The longing of visitors to see wildlife in action at Taiping Zoo and Night Safari was fulfilled when the zoo held an online live session via its official Facebook and Instagram pages last Sunday (July 4).
What’s even more interesting, the live session titled ‘Online Now, Onsite Later’ was broadcasted for free and can be accessed at any time via their Facebook event page.
During this session, visitors had the chance to witness the ‘buaya tembaga’, scientifically known as estuarine crocodiles, and attend a briefing session by Taiping Zoo Veterinary Officer, Dr. Muhamad Ridhwan Affendi.
According to him, the estuarine crocodile is among the three species of reptiles in the zoo aside from the ‘jelulung’ crocodile and the African crocodile. It is categorised as one of the largest crocodiles in the world.
“Estuarine crocodiles live in the estuary near the sea and can grow up to 6.3m with a weight of about 600kg for males.
“The female is relatively smaller in size where they can grow to about three meters long and weigh up to 300kg. The colour and patterns of the skin varies; black, yellow or white as camouflage, depending on the river or its habitat,” he said.
Muhamad Ridhwan said the lifespan of a estuarine crocodile can reach up to 70 years while for reptiles in captivity, it depends on the environment they live in. “We maintain a natural habitat with trees and water because these reptiles require a large space.
“This is because crocodiles need territorial space. Crocodiles are fed twice a month because they take a long time to digest food,” he explained.
During the session, there was also a virtual visit to the estuarine crocodile’s exhibition area and a feeding session by one of the zookeepers, Roslan Ismail.
As of 1pm, the live session reached about 38,000 users and was shared by 13,000 users. Many praised the initiative by the zoo to hold the session, especially as an educational tool for children on wildlife.
Some of the users also suggested future sessions to be held in both Malay and English languages to facilitate audiences from various backgrounds.
Rosli Mansor
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