I have been to Zoo Negara (“National Zoo”) once before, in 2006, but this week I had been putting off going partly because it is far too hot in Kuala Lumpur to be walking around all day, plus (the main reason) it has been raining daily in the afternoon, starting between noon and 2pm or so, and absolutely hammering down with thunder and lightening and the whole works. Every day. And I didn't want to get caught out in that. The main reason I was going to the zoo was to see if they had any interesting small mammals. The zoo publishes complete lists of its collection in the annual reports but the last census I could find online was for 2010 when they listed one flat-headed cat and several civet species. Like any small carnivore enthusiast I've seen flat-headed cat before but I – oh, man, I'm so sorry TeaLovingDave, I just realised what I wrote there; that was really insensitive of me....oh wow, just....I wish there was some way I could edit or even delete what I just wrote, but that would require the existence of some sort of Delete button or something.... (As it happens, to make you feel better, I did not see a flat-headed cat or indeed anything else of particular interest mammal-wise. No, that's not quite true: I saw my first striped hyaenas and my first dik-diks, both of which are probably old hat to UK/European members but were very exciting for me ). [After the visit I also found the 2011 census – they are linked on the zoo website, handily enough – and the flat-headed cat is not on that one] Anyway, getting back on track, I thought it would be nice to see what they had at the zoo. I got there early (or tried to get there early!), not that early is any cooler than the rest of the day but in an effort to avoid the daily rainstorm. There are several ways to get to the zoo, and all of them suck to varying degrees. The easiest way is to just take a taxi but from where I was staying that would have cost about 60 Ringgit and I didn't want to pay that (the zoo itself was going to cost 50 Ringgit). The other ways involve combinations of trains, buses and/or taxis. You can take the LRT (the very easy and efficient city train system) to Wangsa Maju station and then take bus number U34 straight to the zoo, or take a taxi from that same station; alternatively take the LRT to Titiwangsa station and take bus number U23. I left with lots of time, but I first had to take the monorail from where I was staying to the KL Central LRT station (the transport hub of the city) and I don't know if it was because it was Sunday or if maybe one of the monorail trains had broken down but it was over half an hour before the first one arrived. When I finally got to Wangsa Maju station the timetable said it would be 35 minutes before the U34 arrived so I took a taxi instead which only cost 5.20 Ringgit. In total it took almost two hours to get to the zoo. When I finished at the zoo I thought I would take a taxi back to Wangsa Maju – but apparently that costs 30 Ringgit because they have to go “a different way” to get there! So I waited at the bus stop for over an hour for the U34. I think there is just one individual bus that does the U34 route which is why the waiting times are so long. Because of wanting to avoid the expected rain I wanted to get in and out of the zoo fairly rapidly, and that should have meant missing out chunks of the zoo, but I've been here before and how many times does one really need to see orangutans and tigers? I was aiming for the Mammal Kingdom (where the flat-headed cat should be), the Nocturnal House if there was one (where any other interesting mammals should be), and the bird, herptile and fish collections. I actually couldn't remember if they even had a Nocturnal House at Zoo Negara because whenever I tried I could only come up with the one at Dusit Zoo in Bangkok and the one at Chiang Mai. When I got to the zoo I found that quite a lot of the zoo was blocked up with construction works for new exhibits (the major one being for the giant pandas coming some time next year, but also new sun bear enclosures, a new Insect House, etc) and so I did in fact get round the whole zoo and saw everything in just over two hours (bearing in mind that I don't spend long at the “usual” bits like elephants, big cats, etc). Unfortunately the works also meant that several areas of the zoo were closed, including the Amphibian House (upstairs from the Reptile House). Looking in the gallery there was indeed previously a Small Mammal House but that is now closed/gone – I suspect it was right where the giant panda buildling is now being built. The Mammal Kingdom where some of the small mammals are is still there however, and the sign pointing the way had a drawing of a linsang on it! It turns out that the flat-headed cat is long dead, and the only civets they now