After mentioning the three-legged tiger in Johore Zoo in my last posting, I came across two old photos from the 1950s and 1960s of the zoo. The first one was sent to me by Chris Manning and shows a small elephant, complete with tusks, being fed by visitors, some of whom appear to be British. Beside the elephant is a pool and I think that I remember this part of the zoo from when I was little. I think that it contained turtles and Koi Carp but my memory might be playing tricks with me. Across the way, there are some very small enclosures but I can't tell from the photo what is in them. The flowers all look very colourful in the foreground.
The second photo shows a later view of the zoo and around the pool are
either goats or very small deer. People on the left are peering into some very small cages and I wonder if the clapping gorilla that I wrote about in a previous post was in one of them? It looks like the Sultan's Palace in the background but I can't remember them both being so close. From the photos, the zoo looks very tidy and well kept but that's not quite how I remember it. The animals were kept in very poor conditions, especially the apes and tigers, and the place had a smell like I've never smelled anywhere else! It's still going today but, hopefully, it's improved in the last 40 or so years.
I think in those days Spore did not have a zoo and I went to the one in JB once. Not much lasting impressions except as you said, it was pretty run down and the smell.
ReplyDeleteWith all due respect to our neighbours up north, I think when it comes to zoos, theirs tend top be quite badly managed. I have been to the one in Kuantan. Also quite badly run. I have also been to the crocodile farm near Melaka. The sight of an injured croc with an open wound always sticks to my mind.