'Prisoners' of Bukittinggi zoo hoping for a pardon<\/p>\n
Tom Price, Contributor, Bukittinggi, West Sumatra<\/p>\n
The prisoners sit huddled on the floor of their cell while
\nsoft rain drips from the bars. Days old food lies molding in the
\ncorners on the concrete, smeared with the body waste that has
\nnowhere else to go. With no tap or even bucket to hold water
\nthroughout the steamy afternoons, the prisoners press their lips
\nto the floor to slurp up the rainwater as it flows between their
\nfeet. Today is like yesterday, and the day before, and their eyes
\nbear the dull blank stare of those who can't contemplate any hope
\nfor change.<\/p>\n
This is not a prison, but a zoo, and the \"prisoners\" are
\nprimates, elephants, crocodiles and many other would-be star
\nattractions of this faded Dutch era complex in Bukittingi, a city
\ntwo hours drive from West Sumatra's capital Padang. Built in the
\n1930's as an extension to Fort De Kock via a footbridge over the
\nmain road in town and essentially unchanged since, its crumbling
\nfacilities have languished in front of dwindling crowds.<\/p>\n
It is a grim place, a shocking surprise for the thousands of
\nforeign tourists who use Bukittingi as a stepping stone for the
\neco-tourism wonders of Sumatra.<\/p>\n
\"We had no idea when we toured the fort that we would end up
\nhere. I am disgusted that my money goes to support such a place,\"
\nsaid Alexi Alexander of Calgary, Canada after her July visit.<\/p>\n
She's not alone in her views. None of the dozens of
\nrestaurants and guesthouses in the area mention the zoo as an
\nattraction worth visiting, and proprietors, when asked, joke
\nabout what a mess it is.<\/p>\n
\"What's the difference between a prison and our zoo?\" asks a
\nlocal guide. \"Prisons hold people.\"<\/p>\n
Perhaps because they seem most human, it is the condition of
\nthe primates that is most depressing, especially that of the
\norangutans who elsewhere in Sumatra draw crowds of eco-tourists
\neach year.<\/p>\n
Ucok is one example. A massive adult male orangutan, with
\nrope-like matted hair, Ucok has been in this same bare enclosure
\nfor 24 of his 25 years. There are no toys to play with or trees
\nto swing on, just a stale tank of water, and of course the bars.<\/p>\n
Nearby, an infant female named Mary huddles in an empty
\nconcrete water tank staring at the sky, careful to avoid the
\nprying claws of the Malaysian Sun bear next door, who spends most
\nof his time trying to find a way into her cage. Mary is eight
\nmonths old, and will likely spend the rest of her life here.<\/p>\n
For the animals, food is their major diversion.<\/p>\n
Ucok gets about seven kilos of food a day, which he
\nsupplements by begging for peanuts, chips and whatever else
\nvisitors throw in his cage. Although it's not part of his diet
\nand is not allowed, he's fed anyway.<\/p>\n
\"We want the understanding of people not to feed the animals,
\nbut it is very difficult to forbid them to feed the animals,\"
\nexplains Mohammad Idris, the new zoo director who has been in
\nthis position only four months.<\/p>\n
A look around clarifies the difficulty he faces: the signs
\nexplaining where the animals are from and that they should not be
\nfed anything besides their appropriate meals are like everything
\nelse here -- faded or broken, clearly years old.<\/p>\n
Mohammad admits he faces a daunting challenge. \"It is a poor
\nenvironment for visitors and animals,\" he says.<\/p>\n
With 90 percent of the zoo's current budget coming from the
\nsale of 800,000 tickets per year, with the adult price being only
\nRp 1,600, there's little money left to make repairs or
\nimprovements.<\/p>\n
However, hope for change to make this zoo a tourist draw for
\nBukittinggi's crowds of visitors is on the horizon. According to
\nMohammad, the local government is poised to make the investment
\nto bring this zoo into shape.<\/p>\n
He said that previously, the local government placed
\nimportance on sectors like education and farming, and didn't pay
\nany attention to the zoo. But now they're looking at the zoo and
\nhave made money available for improvements. The renovations are
\nexpected to cost Rp 100,000,000.<\/p>\n
\"We are the only zoo in West Sumatra and could become a major
\ntourist attraction again,\" Mohammad said.<\/p>\n
On a walk through the zoo, he outlines his plans to reverse
\nthe zoo's slide into the current poor facilities, which are aimed
\nmore at the visitors' needs than the inhabitants'.<\/p>\n
\"We would like to fix up the cages, give them new paint,
\narrange a better area for the vendors. Most importantly, we want
\nto create an area of free entertainment and recreation areas for
\nchildren.\"<\/p>\n
Currently, the rides are fee-based, which limits the number of
\nfamilies who can afford a day at the zoo.<\/p>\n
\"The money exists, and now we are searching for the best
\nvendors.\" He hopes to have all the improvements completed in five
\nmonths, an ambitious schedule.<\/p>\n
While Mohammad is responsible for administering the zoo, care
\nfor the animals falls to Dr. Effi Silfia, a graduate of the Bogor
\nAgriculture Institute (IPB)'s School of Veterinary. Followed
\naround the next morning as she toured from enclosure to enclosure
\nwith a packet of medicines in her hand, she pointed out where she
\nhoped to improve the lives of the animals.<\/p>\n
\"We want to move animals from their small enclosures to larger
\nones, breaking down walls to make bigger cages, while working to
\nimprove access to basic things like water.\"<\/p>\n
Mary will soon have a larger enclosure, with more light and a
\nbetter view of her surroundings. And what about Ucok? \"He's too
\nbig and dangerous to move, and anyway we don't have any
\n(transfer) cage large enough to put him in.\"<\/p>\n
The unspoken message is clear: Ucok will only leave this cage
\nwhen he dies.<\/p>\n
She explained the empty water bowls by saying that the town's
\nwater often does not come on until late in the morning and that
\nperhaps she would get bowls for the animals to tide them over.<\/p>\n
All around us, dozens of staff, the most seen at once in five
\ndays of visits, hurried around cleaning up garbage and trimming
\nlong ignored plants.<\/p>\n
Back at the orangutan's cages, Mary had found some loose
\npiping and was hanging from the top of her enclosure using it to
\npry away bits of concrete, which fell to the empty floor below
\nher.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, sometime early that morning another person had
\nslipped Ucok a meter-long length of steel rod, which he had used
\nto pound a hole through the tile floor of his enclosure some six
\ninches wide and two feet deep. He dropped the rod to rush the
\nbars and growl at the keeper who came to sweep away the peanut
\nfragments from the previous day. The keeper took a carefully
\ntimed swat at the massive primates shoulder with his broom handle
\nand moved on. Change may be coming to the Bukittingi zoo, but at
\nleast some of the animals aren't waiting.<\/p>",
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