have (all off-show) are common and masked palm civets [apart for binturongs on-show], and the only Small Cats left (also all off-show) are leopard cats. When I was talking to one of the head staff (I'm not sure what role she had) before I left she asked if it was me who had emailed asking about the flat-headed cat but it was not. I have a sneaky suspicion it may have been Devilfish before his trip but she couldn't remember the sender's name. She did tell me though that the Taiping Zoo has flat-headed cats on display for certain, and several civets including a linsang still (“I think”). I just had a look at the relevant bit of Devilfish's thread and he says he did see a flat-headed cat at Taiping but only found the linsang signage in a rubbish bin. I don't think I can be bothered making a special trip to Taiping just for flat-headed cat though if there isn't anything else really special there. As I said at the start, I was last at Zoo Negara in 2006 and there have been big changes since then with lots of great improvements. These improvements have often come at the expense of the size and diversity of the collection. Many animals have left for elsewhere, which was generally for the best but of course is also disappointing from a Zoochatter point of view (the species which have left were rehomed because their living conditions were unsuitable at Zoo Negara, or they were moved to other zoos for breeding – all good reasons). For example the monkey cages are now heavily-planted hornbill aviaries: it is a little odd, but the zoo's monkey collection has been reduced from a substantial number of species housed inadequately to just one breeding group of bonnet macaques, one old lion-tailed macaque and one old stump-tailed macaque, the latter two of which nowhere else wants so they are stuck with them. (They also have siamang, white-handed gibbons, chimps and Sumatran orangutans, all of which I guess the general public consider to be monkeys anyway). Thereare a couple of photos here from the gallery: http://www.zoochat.com/654/zoo-negara-malaysia-primate-cages-130750/ (from 2010 by Baldur, showing what is now the bonnet macaque cage and including a list of species at that time) and http://www.zoochat.com/654/monkey-cages-zoo-negara-kl-46876/ (my photo from 2006 with a later addition of a species list by phoenix). I've kind of been rambling on for a while already so I should probably start the actual review! It will not be like my latest explicit top-heavy-with-information-and-lists reviews because I was just sort of cruising past things, stopping here and there at especially interesting animals, getting distracted by wild birds, and so forth. I wanted to get to the most likely-looking place on the map for the small mammals, the best bet of which seemed to be the picture of bats (turned out to be a very nice walk-in aviary for Malayan fruit bats rather than what I was actually after) but the most direct route there was blocked by construction fences where they were building the new Insect House. So I took an indirect route to the right from the entrance, which led first past what used to be monkey cages. These used to be horrible ugly things – very tall but just concrete and wire with ropes and such for climbing. Now most of them are heavily-planted and house hornbills. There isn't a great deal of flying room but few zoo aviaries for hornbills provide that anyway so the security provided by all the plants is probably a better factor. Visually they are certainly a far better display than the old monkey cages. There are still some primates here (and one cage is for binturongs). The siamang and white-handed gibbons have planted areas within their cages as well. The only monkeys left (in the entire zoo!) are a group of bonnet macaques, and two old individual animals the zoo can't rehome (a lion-tailed macaque and a stump-tailed macaque). The Childrens Zoo is just here as well but I didn't go in there. One of my favourite parts of the zoo is the Aquarium. I liked it in 2006 and I like it even more now. Between the hornbills and the Aquarium is a large outside aquarium for giant fish, which in 2006 had no labelling but now does (http://www.zoochat.com/654/pangasius-arapaima-zoo-negara-kl-46875/), and there is a small entirely-indoors (temperature-controlled) enclosure for Humboldt's penguins next to this. The Aquarium is at a dead-end path (or rather, it is at the start of the path coming in from a second entrance gate) so once having seen it you then need to back-track to get to the rest of the zoo. The Aquarium is basically a long series of average-sized tanks on a winding corridor, set up almost like home aquariums, but they display only Asian species. These are, of course, dominated by cyprinids and catfish, but there are also loaches, gouramis, snakeheads, gobies, puffers