By Nabihah Basalamah
Have you ever experienced what it is like to enter a lions den?
At first sight, when one sees the entrance door of the lions den it does look small. In fact, to enter, a person with an average height of 150 cm has to bend down his body in order to step foot inside.
Behold the moment once you enter, you will be surprised to see rooms of cages as big as a human prison. Although in this case, a cage will hold only a lion or two at its maximum number as they can get too feisty.
Their days of freedom began when cages were unleashed to let them roam outside, while we cleaned their cages. But for some, they chose to remain inside. Perhaps, they sniffed an air of new visitors entering their turf.
Fully geared with boots one will be equipped with dustpan, floor brush, water hose, dustbin, Vim floor powder and water pails as the basic necessities before begin cleaning. The work will entail you to clean five cages and a thirty minutes’ break before you embark on cleaning another five cages.
Of all the tigers and lions I met, I cherished Neo the most. Although he is only a five-year old WHITE TIGER whose size does not even match a 20-year old human adult, his fierceness sure exceeds his suave handsome look. That morning, we stood only a step apart from each other and never in my life have I felt such anger before me.
I could feel the waft of heat flared out from Neos mouth as he roared at me. I was summoned to clean the cage right under his nose. The only barrier that kept him away from me was a grill. I doubt the grill was tight enough as it shook every time he roared and grabbed the grill with his paws. Having observed that there are gaps at both ends of the grill, one has to be careful before his paws can reach you anytime through those gaps!
His first roar made me jump out of my skin. As it echoes, Neo again released a series of roar that runs every three minutes giving me a hard time to clean the cage properly without my heart skipping a beat.
Neos roar was definitely deafening to my ears. I must say he is the man. Nevertheless, I am sure it was just another friendly gesture roar as he was trying to make conversations with the cats on my shirt. If you think ˜Meow! rules, I must say no, but rather ˜Roar!.
The activity which begins as early as 8 o’clock in the morning will give you an educational experience on animal care and expose you to the challenges of operating and managing a wildlife facility. As these creatures are already in captivity, making a difference to improve their quality of lives is truly an act of humanity restored.***
The author experience was a volunteering project initiated by a group of students as part of English for Occupational Purpose subject. If you are fond of animals and love volunteering, log on to: http://www.zoonegaramalaysia.my/volunteerprogram.html for more details!Â