Starchild: Malaysian children love animals, big and small

Vaishulakshmi Balasingam, eight

Did you know Kuala Lumpur’s Zoo Negara will be celebrating its 57th anniversary on November 14? This well-known zoo, at Taman Melawati, has over 5,000 animals from 476 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish.

Members of the public support Zoo Negara by joining its ‘Adopt An Animal’ initiative.

All the zoo’s animals are up for adoption. If you adopt one, you support the zoo by contributing to the animal’s food, enrichment and veterinary care.

In return, you will receive a certificate of adoption stating your selected animal. This way, we all can play a part in keeping our zoo animals healthy and happy.

Let’s hear what Starchild readers had to say on the topic, Zoo Animals.

Shobhann Subaash, five

Shobhann Subaash, five, thinks a visit to the zoo can help him to explore and learn more about animals. “I have visited Zoo Negara in Kuala Lumpur. I was excited to hear lions roaring and colourful birds chirping. I saw many giraffes, elephants and snakes. Activities such as animal feeding, petting and animal shows will bring more joy among children.”

Zachary Sanjay Joseph, three

“I love animals especially the lions at the zoo. Lions are my favourite animal. I bought a lion soft toy from the zoo, ” says Zachary Sanjay Joseph, three.

“The zoo is a wonderful place to see animals that I read about in books. One trip is not enough to see all the animals. I wish my kindergarten can organise yearly zoo trips for us to see new animals enjoy the animal shows, ” says Bethany Wang Qi Syuen, five.

Bethany Wang Qi Syuen, five.

Debria Preethi Jeyarajah, nine, enjoyed her recent visit to the Taiping Zoo in Taiping, Perak. She thinks its one of the best zoos in the country. “There are lions, tigers, crocodiles and many other wonderful animals in the zoo. The best part of the zoo was the baby animals feeding time. Hopefully, the zoo can have more training programmes for children.”

Vaishulakshmi Balasingam, eight, says: “The zoo is a beautiful place with animals. I’d love to see animals like the panda bear, elephants, and seals. Hopefully, I can watch a few animal shows too.”

Find the hidden words!

ITEM: If you could design a hot air balloon, how would it look like? Would you like it to look like your pet cat or drawings of your favourite superhero?

Let your imagination run free and and tell us all about your dream hot air balloon. Don’t forget to send us a drawing too!

All letters must include your full name, age (open to children aged 12 and below), gender, e-mail, phone number and address. Alternatively, just colour the drawing below and send it to us with your letter, titled Hot Air Balloon.

Please write your name behind the drawing and the topic. All letters must reach us by Nov 20. Send your letters to:

Starchild, c/o StarLifestyle

Star Media Group Bhd

Menara Star, 15, Jalan 16/11

46350 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

You can also e-mail your contributions to [e-mail]. Please put “STARCHILD” in the subject line of your e-mail. Scanned drawings should be in jpeg format, with a resolution of 200 dpi.