Malacca Zoo - The second largest zoo in Malaysia

Zoo Melaka with an area of 54 acres (21.2 ha) is situated in Ayer Keroh, which is a well-known tourism destination in Melaka. The zoo was established in 1963 and originally under the Melaka State Government but its management was taken over by The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP/PERHILITAN) in 1979 and was officially opened to public by the then Prime Minister, Dato Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad on 13th August 1987. The zoo which is also a member of the South-East Asian Zoological Park Association (SEAZA). consist of 4 division that is administration, veterinary, curator and zoo development division.

Zoo Melaka has progressed rapidly to be the second biggest zoo in the country. Located approximately 13 km from the city center of Melaka, it was the first zoo in the region to exhibit the endangered Sumatran rhinoceros and Gaur. At present, there are a total of over 1200 specimen made up of 200 species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians in the zoo.

The major attractions of Zoo Melaka are the Malayan Gaur, Serow and the Malayan Tiger. In line with the current zoo development Zoo Melaka adopted an open concept and maintains the natural green environment. Zoo’s Melaka role is as a centre for wildlife research, conservation breeding, zoo education center and a popular tourist destination. In order to achieve its goal, the four major functions Zoo Melaka are as follows:

Captive Breeding

Zoo Melaka functions as the major ex-situ breeding center for the DWNP. In this programme, breeding stock, especially the local threatened species are sourced for breeding in the zoo. Species successfully bred includes tiger, panther, tapir, serow, barking deer, sambar deer and many others.

Research

Research works carried out emphasized on medical research/treatment and behavioural studies. Zoo Melaka also provides support for researchers from DWNP and other institutions of higher learning. 

Recreation

Zoo Melaka provides affordable recreation opportunities. Promotions were carried out to attract more visitors and hence generating more revenue to the government and contributing toward the development of national tourism industry.

Education

The programme is designed to create awareness to the general public on wildlife and its conservation. Among the activities are lectures, video shows, publication of printed material and signage posted at all exhibits in the zoo.

Activities
Multi-animal show
Photography session with Orang Utan, birds and snake after show
Elephant Show
Photography session with elephant after show
Elephant feeding
Elephant and Horse rides
Every weekend, public holiday and school holiday
Tram Service

Visiting Hour

Day Zoo
Time : 9.00 am - 6.00 pm
Day : Monday - Friday

Night Zoo
Time : 8.00 pm - 10.00 pm
Day : Saturday, Sunday, School Holiday and Public Holiday

Entrance Fee :

Day Zoo

Adult (13 years and above)
Normal price - RM 7.00
Package price - RM 5.00

Children (5-12 years old)
Normal price - RM 4.00
Package price - RM 2.00

Student with uniform
Normal price - RM 2.00
Package price - RM 2.00

Video Camera
Normal price - RM 10.00
Package price - RM 10.00

Night Zoo

Adult (13 years old and above)
Normal price - RM 10.00
Package price - RM 8.00

Children (5-12 years old)
Normal price - RM 5.00
Package price - RM 4.00

Note : Camera, video camera and torchlight are not allowed for the Night Zoo.

Sponsor

The Zoo Melaka Adoption Scheme provides opportunity for individuals, private companies and corporate bodies to sponsor wildlife species in the zoo. The sponsorship will help support the cost of maintaining the animals. All sponsorship will be deposited into the Zoo Melaka Trust Fund which is managed by the zoo. Proceed from this trust fund will be used to pay for additional food for the animals, medicine, enclosure improvement and modification.

