It's another work-filled Sunday- yes, Sundays are meant for resets, sleeping in and connecting with friends and family. However, I still had a long list of tasks to complete. That's just the life as an adult new to the working world. But this day, I'd decided that all my work had to be moved aside, in order to make way for a half-day volunteering at Zoo Negara. First Steps For Wildlife (FSW), a youth organisation focusing on wildlife conservation, had set up a collaborative event with the national zoo of Malaysia to provide volunteers an opportunity to experience life as a zookeeper. I did not know what to expect, but I was extremely excited. Being interested in environmental and wildlife conservation, I have often involved myself in programmes that raise awareness on the environment. I couldn't wait to see what FSW and Zoo Negara had in store for me.
I arrived at the zoo around 8 in the morning. It took me RM10 to enter the car park- adding it to the RM35 volunteer fees I was required to pay for, I had spent the price of a typical ticket into the park for an adult Malaysian (foreigners are charged differently).
The volunteers had gathered at the staff entrance before I arrived at the zoo. A local college had also signed up with the zoo to volunteer on this day, bringing the total volunteers in attendance to around 50. What a crowd! And I knew literally nobody. As an awkward extrovert, I just threw myself out there to find a place I could fit into. We were split into 7 groups, each going to a different part of the zoo for its unique tasks. I blushed so hard when they announced my team was to head to the 'Carnivore' section, which must mean the tiger and lion enclosures. Anyone who knows me knows that I would kill for a cool photo with a big cat, the professional fashion modelling kind.
My group was led across the zoo, and through a lane only permitted for authorised personnel. We came to captive enclosures which we were told held tigers and lions which were not out in the exhibitive enclosures at the moment. We could not see them, but their roars were loud as thunder. We were instructed to take no photos and to never stray too close to the enclosures. I was still half-hoping I could see the tigers up close, to be honest.
Our first task was to clear the dried leaves at the path. It was not much hard work so we did not take long. Plus, the zoo had all the tools we needed. Clearing the leaves broke the ice for the people in my group- I didn't know anyone before this.
One of the zookeepers then sent us to change into classic Phua Chu Kang's boots, to prepare us for cleaning the elephants' captive enclosure. He had led the sole elephant into another enclosure. What was left behind was its dung- brown coconut-looking balls of undigested grass covered in mud-looking substance. The smell was not particularly strong; and they were really easy to be shoved off from the floor. What an experience. I have heard of people coming to volunteer at the zoo and were asked to clear elephant dungs. There I was, doing the exact same thing. I took photos of the piles of dung; and told the person next to me: 'The elephant must be so proud that people are interested in its shit'.
After a 30-minute break, we returned to the site and changed into boots again. The zookeepers led us into the deer enclosure this time, to bring in carts of fruits and bundles of grass as fresh refills of the ruminants' food. I helped pushing filled wheelbarrows into the muddy grounds while my other group members cleared the deer's resting area of dried branches. Three species of deer lived in the same enclosure as they have similar preferences of living and even have the same diet: fruits, leaves, grass and deer pellets. We had the fruit basket placed in the middle of the enclosure and the deer did not wait to come and get their shares. In no time, we were surrounded by bold, friendly deer eager for a slice of papaya. We were allowed to hand them food directly and even pat them on their heads and backs.
We took our time to observe the deer's behaviours as a herd community. All 3 species had close-knit communities and they were inclusive of the other deer species in the habitat. Being gentle animals, the zoo planners did not worry about potential fights. However, we noticed that roe deer (Disney's Bambi) was the most timid of them all and were vary of humans' presence in the enclosure. They did not get close and would rather refrain themselves from getting the first tasting of fresh fruits in our carts. The zookeepers assured us that they will help themselves for a snack when we, the 'intruders', leave their 'territory'.
The session continued with cleaning the space outside the enclosure. It really was an experience of the life of a zookeeper. Our help mainly eased their burden of their daily, repetitive tasks which would be hard to complete if they were out of hands.
The volunteering session ended as we cleaned our boots covered in mud. Permissions were given to all volunteers to roam around the zoo for free, up till its closing time in the evening. I would say it was an overall enjoyable session with interesting tasks, but I must say I was expecting more. I thought the zoo would take an opportunity to plant as much information as possible in me. However, during the session that lasted from 8am to 12noon, I had to take initiative to interact with the zookeepers to 'dig' information out of them. As an eager learner and an enthusiastic advocate for environment and wildlife conservation, I felt the need to actually create an impact with any voluntary work that I involve myself in, even to gain knowledge for the purpose of raising awareness after. Moreover, it's taking time out of my hectic work schedule.
I think the ZooKeeperku programme by Zoo Negara generally caters more to people with very little exposure to or experience in volunteering and perhaps just wanted to try it out. I was hoping for more intense work with lots of info going to be planted in my head, like some of my previous experiences especially those related to the environment. However, this one was probably more suitable for the city kids who want their trip to Zoo negara be more enriching and would love the other half-day free and easy with room for leisure in the zoo. In other words, it's voluntourism. But to be fair, this kind of low-effort event can attract young audiences and spread awareness of a zookeeper's day-to-day job. At the very least, it's an opportunity for youths to get involved.
A slight disappointment that I had was getting to interact with herbivore animals when my group was assigned to the carnivore section. Not like it's a big deal, since I came in with little expectation, but I got genuinely excited thinking I could get a really cool and close session with a big cat when they made the announcement. But practically, how likely was it for them to allow us into a lion's den? Safety first, people, and we could never be more cautious these days. Yet, I was still extremely grateful for the opportunities to get into the deer's enclosure and have interactions with them. How many people out there get to do this?
However, another disappointment was the lack of information exchange after the event ends. I did not know anyone in the programme and had to make an active effort to ask around what the other participants did in their respective sections (remember I mentioned we were all split into 7 groups to do different tasks) to maximise my learning. While Zoo Negara was the main host of the programme, FSW could have acted as a bridge for their volunteers and facilitated its own section of information exchange and reflection. This would really help the introverted kids on the team learn without having to expire their social battery reaching out to people on their own. At the end of the day, all I could gather was that one of the other groups cleaned the enclosures of a black panther and a leopard cat, while another prepared food for the reptiles by chopping up frozen chicken. How I wished I got to hear more interesting stories!
By,
Euan Thum,
5 Dec 2022.
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