Ragunan Zoo

Ragunan Zoo Park is claimed as the biggest zoo park in Indonesia. The zoo has the most completed animal collections and the area is also very large. However, the management is very bad.

If you go there and you hope you will find the quit and pleasant place, prepare yourself to face the disappointment. From the gate, you will find so many informal traders and amateur photographers and it makes you inconvenience. Visitor facilities such as tracks and toilets are very poor as well.

Inside the zoo, you will face sleazy animal collections. Dirty stable, stressed animals and not well treatment make the zoo looks like a traditional market rather than a zoo park. Surprisingly, you will find children amusement centre which is very crowded and noised. Furthermore, you also will find dangdut show and some inappropriate activities.

Can you believe? When I visited the zoo, there are some people conducted “pengajian” with loudspeaker and they did some religion rituals also. The sound was very loud and it was making the animal stress and very annoying. Additionally, the visitors’ behaviour also makes me wistfully. They disposed garbage anywhere even though the trash bin in front of them. They were also feeding the animal even though it was not allowed by the management. I understand, it is because the majority of them are uneducated and low income people. So, the zoo is the only place for them to get recreation place because it has very cheap admission.

However, I think there are because the management is not seriously managing the zoo. They are not care about the animal life. They are only thinking about gain income to cover zoo’s expenditures. As the result, the animal is the victims of the mismanagement.

So, my recommendations are:
1. If you rich, you better don’t go there. Please find another zoo.
2. If you go there, please don’t hope too much. Just enjoy the zoo with its shortcomings.
3. Put the garbage in the bin to educate other visitors that clean is beautiful.
4. Bring your own lunch because the food’s price is very expensive and there is no cleanness guarantees
5. Don’t compare the zoo to other zoo park in the world. It is not appropriate and it is just like you compare apple to monkey.