Privilege Afforded To Sponsors:
i.	Free admission and the number of tickets depend on the amount of sponsorship.
ii.	Signboard of sponsorship will be erected at the animal enclosure for sponsors above RM 1,000.00. The sponsors will be allowed to include their logo on the signboard.
iii.	Sponsors will be allowed to conduct separate promotional programmes, which benefits both parties.
iv.	Sponsors will be allowed to organize their own activities such as Family Day in specific areas in the zoo.
v.	Sponsors will enjoy free publicity apart from the cheque presentation ceremony. These include World Children Day, press releases on new animals born in the zoo and other occasions, which the zoo organizes.
vi.	A certificate of appreciation will be presented to sponsors contributing more than RM 1,000.00
vii.	The Director of company sponsoring the animal adoption scheme will be invited to present the sponsorship cheque to the Chief Minister of Melaka in a special ceremony.
viii.	All sponsorship to the Zoo's Adoption scheme will be tax exempted under Section 44(6) Akta Cukai Pendapatan 1967.
ix.	Sponsors pledging more than RM 10,000 will be allowed to erect their own signboards.

For more information, please contact:

Director

Zoo Melaka
Hang Tuah Jaya, 75450 Ayer Keroh, Melaka.
Tel: 606-232 4054
Fax: 606-232 5859 
E-mail: zoomelaka@wildlife.gov.my

Luxury car-go for smuggling

KUALA LUMPUR: A casual observer would be none the wiser seeing a tricked-out luxury car speeding down the highway. That is exactly what traffickers hope for as they transport their illicit cargo of endangered wildlife. Perhilitan, the Wildlife Protection and National Parks Department, said it had come across quite a number of cases of Malaysian-registered luxury cars being modified to hide the animals. “Transporting the animals using lorries is the more obvious choice while luxury cars don't usually arouse suspicion,” a Perhilitan spokesman said.

Traffickers are also getting smarter, switching modes of transport where it is least expected. The spokesman said the department had encountered cases where the luxury cars were driven from Johor to Kuantan in Pahang for the precious cargo to be transferred to a ship to be taken out of the country. Another tactic is to hide illegal wildlife by mixing them with products such as fish and vegetables while some traffickers try to pass off the animals as airline cargo, the spokesman said.

He said enforcement activities to stop animal smuggling are being hampered by information leaks, with “tontos” people working for syndicates monitoring the movement of Perhilitan officers. “We also have to deal with false tip-offs, getting information that is inaccurate and outdated,” said the spokesman, adding that the department urgently needed more enforcement officers. “We have forwarded the request for more staff to the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.

“In the meantime, we have to ensure our staff are trained to deal with international wildlife crime, with the help of the police, Customs Department, the Anti-Smuggling Unit and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency,” he said. To break the multi-million ringgit cycle of illegal wildlife trade, the Government is hitting smugglers where it hurts. The Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 spelled the end of token fines and slaps on the wrist for convicted wildlife traffickers.

Offenders now face fines of up to RM500,000 and mandatory jail time. The highest penalty imposed on a wildlife offender by the courts to date is a RM200,000 fine and one-day jail on an individual in Penang for possessing 135 pangolins in Feb 23 last year. From the time the Act took effect, the country saw a drastic drop in wildlife smuggling cases from about 3,500 cases a year from 2007 to 2010 to just 464 in 2011. 

While the sharp dip is proof that the heavy penalties under the new Act, coupled with intensified multi-agency operations, are working, the Perhilitan spokesman said the department has to be on its toes to keep up with the increasingly sophisticated methods used by the traffickers.

Source: thestar.com.my

New regulation seeks to improve zoo conditions

A new regulation spells hope for the betterment of animals kept in zoos.

IF animals could laugh and sing in happiness, there would be some trumpeting of joy emerging from zoos and wildlife parks in Peninsular Malaysia for on Feb 1, the Wildlife Conservation (Operation of Zoo) Regulations 2012 was gazetted.

The new regulation gives voice to the need to regulate zoos systematically and to higher standards. Animal lovers and conservationists have long highlighted the terrible conditions under which wildlife is held in captivity in such establishments. The problem was also widely highlighted in the media last year.

The new regulation is made possible with the enforcement of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 in December 2010. It replaces the Protection of Wildlife Act 1972 which had been criticised as lacking bite and failing to address many concerns.

Contrasting habitats: At Taiping Zoo, the orang utan enclosure has a good soft substrate and enrichment equipment, such as climbing vines.

