Langkawi Wildlife Park faces tough times despite launching donation drive

LANGKAWI – The lowest daily collection that the Langkawi Wildlife Park ever recorded during the second conditional movement control order (CMCO) last month was RM20.

The petting zoo in Ayer Hangat here has been struggling despite launching a donation drive.

“We had a special promotion rate for Malaysians during the conditional movement control order (CMCO). We reduced our usual price of RM30 to RM10 per entry for all MyKad holders. 

“There were barely any visitors although the island is classified as a green zone. The lowest number of visitors we had was two and they requested a discount on top of the rebate we had given. 

“It has really been a challenging time for us. We are not like other businesses where if we close, our operational cost will be reduced. 

“It does not matter if we close or not, the cost of our operation is still the same. The animals still need to be fed and cared for. We cannot just leave them to fend for themselves,” park assistant sales and marketing manager Jeffrey De Cruz told The Vibes.

De Cruz said it costs RM60,000 a month just for animal feed and medication. 

As for the total operational cost, the bill comes up to RM250,000 monthly. 

There are 600 animals and 110 species in the wildlife park. 

“When the government announced the first round of the MCO, we closed the zoo. In fact, we stayed closed from March until June. When we reopened, we saw that visitors dropped 30%. 

“There was a further dip in visitor numbers when the Sivagangga cluster was detected.

“Then another dip followed when a teacher in Sg Petani tested positive for Covid-19. But the worst was when Kuala Lumpur and Selangor were put under CMCO. Langkawi became almost deserted.

“We conducted two donation drives and adoption campaigns to raise funds. During the first round, we accumulated enough to pay for half a month of expenses. 

“In the most recent donation drive, all we got was RM2,000,” he said, adding that the Wildlife and National Parks Department also provided some aid.

“We tried to reach out to celebrities and influencers for help to talk about our park, but there were no replies. Only one influencer helped us share our donation campaign, urging her followers to donate and adopt the animals. 

“It is probably because we are not a well known zoo. We also cannot push people to donate as the pandemic has affected others financially. The people are suffering too.”

Langkawi Wildlife Park is a zoo where animals are not in enclosures and visitors can feed some of them.

During selected feeding times, visitors can take pictures with the magnificent Brahminy Kite eagle – the symbol of Langkawi – and feed the crocodiles.

Donations range from RM10 to RM3,100, and those interested can visit the zoo’s website.  

Langkawi Wildlife Park was opened at the end of 2002 and was known as Langkawi Bird Paradise. 

However, as more mammals, reptiles and other exhibits were added, it was renamed as Langkawi Wildlife Park. – The Vibes, December 21, 2020