and others. There are a few tropical marine tanks near the end but these were all empty on this visit. A lot of the fish housed in the Aquarium would already be familiar to hobbyists. Most of the fish were all in robust health, with the only real exception being in a large tank for Endangered Fish in which several of the Wallago leeri were looking very unwell indeed. Species which I was particularly taken with because I hadn't seen them before included Thai mahseer Tor tambroides and Malaysian mahseer Tor duoronensis, Vietnamese minnow Tanichthys micagemmae (only described in 2001, and a close relative of the more familiar White Cloud Mountain minnow of China), the stream catfish Akysis pulvinatus and Akysis (Pseudobagarius) pseudobagarius, Hasselt's leaf catfish Silurichthys hasseltii, Lake Inle danio Inlecypris auropurpurea and Lake Inle loach Yunnanilus brevis (the latter two being endemics from Lake Inle in Burma), with honorary mention to the banana wood shrimp Atyopsis moluccensis and also the panda garra Garra flavatra (because it is one of my favourite fish I have kept). Heading back past the penguins and the Show Amphitheatre, I scooted past the common hippos (with a baby) and capybaras, up past the enormous gaurs to where they were constructing the new sun bear enclosures (I can't remember the old ones, but I will assume these are a vast improvement) and then followed the path as it curved round to a mixed enclosure for Malayan tapirs and common muntjac. On the other side of the path was a pen for goats and one for wallabies labelled as red-legged pademelons which I think were dusky pademelons instead (I'll put up some photos later to be proven wrong ), and between the two was a little path leading to the fruit bats. This was a nice walk-in aviary, lushly-planted with lots of signage about how important fruit bats are to the ecosystem, for Malayan fruit bats and lesser mouse deer (but I didn't see the mouse deer). Coming out the other end of the fruit bat aviary I could have gone right which led past some deer pens back to the hippos, or left which would lead me on to the Mammal Kingdom. So I went right – no, just kidding: I went left of course! The flamingo pool here is pretty nice, a good-sized flock, looks suitable for breeding but I don't know if they have or not. I made a side-step to the reptiles which lay off the path to the Mammal Kingdom but never mind. The reptile area is very good, although the amphibian house here was closed for refurbishment. Almost all the reptiles are Asian species (the zoo is very focused on local wildlife) and most of the enclosures are outdoor ones, like pools for turtles and crocodiles (including false gharials) and big terrariums for pythons. There are smaller tanks as well for local snakes like mangrove snakes and Wagler's pit vipers. The path loops back up to the flamingo pool (I think normally you can go off in a different direction as well, but construction fences are everywhere at the moment!), which meant I was back on route. I didn't pause at the Ankole cattle or the ordinary domestic cattle or the banteng, but I did pause at an apparently empty couple of enclosures which looked like they used to be for elephants judging by the size and solidity of the shelters (the reason I paused here was to check out the barn swallows in the sky!). Then I was at the Mammal Kingdom. The first part I saw were fairly small sections of land arranged around a building for the indoor shelters (not on public view) with moats around the front. Moats give unobstructed views but they really remove a lot of land area which would be available for the animals if the enclosures had wire or glass fronts instead. Enclosures here were for binturong and striped hyaenas (a couple of the enclosures nearest the construction of the giant panda were currently empty). I had never seen striped hyaenas before so these were the real highlight of the visit. There are a lot of them at the zoo! There were five separate enclosures here for them, I counted ten animals, and the 2011 census gives a figure of 4.8. Really nice animals, much nicer than spotted hyaenas (which I just saw for the first time at the Shanghai Zoo a couple of months back). Following the path along from the moated enclosures there were more small mammals in two nasty cages which should be removed (common raccoon and Asian brush-tailed porcupines) and open low-walled enclosures (small-clawed otters, Malayan crested porcupines, and another for the same pademelons labelled as red-legged pademelon). The savannah exhibit was opposite so I nipped over to take a photo of the giraffe sign for David Brown (species in here were giraffe, zebra, ostrich and a gemsbok; signage also for scimitar-horned oryx and sable). The path then led up past the giant panda