slothis · English

Lok Kawi Wildlife Park: Solo Zoo Trip in Kota Kinabalu

2018-03-31 · Updated: 2026-08-11 · Original (Korean)

This article was translated from the original Korean post with AI assistance. Read the original Korean post →

If you're wondering how far a bored male traveler can go, just read this post. I was literally repeating "I'm bored, I'm bored" even in my dreams when something caught my eye: the zoo. One of my biggest regrets from a previous business trip to Sydney was not visiting the zoo over the weekend. I always regretted coming back without seeing animals unique to Australia, like kangaroos, koalas, and wombats. That thought suddenly hit me while lying in bed, so I searched, "Is there a zoo around here?" and Lok Kawi Wildlife Park popped right up.

I immediately caught a Grab and headed to Lok Kawi Wildlife Park. True to Malaysia, the zoo is located in a dense forest, and it is incredibly hot... Honestly, shouldn't it be cool with this many lush trees and shade? Barely catching my breath from the stifling heat the moment I stepped out of the car, I bought a ticket and went inside.

Since I was at the zoo, I went in expecting to clap like a seal while watching various animals, but that was purely my own wishful thinking. Because it was just before noon, both the visitors and the animals in their cages were sprawled out on chairs and the ground. It was so hot, hot, and hot again that I couldn't tell if this was a zoo or a massive sauna. I figured since they all live in the tropical rainforest, at least one of them would enjoy the heat, but contrary to my expectations, they were all either passed out in the shade or just sticking their faces out of the water. I came all the way here alone, and seeing the animals like this just drained my energy even more.

A silver car is parked in the parking lot in front of the building with the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park entrance sign.
A child in red clothes is looking at a large animal skeleton specimen displayed in a glass case.
An information board with an explanation of Sumatran rhinoceros bones and a rhinoceros size comparison chart.
In front of the ticket office, there are the bones of a Sumatran rhinoceros, which is nearly extinct.
A fee notice showing admission prices for Malaysians and foreigners is posted at the ticket office window.
A notice showing the zoo's visiting hours and the ticket office closing time is posted at the window.
Foreigners are 20 rubles, children are 10 rubles. It's open from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM, and the last admission is at 4:30 PM.
Two Lok Kawi Wildlife Park admission tickets with the date September 1, 2017, and the price.
They give you a ticket like this, but they don't check it at all except when you enter.
A bird with brown and white feathers is sitting on a branch inside a cage where a bunch of bananas is hanging.
A parrot with red and blue feathers is sitting on a wooden stick inside a wire mesh cage.
Red parrots and other birds. When you enter, the first thing you see is a bunch of birds zoning out.
A black animal sleeping while hanging on a wooden pole inside a wire mesh.
After looking at the birds for a bit, you'll see a binturong, a.k.a. bearcat, slumped over on the opposite side.
Two birds with large beaks sitting on a wooden structure inside a wire mesh.
A large birdcage surrounded by wire mesh, filled with green trees and plants.
The birdcage is cool, but not a single bird is flying in this high-noon zoo.
A herd of horned deer resting on the dirt ground under a roofed shade.
Two bovids lying down and resting in the shade on the grass in front of a wooden fence.
An information board with a photo of a deer and fun facts about 10-year-old Tifa.
Out of the many deer, this one seems to be the local mascot. They all look exactly the same and were all lying flat on their backs in the shade, so I couldn't tell who was who.
A herd of deer gathered and resting on the dirt ground under a roofed structure.
A hornless deer foraging for food on the dirt ground in front of a wire mesh.
This is the only animal I saw today that exposed its body to the blazing sun. It looks like a baby, and I'm a little worried it might collapse from heatstroke while eating.
A herd of elephants gathered under a shade structure.
Elephants that won't take a single step out of the shade. Since they are Asian elephants, they were small in size, but their poop is truly massive.
Yellow and red footprint shapes painted on an asphalt road shaded by leaves.
There are various animal footprints stamped on the path.
A black bear sitting leaning against a wooden pole.
A Malayan sun bear welcoming people in this posture.
A sign that says Save Our Malayan Tiger along with a drawing of a tiger.
A tiger sleeping lying on a shaded grassy field next to a bamboo forest.
I literally wondered if I needed to go in and give it CPR to save its life.
An orangutan lying curled up on a wooden platform above a wooden structure.
An orangutan lying on a wooden platform above a wooden structure, holding a hammock.
A wooden information board with a photo of an orangutan and information stating it is a 25-year-old female.
An orangutan looking bored to death.
A view of an outdoor zoo enclosure made of wooden poles and ropes.
A zoo information sign urging the protection of orangutans.
An orangutan walking on all fours on the grass next to the water.
An orangutan sitting on a wooden platform holding a dry branch.
An orangutan sitting leaning against a wooden platform with one arm resting on the iron bars.
Maybe it was cooler inside, because it kept pulling the door, banging on it, and getting angry, demanding to be let in.
A proboscis monkey sitting on a thick branch inside an enclosure surrounded by wire mesh.
The proboscis monkey, which only lives on this island. They are such local celebrities that there are separate tours just to see them.
An information board with various facts and photos of proboscis monkeys.
A side profile of a proboscis monkey sitting on a branch and looking to the left.
A baby monkey putting its hand to its mouth behind iron bars.
A baby monkey staring at the camera behind iron bars.
A baby proboscis monkey that brought a smile to all the tourists who were wondering why on earth they even came here. Everything seemed fascinating to it—putting things in its mouth, spitting them out, staring blankly at people, and then suddenly darting back to its mom as if it got scared.
A spiky animal seen behind iron bars and a small animal lying next to it.
Two porcupines lying inside an enclosure behind iron bars.
A porcupine, which translates to 'mountain lunatic' in Korean. Right now, it's just a 'sleeping lunatic'.

Usually, when you come to a zoo, you either feel sorry for the animals locked in cramped cages or think about how to feed the animals in the safari, but Lok Kawi Wildlife Park is a bit different. This is a very fair(?) place where both animals and humans share the exact same thought: how to stay cool in the shade. I considered just dumping all the photos on this one page and being done with it, but I figured it might be too long to read later, so I'm splitting it into two posts. It's just a lot of volume, not that I had a wide variety of experiences... I hope my future self definitely remembers that.

If there's a decent time to look around Lok Kawi, it's best to start early in the morning or around 2 to 3 PM. But that's only relatively better; just keep in mind that this is a hot region in a hot country. You absolutely need 1L of water per person, UV110 sunscreen is a must, and I recommend aiming to see the zoo and get out as fast as humanly possible.

Well then, onto Part 2...


Expenses (Calculated conservatively by multiplying by 300 KRW to get the Korean Won equivalent)

Daily expenses: RM 876.7

Total trip expenses: 2,875,000 KRW + RM 2522.58


#Zoo #LokKawi #KotaKinabaluZoo #BoilingToDeath