Tiga Abdul and Baby Khamis

This clip is so cool.  The true meaning of friendship and humanity.

And this is my zoo story. During the school break, do visit the Johor Zoo at Jalan Gertak Merah, Johor Bahru.  Admission is Malaysian Ringgit RM2 for adults and RM1 per child.

The playful tiger cubs at the Johor Zoo.  NST pix by Mohd Azren Jamaludin.

30 May 2014

'Tiga Abdul', 'Khamis', pygmy marmosets new attraction at Johor Zoo

By Chuah Bee Kim

JOHOR BARU: Three Malayan tiger cubs, a tapir and two pygmy marmosets (world's smallest monkeys) are the latest attractions at the Johor Zoo. The arrival of the newbies is timely as the zoo is expecting an influx of visitors during the school holidays.

Johor Zoo manager Zakaria Razali said the tiger cubs born in early January have been dubbed "Tiga Abdul" after the late silver screen icon, Tan Sri P. Ramlee's comedy about three brothers in the film named Abdul Wahab, Abdul Wahib and Abdul Wahub.

The parents of the tiger cubs are Jelly and July, both about seven years old. Jelly and July gave birth to a total of eight offsprings, including Tiga Abdul, over the years.

However, four of the eight cubs died during infancy. The zoo's other new attraction is a tapir born on May 8 on a Thursday, and named "Khamis". "Khamis is the third tapir born at the zoo. The female tapir takes about three years before it can reproduce again, and then the female carries the fetus for 13 months," Zakaria said, adding that Khamis now weighs about 3.6kg.

Besides the tapir and the tiger cubs, Zakaria said a pair of pygmy marmosets also delivered two infants in early March. "A pygmy marmoset costs RM9,000 each and we bought three pairs. However, only one pair produced a total of four babies," he said.

Zakaria said not all the animals in the zoo can be fed by the public.  This is to safeguard the animals' health.

The zoo, located at Jalan Gertak Merah here, is open to the public from 8.30am to 6pm daily.

It was built by Sultan Sir Ibrahim in 1928, but the Johor government took over the management of the zoo in 1962.

The baby tapir at the Johor Zoo. NST pix by Mohd Azren Jamaludin