KUALA LUMPUR: A caring spirit and lots of enthusiasm are needed for anyone to give up their day of restrest and recreation day on a Sunday to shovel dung and clean animal cages.
About 40 AFS volunteers aged 16 to 30 gathered at Zoo Negara at 8am on Aug 8, in the spirit of making a positive change.
“Although we are not the first to do it, we are optimistic that this effort at the zoo, which is home to over 5,000 animals, will mark a milestone for us, said AFS Malaysia Returnees Alumni president Chong Cheng Yee, who went to Germany.
The volunteers were split up into groups of five and assigned jobs such as preparing the animals’ food, removing dung and waste material, cleaning the cages and feeding the animals.
“Although we are not the first to do it, we are optimistic that this effort at the zoo, which is home to over 5,000 animals, will mark a milestone for us, said AFS Malaysia Returnees Alumni president Chong Cheng Yee, who went to Germany.
The volunteers were split up into groups of five and assigned jobs such as preparing the animals’ food, removing dung and waste material, cleaning the cages and feeding the animals.
Armed with wheelbarrows, shovels, boots, gloves and water hoses, among others, they cleaned up the cages of primates, elephants, deer, bears, and emus, to name a few.
It was hard work but also a lot of fun doing something meaningful together, said most of the volunteers.
Sara Salleh, an alumni who was in a six-month exchange programme in the United States early this year, said her favourite moments were “feeding the animals and having access to places which zoo visitors cannot reach.”
“How often can you get up close with bears, giraffes and Aldabra giant tortoises?
“It was a whole new experience for me to know the routine of the zoo keepers and learn more about the animals,” she said. (source)
“How often can you get up close with bears, giraffes and Aldabra giant tortoises?
“It was a whole new experience for me to know the routine of the zoo keepers and learn more about the animals,” she said. (source)
Another news article on Mission : Zoopossible. We could really use the publicity :) I thought it was a great experience (now this is really what I think, not what bubbly Sara Salleh thinks or whoever that wrote that). It was almost like a vacation for me. A vacation I couldn't afford. I was able to go to places that you normally can't go into. When we see signs like this, me and Einul will be like, hah, we can!
The animals are really friendly, especially the giraffes. They are adorable. I was a little scared when I got near them because one of the zoo workers told us to be careful. Apparently, they like to kick. But they were angels. As I got closer, they bent down for a kiss, or maybe just a closer look to all this little strangers they've never seen before. I got my morning kiss, thank you very much. It was love at first sight. :)
I was assigned at the Savannah section of the Zoo. Particularly, the camel's cages. Shoveling camel's dung is not easy I tell you. There were three of us cleaning three shitty-smelling camel's cages. Took us almost 2 hours to get the job done.
After all the hard work, it was all about walking around the zoo, looking at animals, feeding them, taking pictures, and getting really really really excited about just being in the zoo and being with my AFS family. I even bought a yellow and grey Zoo Negara's shopping bag (so much for not spending any money that day)
And here are some photographic shots (or I've tried, at least)
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