The Panti Bird Race in the Southern Peninsular of Malaysia was held in early November 2023. It was a closed event with invited guests and participants. to this part of Kota Tinggi in the state of Johor.
The Panti Bird Sanctuary is also located along the Kota Tinggi to Mersing Road, which is Highway 3 or AH18, that connects from Johor Bahru and is a 50-minute drive. This bird sanctuary in Johor is also part of the Gunung Panti Recreational Forest or Hutan Lipur Gunung Panti in Malay.
Panti Bird Race
This Johor bird race is a trial project from the NEST group in Malaysia. They seem to be trying to work with various forestry, state and tourism departments to promote birdwatching through various programs.
Well, this is what I gathered as we are not invited to participate in or cover the events as media. Only specially invited participants from agencies throughout Johor were invited, while for the Panti Photo Race event, only invited photographers were invited.
It looks like this test project was a pre-run and is in line with preparing to organise the International Panti Bird Race 2024, in which the organisers hope to see participation from other countries from around Southeast Asia.
During the Panti Bird Race 2023, there were two additional categories in the Bird Photo Race event: the Most Unique Bird Photo and the Most Beautiful Bird Photo. Technically, this is one method to promote bird photography. For now, this is all I know; therefore, there is not much information available.
In another news article, it was stated that The Johor State Forestry Department (JPNJ) had organised the Southern Peninsular Panti Bird Race 2023 program, which successfully attracted a total of 36 participants assisted by 20 bird experts as an initial step to empower ‘birding’ activities in this state.
The inaugural birding program aims to provide early exposure to department staff, especially the Managers of the Panti Bird Sanctuary, agencies related to eco-tourism and ‘avitourism’, and Higher Education Institutions regarding the activity.
Panti Bird Race
- Date: 3-5 November 2023
- Venue: Panti, Kota Tinggi Johor
Conclusion
I believe the Panti Bird Race in Johor was jointly organised by Johor State Forestry Department, Johor State Forest Service, Malaysia Nature Society Johor branch (MNSJ), Malaysia Rainforest Station (MRS) and Tourism Johor.
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