty rusa deer. I forgot in the original review to mention the chital paddock which is here as well, and now holds around twenty chital. There were nine elephants in the main enclosure – most of them displaying mental issues now that they have been in the tiny area for eight years. Even the younger ones (babies when I first visited) were swaying non-stop, whether through boredom or because they picked up the pattern from their mothers I don't know. Horribly, the bull is still chained in exactly the same place, except now they have added even more fencing to block him from visitors' views (I could see him from only one particular spot).

The bear pit is pretty nasty now, and I only saw two bears. The tiger enclosure is the same (with two tigers). The orangutan island is the same, and I only saw one orang but it was very hot and there is no shade on the island (I heard others inside their house). I saw six otters and one or two gibbons but all were motionless in the heat. The mouse deer enclosure now had one rhea and two emu instead; the muntjac enclosure just had one male red muntjac. There were 16 tembadau (banteng). In the next paddock were eight Ankole cattle and no zebra.

Still one miniature horse. The first monkey cage I mention here is now divided in two, but is still horrible. The first had three or four very sluggish squirrel monkeys and lying asleep on the ground two individuals of thick-spined porcupines (Thecurus crassispinis) – my first ones ever! (And totally unlabelled so if they hadn't been lying in the open I wouldn't have even known they were there). The second part had three young female proboscis monkeys. The main glass-fronted enclosure is for their breeding group of proboscis monkeys; I saw five adults and one baby (but no adult male, so not sure of total numbers).

These cages are still there and still horrible. The first had a leopard cat, the second had two young masked palm civets, the fourth had a Bornean slow loris. The third cage had two of those animals... what are they called again? Oh, that's right, PANGOLINS!! I thought there was only one, but I could juuuust see another in the feeding cage out the back (the main cage has a smaller open-fronted wire cage attached at the rear in which the food dishes are placed, and one of the pangolins was sleeping in there). I had asked at the ticket counter upon entering if they still had tarsiers and they said they did, but apparently the last one must have just died recently because there were none on display. I had also asked, almost off-hand, if they had pangolins, and when they said yes I was gob-smacked. The one I could see was sleeping by hanging over a branch like an old coat thrown over the back of a chair. Awesome. I recently joined the cool guys in the “those who have seen a pangolin in a zoo” club when I saw one at the Singapore Night Safari, but now I am in a much more select club – “those who have seen pangolins in two different zoos!”; actually, to break it down even further, I am now in the veeeery select club of “those who have seen pangolins in two different zoos within three weeks of one another!” Ah yeah, that's the good stuff right there. Anyway, back to Lok Kawi: there were no capuchins anywhere on show, and also no lemurs. The map shows the lemurs to be in the cage now holding squirrel monkeys so I don't know if they have died or are just off-show.

The aviary was closed for renovation. I could see two lesser adjutants and that was all (but it is a very heavily-planted aviary). Outside the aviary was a cage I don't remember and I hadn't mentioned it in the original review so it may not have existed then. It was a tall but not overly large cage, with glass viewing panels around the lower area. It had at least two blue-crowned hanging parrots inside.

Same as before, but with some changes of species of course. The pens held three very fat water monitors; two small saltwater crocs; and a lot of red-eared sliders and Amboina box turtles. The individual cages were mostly unlabelled but there were two reticulated pythons, a very large king cobra, some mangrove snakes, and what I think was a blood python.

Now two ostriches and one cassowary. Six nilgai. Also a serval enclosure which I don't know if it is new since my visit. If it was they must have added it not long after I was there because it is falling apart now with a label saying it is closed. In fact I walked right past it without seeing it, and only on looking at the map realised there was supposed to be a serval enclosure so went back to see it!

….and still closed (or opened and then closed down)! I saw where the binturong had been – a sort of small open island but now overgrown and unused.

 

Same species of pangolin each time?

 

yup, Malayan pangolin. I'm not in the "two species of pangolin" club yet.

 

well good to know that it isn't the same bull (i.e. chained there for that entire time span!). Still very sad for the current bull though!

Bornean elephants really do need a proper sanctuary somewhere, not just a little zoo enclosure. I'm not sure if the forest corridor along the Kinabatangan is even legally protected yet?

 

I have uploaded the photos from the latest visit. They are all of animals because the enclosures hadn't really changed since last time. Some interesting animals there though, including the pangolin, porcupines, clouded leopard, etc. There's also a couple of reptiles I'm not positive on the ID for.

Lok Kawi Wildlife Park Gallery

 

Sadly, I have just learned that the zoo's Bornean Clouded Leopard has died. She would have been about eleven years old (she was obtained as a cub in 2007).

From this article Wildlife park may move to Sugud which mentions it at the end: "With regard to the death of a clouded leopard, Dr Rosa explained that “Ruby” had a heart and late stage kidney problem."

See also this thread about the proposed relocation of the zoo to a much larger site: Lok Kawi Wildlife Park - New zoo proposal may see Lok Kawi relocated