JOHOR BARU: Families spending their Hari Raya festive break here are looking forward to the reopening of the Johor Zoo, which has remained closed for two years.

       A notice at the zoo entrance read that the premises had closed for upgrading works since October 2020. It is expected to reopen at the end of this year.

       However, some families were still seen making a stop at the entrance, hoping to catch a glimpse of the animals.

       Among those looking forward to seeing the animals here was Darren Siaw, 36, who came with his son and wife.

       “My wife and I wanted to bring our son here so that he could look at the animals, especially his favourite animal, the tiger,” he said, adding that the last time he entered the zoo was more than two years ago before the pandemic.

       Contractor Tony Sakong, 46, said his two children were disappointed when he told them that they were unable to see the animals yet.

       “I thought that the zoo would have been reopened by now as most Covid-19 restrictions had been lifted.

       “The zoos in other parts of the country have reopened and I was confident that this zoo would now be open too,” he said.

       Some foreign tourists were also spotted dropping by the zoo.

       Japanese air stewardess Momoe Nakagawa, 27, who works in Singapore, said the zoo was among the places she wanted to visit during her one-day trip with her friends here.

       “We decided to drop by the zoo as we saw online that this is among the places we should visit in Johor Baru.

       “Unfortunately, it is still closed. We initially thought that we just happened to come at the wrong time but we later learnt that the zoo has been closed for over two years,” she said.

       Nakagawa and her friends spent a few minutes taking photos in front of the zoo before continuing on their tour around Johor Baru.

       According to a zookeeper who declined to be named, the zoo is expected to reopen at the end of this year after the completion of upgrading works.