house (under construction) and the dromedary pen to the apes. I was going to flag the apes but I had second thoughts – i.e. I thought it would be regrettable if I later found out the flat-headed cat was for some reason housed in the ape area and I missed it! There are two ape enclosures, one for chimps and one for Sumatran orangutans, both pretty much the same and both very good. They are open-topped but (especially the orangs) have ropes and such between the huge real trees inside. The front has a glass wall for viewing. From the apes you need to go back the way you came to get to the lower left-hand part of the zoo. I went back through the Mammal Kingdom on the way. There was a keeper cleaning the Malayan porcupine pen. He had a box of vegetables on the ground and the porcupines were milling around his feet. Every time he turned away when sweeping the ground the porcupines would start climbing into the box to steal food. Very amusing to watch. I like porcupines. There is a big lake sort of off-centre in the zoo grounds (lots of wild birds in the trees around the lake). A large population of free-range painted storks breed in the trees around the lake, and there is also some sort of pelican (which also appeared to be free-flighted) and mute swans. I saw a couple of black-necked ibis amongst the painted storks which I think were escapees rather than genuine wild birds as well as a marabou stork (the marabou was there in 2011 as well, when Nick@Amsterdam took a photo of it). Coming down from the ape/savannah/Mammal Kingdom area past the lake you first pass the Big Cats, including white tigers, Malayan tigers, lions, leopard and puma. The latter two are in cages (planted and overhung with figs and vines), the others in moated open enclosures. Then there are some enclosures for Malayan tapir, sambar, spotted deer and hog deer, and then you come to the birds. The bird aviaries are all pretty nice, very well-planted, almost entirely Asian species (with a notable non-native [and non-bird] exception of some Kirk's dik-diks, which are the first dik-diks I've ever seen and they are brilliant little beasts!). The individual aviaries are very strangely designed, with the solid keeper-access door smack in the front of the viewing area, and to either side of the door there are planted garden areas – so most of the aviaries have no proper viewing area at all! There are also two walk-through aviaries. The first was nicely-planted, quite large, and had a number of individual owl aviaries around the edges (like the set-up of Jurong Bird Park's southeast Asia aviary, if you are familiar with that one) but I saw literally zero birds inside the walk-through itself. That may have had something to do with the entry doors (at both access points!) getting wedged on the ground every time someone went in or out. Guess how many visitors made sure the door was actually closed after they entered or left? One. Me. The other walk-through – actually a walk-in because it just had one entry-exit point – was a breeding aviary for milky storks, of which the zoo has apparently bred over 250 for release. There were also non-native black swans in here. After the birds there's not much left to see before you get back to the entrance gate. There's a small Australian section with only emus and wallabies (I didn't see the wallabies: the sign called them agile wallabies, but had photos and distribution of red-necked wallabies); then the Asian elephants and another lot of giraffes. Then the exit. So, in closing, one of the better zoos in Asia without question. It has improved markedly since 2006 – and it definitely wasn't a bad zoo then either – and it is making great strides in improving even further in the future. They do a lot of excellent conservation work with local southeast Asian species. There are still a few “bad” cages here and there, most particularly the one the raccoons are in, but they are massively out-numbered by the “good” cages [or enclosures, if you like], and many cages that would have been bad are now good because they now have more appropriate inhabitants or have been renovated or modified. I was very pleased with the progress Zoo Negara has made.
Source, please? Or do you mean debatable aardwolf SUBspecies (Proteles cristata cristata vs. P.c. septentrionalis)?
I am sorry, I understand that primates are not your priority, but I was puzzled that their enclosures looked good to you. Although it has been several years since my last visit, I never forget my vow, not to return because of what I had seen. That day the orangs were indoors, the tiniest space I have ever come across for a group. And the chimps outdoors had absolutely nothing, no enrichment, no climbing structures, not even food to play around with. I doubt there could have been any change in the meantime?
