FWD: Hundreds throng Johor zoo to look at panther

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Saturday, June 1, 2002

Hundreds throng Johor zoo to look at panther

By LAM LI

 

JOHOR BARU: Hundreds of visitors, including many Singaporeans, thronged the

Johor Zoo yesterday to have a closer look at its now most famous resident – the

panther which escaped about a week ago.

 

The zoo opened its doors after a week-long closure at 9am yesterday and the most

frequently asked question posed to zoo staff was: “Where is the panther?”

 

However, many visitors were disappointed to find an “anti-social” panther which

lay still in a dark corner of its iron cell, filled with several tree trunks.

 

Housewife Leong Ai Kim, 47, from Batu Pahat said she had not stepped into the

zoo for years but decided to bring her children, aged seven and nine, along

after learning about the recapture.

 

 

 

“We have been following the news on the escape and the search operations. It

will be nice to see the animal itself.

 

“The kids, however, are rather disappointed as the panther just sat quietly in

one corner. We initially thought it was an empty cage or that someone had given

us the wrong direction.”

 

The seven-year-old panther had escaped from an open-air enclosure on May 23 by

scaling a six-metre high concrete wall, barely three weeks after it arrived here

with a female mate from the Malacca Zoo.

 

It was finally lured into a trap with two live chickens as bait on Thursday.

 

The zoo has since relocated the panther into a new cell secured by iron bars and

grill mesh as its ceiling.

 

Animal show operator Jason Loh said the panther drama had cost him nearly

RM7,000 in earnings as his business – Animal Adventure – located in the zoo was

disrupted due to the temporary closure.

 

“It is fortunate that the zoo managed to recapture the panther and reopen before

the school holiday ends.

 

“Hopefully the panther has brought fame to the zoo and more people will be

visiting here,” said Loh, who arranges elephant rides, shows and photography

sessions with a tiger for visitors.

 

The seven-year-old panther’s caretaker said it was still wild at heart as it was

captured in the jungle near Tasik Chini, Pahang, last year and had yet to adjust

to life in captivity.

 

“I have been cleaning its cell and feeding it since it arrived on May 7. But I

still do not feel comfortable or confident enough to touch or stroke it like I

do to other big cats (tiger) under my care.

 

“I have yet to give him a name, perhaps we need more time to forge the bond,”

said the caretaker who declined to be named.

 

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