Animal park to replace overcrowded Medan zoo

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra

The Medan municipal administration has invited a Malaysian investor to build an animal park similar to the famous Taman Safari in the West Java regency of Bogor.

The park will be built on a 10-hectare site at Medan Tuntungan on the outskirts of the city, and will accommodate all of the 288 animals of various species kept in Medan's zoo, located in the downtown area, city secretary Ramli told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

"We cannot afford to run the zoo any longer. Its condition is already poor and the animals must be relocated to a place that is more spacious and far away from the downtown area," he said.

"Our concern is how to help the animals survive."

He refused to disclose the amount of investment that would be needed, saying the city administration and the Malaysian investor would soon sign a deal and start the project.

The Malaysian businessman, whose identity is being withheld, expressed his interest in relocating the city-owned zoo during a recent visit to Medan, said Ramli.

By comparison, Taman Safari in Bogor occupies a 138-hectare site near the Puncak hill resort. The park is home to 2,300 animals made up of some 230 species.

Head of operations at Medan zoo, Anhar Lubis, welcomed the plan to develop the animal park.

He said the zoo management had been facing financial constraints even before the economic crisis hit the country in 1997.

The zoo spends Rp 1.1 million per day on feeding the animals, which is costly for the cash-strapped city administration.

Anhar said that despite the crisis, the zoo management had never reduced the amount of food the animals received.

He hailed the planned development of the park as the zoo, which was built on a three-hectare site, had become too crowded.

"The zoo can no longer accommodate that many animals. The amount of space we have is only suitable for a mini park for one specific animal or species, for instance birds," Anhar said.