 One of the failures was the lack of power for the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) to act against errant zoos and wildlife parks. Also, the old legislation has no provisions addressing wildlife welfare and cruelty to captive animals. The new regulation resolves these loophole as it provides for some areas where Perhilitan could take action against errant zoos.

Zoo operators have a six-month grace period to comply with the new requirements of the regulation. Those which do will be issued an annual permit. Any person operating a zoo without a permit is liable to a fine not exceeding RM70,000 or/and a prison term not exceeding three years.

The new regulation requires zoos and animal parks to:

> Adhere to minimum cage sizes, which are specified according to various animal groups.

> Have a quarantine area and a veterinary clinic or hospital.

> Employ a full-time consultant veterinarian.

 > Provide vaccination of animals by a veterinarian or anyone under his supervision.

> Provide nutritious and sufficient food for the animals, as prescribed by a veterinarian.

> Maintain a record of kept animals and their health care.

> Ensure the cleanliness of the facility.

> Conduct euthanasia of wildlife whenever necessary.

> Conduct wildlife shows that involves the animals’ natural behaviours only.

 > Submit a deposit to Perhilitan for the upkeep of animals should they be seized.

Instead of a grassy meadow to graze, all that these deer have in their enclosure in a wildlife park in Bukit Merah, Perak, is muddy earth. Wildlife groups are unhappy that the new regulation is silent on the suitable types of substrate for animal enclosures.

Operators who contravene these provisions are liable to a fine not exceeding RM100,000 or/and a prison term not exceeding five years.

Singapore-based non-governmental organisation Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres), which has done several surveys of Malaysian zoos and pointed out the weaknesses of these establishments, views the new regulation positively.

“It is undoubtedly a good start and it shows that Perhilitan is serious about addressing zoo animal welfare issues and has also responded positively to the feedback given by Acres, other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and members of the public. This is undoubtedly one of the best zoo regulations we have seen in South-East Asia,” says executive director Louis Ng.

Upreshpal Singh, founder of the Friends of Orang Utans Malaysia, concurs. “The new law looks really good and it comes at a time when many zoos still have to improve, some more so,” he says.

While acknowledging that the new regulation is “a good start”, Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) president S.M. Mohamed Idris questions if Perhilitan has the manpower to inspect the many operations that house wild animals. “The new legislation cannot be effective until enforcement officers have acquired expertise in recognising defects in animal husbandry and can devote their time to unannounced physical checks of premises,” he says.

The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry (NRE), however, assures that there will be enough manpower to scrutinise the zoos as it will rely on Perhilitan’s zoo audit team, law enforcement team and wildlife crime units, as well as its own independent zoo review panel. In response to concerns raised by Traffic South-East Asia senior communications officer Elizabeth John, it says the operating permit of a zoo will not be automatically renewed each year. An audit would be done first to ensure compliance with the regulation. In addition, Perhilitan will conduct enforcement checks, attend to public complaints and provide advice to the zoos.

A March 2011 filepix of a sickly lion with wounds on its head and skin lesions, in a tiny cage with damp flooring at Saleng Zoo in Kulai, Johor. The new regulation stipulates minimum cage sizes for captive animals.

Too lenient

Sean Whyte, founder of Britain’s Nature Alert and a strong critic of Malaysian zoos, describes the regulation as “comprehensive and excellent”. However, he worries about Perhilitan’s dismal record in enforcing the law and the leniency which it has shown to some zoos. “The new law will be useless if not enforced diligently and transparently by Perhilitan. We can only judge them by what they do, not by what they say they will do,” cautions Whyte.

The Ministry counters that NGOs, instead of making accusations, should join Perhilitan in its Teman Zoo Program (Friends of Zoos Programme), an outreach programme launched in July last year for guidance to zoo operators.

“The NGOs can file their complaints to various government agencies, media and political parties if they feel Perhilitan has committed any wrong doings,” it adds.

Measures to monitor the diet of captive animals and their health records are addressed in the Zoo Best Management Guidelines which are now being drafted. On the NGOs’ criticism that the regulation is silent on the type of substrate and furniture used in animal enclosures, the Ministry says these will be controlled by Perhilitan’s zoo audit team and the NRE zoo review panel.

