Emerald monitors return home<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
After traveling 21,500 kilometers and accumulating nearly 10,000
\nfrequent-flyer miles, 33 smuggled emerald monitor lizards
\n(Varanus prasinus), native to the rain forests of Papua, have
\nfound their way back to Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The journey of the green-skinned monitors, closely related to
\nthe komodo (Varanus komodoensis), started and ended in Jakarta,
\nwith a two-month transit in Croatia.<\/p>\n
The emerald monitors were brought back from Croatia by an
\ninternational consortium of wildlife groups that organized and
\nfinanced the US$13,600 (Rp 12.5 million) repatriation operation.<\/p>\n
\"The repatriation is the best thing that could have happened,\"
\nsaid Femke den Haas, who accompanied the 33 rescued monitors
\nduring their 48-hour journey to Indonesia, which included a stay
\nat airline KLM's animal \"hotel\".<\/p>\n
Femke, the manager for the Tegal Alur Wild Animal Center in
\nWest Jakarta, said that the returning of the protected species
\nreflected a \"strong stance\" being taken against the illegal trade
\nof animals. It showed governments and international organizations
\nwere working together to combat the problem, he said.<\/p>\n
An official from the nature conservation division of the
\nMinistry of Forestry, Kurnia Rauf, said: \"This is great news ...
\nit shows CITES works.\"<\/p>\n
The Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species
\n(CITES), was ratified by both Indonesia and Croatia.<\/p>\n
On Nov. 28, airport officials in Zagreb, Croatia, discovered
\n50 emerald monitors, measuring between 30 to 50 centimeters,
\njumbled together in a carry-on bag belonging to Dalvir Kumar, a
\nCroatian citizen returning from Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The Croatian government, arrested Kumar and then notified the
\nIndonesian Ministry of Forestry about the incident, as required
\nby CITES.<\/p>\n
The Ministry then delegated the task of repatriating the
\nmonitors to the Indonesian Rescue Center Network, which joined
\nforces with Zagreb-based AWAP, Pro Animalia, Animals First and
\nthe Gibbon Foundation. The network then sent Femke den Haas as
\ntheir envoy to Croatia.<\/p>\n
Once there, Femke discovered that only 33 of the 43 remaining
\nmonitors were declared fit to make the homeward journey. Seven of
\nthe original 50 smuggled monitors, which can be sold for up to
\nUS$ 1,960 each, had died shortly after arriving in Croatia.<\/p>\n
The other 10 remain under the care of the Croatian government
\nand are to be returned to Indonesia at a later date.<\/p>\n
The 33 monitors traveled in heated compartments fulfilling
\ninternational safety standards on animal travel. However, one
\nemerald monitor died shortly after arriving in Jakarta last
\nThursday. The 32 survivors are under a 14-day monitoring period
\nat the Soekarno-Hatta Airport Animal Quarantine center.<\/p>\n
Femke expressed concern that the facilities at the airport
\nquarantine could spoil the group's two-month long effort.<\/p>\n
\"They have no facilities for the monitors,\" said Femke. \"My
\nworst nightmare would be if they died there.\"<\/p>\n
The head of the airport quarantine, Lukas Tonga, admitted that
\nthe quarantine had initially not been prepared to handle the
\nmonitors as no one had informed him of their impending arrival.<\/p>\n
However, he guaranteed that all of the 32 monitors were being
\nwell cared for.<\/p>\n
\"We appreciate the Rescue Network's efforts, but we are only
\nfollowing procedures,\" Lukas said.<\/p>\n
He said that last Thursday, the day the monitors arrived, the
\nquarantine had four tanks available for them and the next day the
\nRescue Network brought over and donated four more tanks. He
\nexplained that Sunday the quarantine added another seven tanks to
\nbring the total number of terrariums to 15.<\/p>\n
Femke said that at the end of the 14-day quarantine period,
\nthe monitors would be transferred to the Tegal Alur Wild Animal
\nRescue Facility, where they would be rehabilitated and treated.<\/p>\n
\"We then hope to reintroduce them to the Papua rain forests as
\nsoon as possible,\" said Femke.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/emerald-monitors-return-home-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}