World Environment Day

Today on June 04 2010, in conjunction with the World Environment Day (WED), the world celebrates the diversity of life on Earth with the theme :

Many Species. One Planet. One Future.

The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, in his WED message, warned that thousands of species, from frogs to gorillas, from huge plants to tiny insects are in jeopardy. Species are going extinct at the fastest rate ever recorded, and he stressed the need to raise public awareness to halt this "mass extinction."

"I appeal to everyone - from Kigali to Canberra, from Kuala Lumpur to Quito - to help us sound the alarm."

Hornbill

Wow, a surprise to me that he mentioned Kuala Lumpur! It is either because Malaysia has the second richest biodiversity in the world, or it may be because many of us lack awareness in biodiversity preservation! Third possibility might be that at that instant, the name KL just stroke his mind!

Xiang and I were lucky to 'participate' in this event as we just happened to be at Ikano in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Here, the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park organized an Aviary exhibition to celebrate this WED.

It was a surprise and an exciting event for us. We had the opportunity to spot so many types of birds, in a very unusual but convenient setting, haha...., at Ikano, with the added comfort offered by a cozy and air-conditioned shopping complex. There was quite a long queue of people waiting to take up-close-and-personal photos with the birds. Each shot of photo costs RM 10/-.

Xiang was excited at the close encounter with the colorful parrots. They have such fascinating combination of colors. The red one amused everybody very much when it repeatedly shouted:

"Apa khabar, apa khabar ?" (How are you?). When Xiang threw back the same question, it answered "Baik, baik, baik" (Good!). Everybody, especially the kids, was laughing with joy with its prompt and parrotic reply.

I definitely found it worth the money. How often do we get a chance to to come that close to the owl and the parrots at one go. Xiang noticed that the owls seemed not in the mood to participate in this photo shooting! Of course, they are nocturnal and only stay awake at night, which means that they sleep during the DAY. Moreover, the big crowd of a shopping complex on an eventful Saturday is obviously to much for its social ability!

Interestingly, with each pose, the owl needed to be patted or repositioned, probably to wake it up from its dreams! Not far away from here, one owl was in its natural biological clock time, sleeping on a tree twig.

With owl Titi perched next to my ear, I felt a bit uncomfortable. I would prefer it to be sleepy. Can you imagine if it were awake, it might have pecked off my ear, my nose or even my eyeball!

In this shopping aviary, on exhibition too were the magnificent peacocks, the wild rooster, and many other types of birds. When comes to names of birds, I must admit my inadequacy. Bear in mind that this is a make-shift aviary within a shopping complex, so do not expect to see many species (flamingo, horn-bill, ostrich, etc)

The KL Bird Park, within the Lake Garden

If you are keen to explore further, then I suggest you visit the KL Bird Park, which is just 10 minutes drive from the city center. Sprawling approximately over 21 acres of verdant valley terrain, it houses more than 170 000 of fauna and flora species, 3 000 birds of 200 species.

I am quite sure many Malaysians, including those who are just some miles away from the KL Lake Garden, are not aware of existence of this world famous bird park.

Here is a map to show the way:

You may also hop on to the Rapid KL Bus No. B115 or take a cab, it is absolutely very easy if you are in Kuala Lumpur.

Former US President, Bill Clinton, tops the honorable guest list of this Park.

The KL Bird Park resembles the world's largest free-flight walk-in aviary. This tropical forest with lush foliage houses more than 3 000 birds: scarlet ibis, yellow billed stork, magnificent peacock, purple heron, and adorable lovebirds, to name but a few. As you enter, you can witness at close proximity the bird community in an almost natural sanctuary.

yelloow billed stork,

The romantic mandarin ducks live in pair, never get separated, like Romeo and Juliet

white parrot with yellow tinge

The KL Bird Park offers some very attractive packages, catering for all categories of visitors:

Bird shows daily at 12.30pm and 3.30pm

Field trips as School package

Company seminar

Birthday party

Company family day with guided tour

Contacts: Tel: 03 - 2272 1010 visit its website. http://www.klbirdpark.com/