The Ministry says animal inventory – data on births, deaths, acquisitions, escapes, transfers and releases – will be governed by the main Act, specifically in the provisions on “licences and permits”, and also under “duties and obligations”.

“The animal’s record must tally with the tag ID which must be reported to the licensing division for verification when acquiring the animal,” says the Ministry.

But a perusal of the main Act sees some ambiguity in matters concerning animal births, escape and release.

Purely entertainment

One contentious issue with regards to wildlife park operations is the running of animal shows to entertain visitors. Among the acts which had wildlife lovers fuming were: a sun bear made to support itself on a rolling drum; a pig-tailed macaque on a leash made to dive into a tank of water from a raised platform; and orang utans made to cycle.

Previously, zoos have been issued “instructions” to conduct shows which only exhibit the natural behaviour of animals but this was openly flouted. The instruction is now provided for under the regulation.

The Ministry says if zoos fail to comply with the new requirement after the six-month grace period, action will be taken. “The public, too, must do their part by not demanding for circus acts and shy away from it. Awareness is pertinent in this aspect,” it says. To ensure the welfare of captive animals, matters pertaining to cruelty and mistreatment are covered in the main Act.

Do it right: Will our zoos look like this in future? This lush enclosure at Singapore Zoo provides a semi-wild environment for a captive tiger.

Meanwhile, three other regulations are being drafted to address other concerns. The proposed Wildlife Conservation (Disposal) Regulations will stipulate matters on euthanasia of animals and require records of disposals to be reported to Perhilitan’s licensing division. The proposed Wildlife Conservation (Commercial Captive Breeding) Regulations will regulate breeding and surplus zoo animals. Transportation of animals to and from zoos will be covered under the proposed Wildlife Conservation (Exhibition) Regulations.

Meanwhile, SAM asks that all proposed new zoos and parks – such as the purportedly largest bird park in South-East Asia, to be sited at the Botanical Gardens in Ayer Keroh, Malacca; the zoo in Kemaman, Terengganu; and the Bukit Gambang Safari Park in Kuantan – be put on hold. It says getting existing zoos to meet the new standards should be the priority for Perhilitan.

The department, however, sees no reason why the new zoos should not be set up as long as they are in accordance with the new regulation. Well, it remains to be seen how effective the policing of the new law will be. Meanwhile, those concerned with the treatment of animals in zoos say they will be vigilant.

Source : thestar.com.my

Malaysia to restrict trade in big-eyed sugar gliders

Sugar Glider courtesy of Pxleyes.com

Malaysia will tighten controls on the trade in sugar gliders, a big-eyed gliding possum increasingly popular in the pet trade in Southeast Asia and the United States, according to the country's Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan).

As reported by TRAFFIC, Perhilitan’s Deputy Director Zaaba Zainol Abidin said his agency will move to protect sugar gliders under Malaysia's Wildlife Conservation Act. Currently sugar gliders are subject to quotas in Malaysia, but the 225 annual harvest limit appears to be grossly exceeded.

TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, applauded the announcement.

"TRAFFIC welcomes this proactive move by Perhilitan to control the trade in Sugar Gliders," said Chris R. Shepherd, Deputy Regional Director of TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, in a statement.

"We support these efforts to provide better protection against illegal wildlife trade, which in many countries appears to continue with little interruption from the authorities. Current levels of trade in wild-caught Sugar Gliders not only indicate that quotas are being ignored, but also suggest trade may potentially be a serious threat to this species."

Sugar gliders, a type of marsupial, live in the rainforests of eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Australia. Most animals available in the pet trade in Malaysia are trafficked from Indonesia. Only a small number are believed to originate from captive breeding facilities in Indonesia.

Source: mongabay.com

The viability of animal crossings in Malaysia

A research project looks at whether wildlife crossings work.

