Advertisement
Published: August 5th 2009
Edit Blog Post
Today is my birthday and for want of something more wildernessy to do I went to the local zoo, Jong’s Crocodile Farm And Zoo. It can’t quite be described as The Unhappiest Place On Earth (if I may be permitted to misquote Sir M. Mouse), but it is certainly pretty unlikeable. It was first established way back in 1963 and I wasn’t really expecting it to be a nice visit, crocodile farms usually aren’t, but I like to see the less salubrious facilities on my travels (by which I don’t actually mean I “like” to see them, more that it is instructive to see them, if you see what I mean). Their promotional pamphlet says it is “one of the largest and the only crocodile breeding farm in the country”, which is somewhat self-fulfilling. It also states that “the farm provides a perfect sanctuary for the reptiles, saving the species from extinction,” which is the sort of preservationist clap-trap that exploitative zoos spew out when they want to justify the existence of something that shouldn’t exist.
This is one tourist attraction in Kuching that still has a bus route servicing it, although the bus stops out on the main road
and you have to walk a kilometer to the entrance. There are aquariums at the entry counter with snakeheads and catfish and other big fish but like many of the inmates of the zoo, they are without identification labels which sort of goes against any sort of educational value the place may claim to have. Where cages are labelled they are simply “eagle”, “otter”, only very rarely with anything further. Before entering the zoo itself there is a “Crocodile Museum” in which pride of place goes to the skull of Bujang Senang, a 19ft 3 inch man-eating saltwater crocodile shot in May 1992, the exhibit complete with the gun that killed him and a whole series of lurid photos of dismembered corpses (of both people and crocodiles). Other displays in here, apart for baby crocodiles etc, are stuffed monitors, a baby sun bear, and various other animals that, once having seen the zoo, you can’t help but think must be former inhabitants. The first section of the zoo is more aquariums, again all unlabelled, but including various turtles and large fish, amongst which is a ridiculously overcrowded pacu tank. Next to these are rows of shallow rectangular pools for the
crocodiles they have bred, apparently from one to eight years old, and I imagine awaiting slaughter for their hides and meat. There are two separate pens for a “white” crocodile and a tailless crocodile, apparently worthy of even a special sign saying “Tailless crocodile”!! From there you progress onwards to small dirty cages for various local and not-so-local animals such as small-clawed otters and binturong. It was sad to see a magnificent single-wattled cassowary pacing around in a too-small pen, being aggravated by the few other visitors that were there as they banged on the wire to make him boom at them. But not quite as sad as the pig-tailed macaque all alone in his cage, pacing along the front wire, calling hauntingly for company - anthropomorphic I know, but true.
The greater part of the zoo is taken up of course with crocodile pools which are very large (as they need to be for breeding) and a lake for arapaima and several other giant freshwater fish. The jungle trail they have advertised in which you can wander and observe wild birds, turned out to be a 400 metre loop around the false gharial pens, although I did see
a black and red broadbill and a banded woodpecker there. Some of the false gharials in there are huge! I had no idea they got that big!!
Jong’s Crocodile Farm really is a very poor excuse for a zoo, which is a shame as the place could be very good if they put some effort in. While I was there they were either redoing or constructing a-new some enclosures at the start, but they were exactly the same in style as all the other awful ones around them, so they haven’t learned anything. At the moment Jong’s is simply a collection of animals waiting for death. There are empty cages where presumably the inhabitants have died and not yet been replaced. Several species advertised on their pamphlets and website are no longer there, such as gibbon, argus pheasant and hornbill, for which those species should be grateful. I would rate this place as about a two out of ten. Not recommended.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.099s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 8; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0751s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Radha
non-member comment
Happy birthday!!!
Have a great time. Love from us all xxx