On Sunday 08/10/2017, MULC Paws organized an animal welfare volunteering event held in Zoo Negara. The objective of this event was to expose MULC members to wildlife animal welfare and allow participants to experience the daily tasks of a zookeeper.
Early in the morning at 7am, MULC members started to gather in the foyer of Monash University Malaysia. Registration was carried out, while light breakfast was being distributed to the participants. Upon arrival of all the participants, a briefing was then delivered by the Organizing Chairperson (OC). 10 minutes later at 7.30am, we departed from Monash University Malaysia headed to Zoo Negara, Ampang, which is situated north-east of Selangor. We arrived at our destination at around 8.15am after a 45-minute journey on the road. Once arrived, we assembled at the staff entrance and were greeted by the person-in-charge, followed by a briefing. During the briefing, we were informed that Zoo Negara has a strict attire rule that volunteers must obey, and that our break time was scheduled at 10am. After the briefing, we were then divided into 3 separate groups, which were Bird Aviary, Children's World and Savanna respectively.
At around 8.45am, all 3 groups of us started our respective work. The friendly zookeepers delegated tasks such as cleaning the animal enclosures and feeding the animals to us according to our capabilities. An hour of relatively intensive work later, it was time for the aforementioned rest time. As we were given a 45-minute break, we decided to have a short tour around the zoo. We visited several parts of the zoo, but due to the massive size of the zoo, it wasn't long before it was time to resume our volunteering work. We headed back to our respective work area to pick up where we left off. At 12.30pm, it was finally time to conclude our volunteering work. We expressed our heartfelt gratitude towards the zookeepers for all the assistance given to us while we carried out the jobs. In return, they expressed their appreciation towards our volunteering work in Zoo Negara as help is always needed to maintain the animals' welfare.
After the completion of our volunteering work, we were given approximately an hour of free and easy time. During this time, we continued our tour of the zoo in groups. We were able to cover most of the places of the zoo. Of course, it would be an absolute waste if we didn't visit the panda enclosure, so we agreed to spend the rest of our time at the Giant Panda Conservation Centre. At around 2pm, we've decided it's finally time for lunch. We headed to the staff canteen to fill our stomachs with some local delicacies. After a well-deserved lunch, we shared our experiences of being a zookeeper among each other. It was then followed by a group photo session. Once we were done with the group photo session, we finally bid farewell to Zoo Negara and began our journey back to campus. At 3.30pm, we safely arrived at Monash University Malaysia. This memorable event was then ended.
To finalize, it was a heart warming event as I was able to contribute in taking care of the welfare of both domestic and wildlife animals. It goes without saying that animals should never be hurt, both physically or psychologically because they are worthy of every bit of love and respect that they show us unconditionally. From this event, I was able to gain a valuable and memorable experience as a zookeeper. The daily tasks of a zookeeper might not be remarkably noticeable to some, but their work requires acknowledgement and appreciation from all parties because the little things that they do everyday play a big role in animal conservation.
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