Death of white tigers caused by worms

Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

City inspector Hendarin Ono Saleh denied on Monday reports that the three white tiger cubs at Ragunan Zoo died from rotten meat, saying that the deaths were caused by a type of hookworm.

"We have inspected the zoo and questioned zoo officials. We have concluded, based on the tigers' autopsies, that the deaths were caused by worms," Hendarin said after reporting his investigation on the matter to City Governor Sutiyoso.

He said the administration would take legal action against anyone who had reported that the deaths of the rare animals were caused by rancid pork provided by the zoo, which is located in South Jakarta.

"The governor told us to take legal action as that was defamation," Hendarin said at City Hall.

Separately, the zoo's veterinarian, Bambang Triana, said the deaths were caused by Galoncus permiciosus worms, which are a type of hookworm.

"The worms usually appear once every 20 years. This case has been found in zoos in Hamburg, Germany, and New Delhi, India," Bambang said.

He said the worms only attacked carnivores and were not dangerous to humans.

He said two other tigers and two lions were infected by the worms, but they could be saved by administering Albendozole, a medicine used to treat the parasite.

"We also doused the soil (where the worms were found) in the animals' cages with an antiseptic solution and hot water to kill any remaining worms," Bambang said at City Hall.

He said the bodies of the three-month-old white tiger cubs, named Rano, Rani and Ranu, were being kept for further study.

Meanwhile, the zoo's deputy director, Abdullah Baab, said that the zoo did not report the deaths of the tiger cubs to Governor Sutiyoso.

"Our director had yet to report the deaths probably because he has been busy," Abdullah said.

Zoo director Ismianto is in Australia attending a meeting of the world's zoo directors.

Rano died on Aug. 21, Rani died on Aug. 27 and Ranu died the following day.

Sutiyoso said that he was shocked to learn of the white tiger cubs' deaths. He said that he had taken his daughter Reni to see the tigers four times at the zoo.

The zoo, which received two white tigers from the United States several years ago, had successfully bred the animals in captivity.

Twelve white tigers still remain at the zoo.

Ismiati told The Jakarta Post on Friday that the tigers had died of typhoid.