Debatable species insofar as much as the two are so different when compared in person that quite a few of us on here - myself included - believe that both subspecies merit full specific status. Sadly, there is only one place remaining outside of the native range with the southern subspecies - which actually holds both subspecies, hence the ability to compare them in person - and as neither subspecies are threatened in the wild there is little to no interest by scientists in studying them. If I had a zoological biology degree rather than a medieval history one, and lived a little closer to Hamerton Zoo, I would volunteer my services in this regard in a heartbeat
Looks can be deceiving, in particular in the animal kingdom; think of the multiplicity of (alleged) cassowary species described by Lord Walter Rothschild, or many, many more examples of taxonomical errors. However, as far as I know, no serious genetic or morphological studies have been conducted on aardwolves in recent times. Your gut feeling/belief might be correct, but maybe it's not. As long as nothing significant proving otherwise has been discovered, I would still go with two recognized, valid SUBspecies. As for the degree: if you have learned the ropes of proper scientific working, you should be more than qualified to volunteer...
Very true, although the differences in this case extend to the behavioural level too - the southern subspecies is much more diurnal than the eastern, and it seems to me rather more confident too; they are certainly "showier" than the easterns I have seen, and I am given to understand that the other southern aardwolves which have been held in recent decades displayed the same quality. Andy Swales - the owner of Hamerton Zoo - is a great bloke, but somehow I suspect he would not let someone with no animal-related qualifications do work on the skeletons of his Southern Aardwolves when they die I just hope he does something like freeze the bodies so that if someone *is* able to do work on the subject they are available for study.
Well, behaviour can be rather flexibel within the given whole range of a species. The tendency of "pulling focus"( ) or preference of certain day times can be influenced by a number of external factors, among others also husbandry conditions. How many specimens have you observed to observe an actual tendency? As you've mentioned previously, the numbers of specimens and aardwolf keeping institutions is rather small. Thereby deducing such generalizations from such limited source material might be rather intangible, don't you think? @Other readers: sorry for going OT.
I have observed 2,2 Eastern Aardwolves at two collections (Edinburgh and Hamerton), and 0,2 Southern Aardwolves at one collection (Hamerton). I have also heard a number of second-hand observations of 2,2 Southern Aardwolf individuals different from those I have seen at two collections (Twycross and Hamerton) and 1,1 different Eastern Aardwolf individuals at a single collection (Berlin) Although behavioural quirks can sometimes be discounted due to external factors, and anatomical differences can sometimes be discounted due to individual variation, the combination of the two is less easily disregarded; the fact that all the Southerns I have seen or heard about displayed the same behaviour and anatomy, and all the Easterns I have seen or heard about displayed the same behaviour and anatomy, rather suggests that the differences between Eastern and Southern are more than just individual variation.
It might have been - I would have focused more heavily on other species though. Although I was excited at the prospect of seeing flat-headed cats, it seemed a fairly solid bet before I left as my plans included Melaka's Zoo and Butterfly Sanctuary, Taiping, Zoo Negara, Dusit, Khao Kheow (+Songkhla, Korat and a private confiscation centre). In the end I only saw two, in Khao Kheow and in Taiping. Taiping is well worth a visit if you're in the area or if you've just got plenty of time. Currently it seems to be Malaysia's best zoo.
I only saw the outside of course but April looks good. However, as you know, the Chinese side needs to inspect the enclosure once it is complete to make sure it is suitable before anything further. The guy at the information counter said it would be two or three months until the pandas arrived; the higher-up woman I talked to (about flat-headed cats and civets) was more realistic and said they weren't sure. It always makes me smile hearing how the Chinese have so many demands over the design of the panda enclosures overseas when in China they are just kept in bog-standard enclosures.
The weather sounds exactly like when we were in Singapore (also early Dec), is this (afternoon rainstorms) a standard seasonal weather pattern in SE Asia?
I second that. There aren't any species that are particularly outstanding (to Chlidonias at least!), but it's a better managed facility than Zoo Negara.
The Nov to Mar period is usually the monsoon season for southern SE Asia (southern Thailand, Malay Peninsular, Indonesia).
