Scaly friend: Mohd Jafni posing with one of the three pythons at Johor Zoo in Johor Baru.
JOHOR BARU: With the Year of the Snake just around the corner, Johor Zoo will be banking on its slithery stars to bring in even more visitors this year.The recently refurbished facility is home to three pythons and a cobra.
“One of the pythons, which is normally used for educational purposes at the zoo, is popular among visitors,” said Johor housing and local government committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor.
The Year of the Snake, one of the 12 zodiac animal signs in the Chinese lunar calendar, is set to begin on Jan 29.
Since Malaysia’s oldest zoo reopened on Aug 31 last year, it has attracted a sizeable crowd.
It was closed in 2020 due to the pandemic and later underwent a facelift.
“Within the first four months of Johor Zoo reopening, from Aug 31 to Dec 31, more than 617,000 visitors were recorded.
“This figure surpassed the average yearly visitor number in the pre-Covid-19 days,” he said in an interview.
Mohd Jafni, who is also the Bukit Permai assemblyman, added that in the first five days of this month alone, the zoo had welcomed 15,642 visitors.
“With the end of the school holidays and the coming Chinese New Year celebrations, we expect to see a high number thronging the zoo,” he said.
Heartened by the public’s response, the state government has set a target of recording more than one million visitors to the zoo this year, he said.
“As the Year of the Snake will be ushered in soon, we are hoping it will encourage the public to see the reptiles at Johor Zoo,” he added.
Johor Zoo currently boasts 373 animals from 65 species including snakes.
“The turnout aside, 2024 was also a good year for the zoo as we also saw some animals delivering new members including two spotted deer, a sambar deer, a pygmy goat, a tortoise and a Malayan tapir,” said Mohd Jafni.
The state government, he said, will carry out more upgrading works soon to ensure comfort for both visitors and animals alike.
Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi has approved an allocation of RM5mil for the second phase of upgrading works, which will start by the first quarter of this year, he said.
“The upgrading will make the zoo more friendly to strollers and wheelchairs. Works will involve sprucing up buildings and animal enclosures, and installing CCTVs.
“The funds will also help us acquire new animals,” said Mohd Jafni, who thanked the public for their continued support of the zoo.
