No holiday is complete without some time in the sun with plants or animals for us as a family, hence, on a trip to Kuala Lumpur, we took a 50-minute GRAB ride from Sunway Resort Hotel to explore Zoo Negara, Malaysia’s largest zoo!
On the way there, our GRAB driver was interested to know if we wanted to visit Zoo Negara to meet the pandas before they head back in China in August 2023. This made us even more excited to pay the zoo a visit.
Zoo Negara, Malaysia: An Open Zoo
As we entered Zoo Negara, we were immediately struck by its open concept.
We saw many storks freely roaming around and flying so close to us as the keeper blew his whistle to round them up for feeding.
It felt as if we had stepped into Jurong Bird Park and we absolutely loved those nostalgic feelings!
After the storks had made their way past us, we spotted more birds like the Malayan Peacock Pheasant and Emu. They looked well fed and well taken care of.
As we took a turn, the kids squealed in delight to see so many Spotted Deer in one huge enclosure. They looked so majestic yet gentle as they gathered around for their morning feed.
Two Malayan Tigers and a White Tiger were also housed at Zoo Negara. We couldn’t help but admire how beautiful they looked.
This next animal we encountered really stood out to us.
The Pantagonian Mara is actually from the rodent family and is also the fastest rodent in the world. This was our first time seeing one and looked so much like a rabbit!
As we walked further on, we felt as if we had stepped into a safari with free roaming giraffes, zebras and deer.
The view at this part of Zoo Negara was amazing as we could even see the a mountain across the vegetation from where we stood. Who would have thought we were in a zoo!
Quiz time! What do you call a baby porcupine? A porcupette! Yes, Zoo Negara houses these adorable prickly animals and we learnt that they have poor vision but a very strong sense of smell!
Panda Time
Finally, it was time to meet the pandas. But before that, we had a chance to make a comparison between the different type of bear skulls at a display exhibit.
It was our first coming close to such amazing bear skull specimens! They were right next to the panda enclosure.
The panda enclosure looked just like the one at River Wonders in Singapore.
Currently, Zoo Negara houses two pandas named Fu Wa and Feng Yi who will be returning to China in August 2023.
Yes check out their adorable sleeping poses too!
Reptiles at Zoo Negara
For us no trip to the zoo is complete without a visit to the see the reptiles like the Komodo dragons, many species of snakes and more!
It was also such a treat to find so many cute capybaras too! Look at how adorable they are when they sleep!
There was a Children’s World at Zoo Negara where we could pet rabbits and ponies!
There were also some cockatoos and guinea pigs too! The bunnies were also too cute and fluffy to resist!
Final Thoughts
In our opinion, though Zoo Negara may seem older than most zoos, it still houses a beautiful number of animals which are well taken care of. We thoroughly enjoyed its rustic feels!
It was certainly a wonderful place to meet animals if you are looking for places of interest other than the theme park to take the kids during a visit to Kuala Lumpur!
Visiting Zoo Negara
Where: Jalan Taman Zooview, Taman Zooview, 68000 Ampang, Selangor, Malaysia
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