Saturday, November 13, 2010

Semenggoh Wildlife Centre expects 190,000 visitors this year

THE number of visitors to the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre (SWC) in Jalan Puncak Borneo near Kuching is increasing rapidly and is expected to reach more than 190,000 this year.

SWC manager Jen Sangel said: "In 2008, there were 77,220 visitors and last year we recorded 89,226."

The increase may be due to air fares that were affordable for travel to Sarawak, he said.

Local visitors comprised 60%, including those from Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia, while foreigners made up the remaining 40%.

The foreigners were mainly from Europe, Britain, Australia and the Middle East.

Entry to the centre costs RM3 for adults and RM1.50 for schoolchildren, Jen told StarMetro after briefing Danish Ambassador to Malaysia Svend Waever and his wife Karin Gunilla Waever who visited the centre on Wednesday.

Most of the visitors want to catch a glimpse of orang utans, which are found in the rainforests of Borneo.

Jen said there were 27 orang utans at SWC and two other centres in the state.

The orang utans had names like Aman, Manap, Saddam, Selina, Annuar, Nora, Ritchie, Doris, Delima, Murray, Angku, Sedudu, Baka, Mamu and Ting San, he added.

He said that Aman was blind, but regained her sight after successfully undergoing an operation last year.

Other activities at SWC include jungle trekking (three trails) and bird watching.

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