JOHOR BARU: More than 10,000 people are expected to visit the Johor Zoo on the first day of its reopening today (Aug 31), after being closed for three years.
Johor housing and local government committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor said as at noon, 7,287 tickets had been sold to the public.
He added that the entrance fee is only for adult visitors, while children, the elderly, and people with disabilities can enter for free.
“The usual ticket price for adults is RM10, but the state decided to offer a 50% discount in line with the National Day celebration.
“Some visiters started to queue as early as 7.30am and families have used the public holiday to bring in their families to see the animals we have here,” he said when met at the zoo.
Mohd Jafni added that the state has also prepared 500 parking lots at the old Ayer Molek prison with four shuttle buses to transfer the visitors.
“The bus can ferry about 4,300 passengers in one day.
“We are also planning to increase the number of self-service kiosks because there is a large number of visitors who have come without cash.
“We are also planning to station more personnel to man the roads and help manage the traffic flow around the zoo,” he said, adding that the operating hours for the zoo are from 9am to 6pm every day.
Johor Zoo is the oldest zoo in the nation, having first opened its doors in 1928.
It was opened by Almarhum Sultan Sir Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Abu Bakar and was then known as Kebun Binatang.
There are currently 275 animals from 53 species, including mammals, reptiles, and birds.