THE forest reserves around Tasik Kenyir in Terengganu teem with wildlife. Aside from the 230 bird species which the area is known to harbour, research group Rimba in recent surveys has recorded at least 19 mammal species in the area.

Their camera traps have captured stunning images of various rare and endangered species. In one picture, a female Asian elephant and her calf, their eyes shining in the flash of the camera, are seen making their way through leaf litter. In other images, tigers, sun bears, clouded leopards, tapirs and serows make up more of the jungle milieu.

 For most of these animals, a large expanse of habitat is crucial for populations to remain viable in the long term. But their habitats are being cut up by advancing development. In addition to being a barrier for animals to reach resources such as food, shelter and mates, isolated and fragmented habitats pose a threat to the healthy mixing of populations. A genetically diverse pool of individuals is needed to avoid the negative effects of inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity.

Unfortunately habitat fragmentation is a problem in Malaysia, albeit one that has, to an extent, been addressed by the Central Forest Spine (CFS). Part of the National Physical Plan, the CFS is a masterplan which delineates a network of forest complexes connected by ecological linkages (corridors of forested land) to create a contiguous forest running the length of Peninsular Malaysia.

The forests around Tasik Kenyir, including the Hulu Temelong, Petuang and Tembat forest reserves (in which Rimba researchers are surveying a 140sqkm stretch), make up one such linkage. Known as Primary Linkage 7, this green corridor links Taman Negara to forests in the north. The area is one of three priority areas in the National Tiger Action Plan, a blueprint document on the conservation of the big cat.

The reserves are bisected by the Kuala Berang highway, which forms a dangerous barrier for migrating wildlife. Intrusions such as this into the sanctity of our wilderness are by no means unique and are a regular occurrence worldwide. 

Come this way: An ‘eco-bridge’ at Sungai Kembur along the Simpang Pulai-Kuala Berang road enables animals to cross between forests fragmented by the highway.

Safe crossings

The trend of building wildlife crossing structures began in the 1950s and is today a common strategy deployed in many countries. Some of the most recognisable structures were built in the 1970s in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada, where 24 vegetated overpasses provide safe passage over the Trans-Canada Highway for bears, moose, wolves and many other species.

Crossings don’t have to pass over obstacles, however. In the Netherlands, over 600 tunnels have been installed under major and minor roads to aid in movements of the endangered European badger.

In Malaysia, the Kuala Berang highway features 10 viaducts which offer traffic-free crossing points for wildlife. Viaducts are elevated road structures, typically passing over a valley or lower ground, and supported by arches or columns. Three of these viaducts were built specifically as wildlife crossing points, and have been termed “eco-viaducts”. Unlike the vegetated overpasses in Alberta, safe passage for wildlife in our viaducts lies with passing under the structure.

The construction of eco-viaducts in Malaysia has been championed by environmentalists as a promising measure but there have as yet been no studies to confirm their effectiveness in the tropical context. The task of verifying their usefulness is a huge undertaking and requires many months of survey and data collection through thick forest, followed by months of data analysis.

Nonetheless, having science to verify the effectiveness of well-intentioned policy is important to ensure the best solutions for protecting Malaysia’s valuable stocks of biodiversity. That is precisely the thinking behind Rimba, a coalition of local and foreign scientists, which has embarked on a project to monitor the use of wildlife crossings along the Kuala Berang highway.

Country-specific solutions

The combination of wildlife crossings and roadside fencing has been found to be helpful for some species. Rimba’s Kenyir Wildlife Corridor Project lead researcher Gopalasamy Reuben Clements, 32, says that in Malaysia, the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) had previously tried to funnel animals underneath viaducts through the construction of electric fences.

But what works for wildlife crossings in other countries might not be appropriate for Malaysia. One consideration is a difference in local fauna. Elephants, for example, are known to have fixed migration routes; they broke through the fencing.

Another important factor is rampant illegal trade in wildlife. The country’s excellent infrastructure and road networks, many of which bypass forest reserves, not only open up access to wildlife poachers but offer convenient routes for a speedy onward journey.

“So far, NGOs have been recommending the building of viaducts but the poaching element hasn’t been looked at,” Clements points out. The conservation biologist hopes his study will determine whether animals at such wildlife crossings might in fact, be more vulnerable to poachers.

The Kenyir Wildlife Corridor Project is part of his PhD research with James Cook University in Queensland, Australia. A Singaporean and Master’s graduate from the National University of Singapore, Clements is also a research associate with Universiti Malaya and previously worked at World Wide Fund For Nature Malaysia on tiger and rhinoceros conservation projects.

When roads cut through wild areas, animals can end up as roadkill.

In total, Clements and his team have installed 80 camera traps – 40 within forest reserves on either side of the highway, and the rest, in and around the viaducts. They have covered 140sqkm of jungle, trekking some 8km a day and roughing it out in the jungle, to look for signs of wildlife and rotate cameras around the study grid to get a more representative data.

Covering the entire area took them three months, and they still have two more rounds of sampling to go before it’s time to analyse the data. Nevertheless, the team has already been able to glean some insights.

For example, they noticed one particular tiger, recognisable by its stripes, was captured by cameras located both north and south of the highway, but not at ones placed near or under any of the viaducts.

“That shows it didn’t use the viaduct. So for large mammals, these viaducts may not be so useful. But as you can see, you have tapirs and other animals to consider, too. And we don’t know whether the tiger will use the viaduct in the period between now and the end of the study, so it’s just preliminary.”

Part of the project’s mission is to identify potential access routes for encroachment. This they found – near, under and along the viaduct access road. They also found old camps in sheltered areas underneath the viaducts, and cameras have captured images of people carrying fishing rods. Such evidence of human presence is not seen at three of the newer viaducts. Clements hypothesises that these are probably too remote.

The study should reveal if wildlife are actually utilising the structures and if so, which ones. But what do we do if the eco-viaducts prove to be less effective than hoped? That, according to Clements, does not mean the structures lose their usefulness. It might call for a tweak in strategies – such as more wildlife patrols – to increase their effectiveness.

By seeing how other factors determine the effectiveness of eco-viaducts, future crossings can be planned accordingly. Potential factors, says Clements, could be the distance between the viaducts and human settlements, the quality of forests on the other side of the road barrier, and physical features such as reduced vegetation under the viaduct or reduced food resources due to the presence of large adjacent water bodies.

Adoption programme

The Rimba project is a mammoth undertaking requiring expensive technology (the cameras, password-protected and possessing inbuilt lens, cost RM1,500 each) and manpower (to conduct surveys and handle the cameras). Clements has 80 camera traps in action right now but needs 150. With more cameras, his team can do more accurate population estimates.

So far, funds have come from grant disbursing organisations, including the two universities Clements is attached with, and private donors. These are enough to pay for the 80 cameras and five field assistants.

Rimba also needs funds for 10 satellite collars for a project on the management and ecology of Malaysian elephants, to be led by Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz, an assistant professor with the University of Nottingham (Malaysia campus). At RM13,000 each, the collars will show the movement patterns of each animal, thus providing insight into how they cross roads and use viaducts.

Companies, organisations, societies, schools and individuals can support the work of Rimba by adopting a camera, satellite collar or ranger.

> Camera trap (RM1,500) – You will get a certificate, the opportunity to personally place your camera trap in the forest, and get e-mail updates of captured images every three months.

> Satellite collar (RM13,000) – You will get updates of the collared animal every three months, a half-yearly progress report and a three day-two night stay at Rimba Field House.

> Ranger (RM18,000) – You will get a certificate, an opportunity to place three camera traps in the forest, receive e-mail updates on these traps every three months as well as a half-yearly progress report, and a three day-two night stay at Rimba Field House plus an opportunity to accompany the ranger on field surveys.

Clements believes that creating a bridge between researchers and the public as well as providing people with opportunities to get involved in conservation projects can make a difference. Research is important – it helps indirectly by knowledge creation, and deters illegal poachers by the mere presence of researchers in the forest. On that note, it is a cause worth supporting.

Source: myrimba.org