Deer me, grass sweeter in Monas

Deer me, grass sweeter in Monas

Bambang Nurbianto and Theresa Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Bogor

It would appear that the criticism of Governor Sutiyoso's
decision to release 12 spotted deer in the National Monument
(Monas) park might have been wrong -- six does are now reportedly
pregnant.

Ironically, the Bogor Presidential Palace, which had earlier
rejected Sutiyoso's request to supply deer, can no longer provide
enough grass for its 600-strong herd due to the long dry season.

The does, which were released at Monas park in June along with
the six bucks, are expected to give birth in November and
December.

The deer project leader, Hadi S. Alikodra, said that the does
were impregnated before they were released as the mating season
for deer was in February and March.

"They are now in a very excellent condition as they have
enough food and a good place. We will have more deer soon,"
Alikodra, who is also an expert from the Bogor Institute of
Agriculture, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

The deer project raised many questions as many feared that a
crowded area like Monas would not be suitable for the deer.

Besides the noise, the high level of air pollution around the
park was unhealthy and the deer would be stressed, critics said.

However, Sutiyoso ignored the critics, saying the plan had
been approved by experts. He then allocated five hectares of land
within the 100-hectare Monas park for the deer, installed fences
around it and planted grass on it.

Sutiyoso had earlier asked for deer from the State
Secretariat, which manages the Bogor palace where hundreds of
deer reside, but was rejected.

He then decided to release 12 deer sourced from the National
Intelligence Agency (BIN), his house in Cibubur, East Jakarta,
and contributions from others.

On June 5, President Megawati Soekarnoputri inaugurated the
deer zone at Monas. One deer died before the ceremony but was
replaced.

Alikodra claimed that the deer would not suffer food shortages
as the grass planted in the park was adequate for 30 deer.

He said the deer were also given additional food of 50
kilograms of carrots every 10 days.

But the fate of the 600 deer at the Bogor palace has not been
as good as those in Monas since they are now forced to eat sweet
potatoes as there is not enough grass -- their normal food -- to
feed them.

Head of the maintenance and equipment division at the palace,
Apandi, said the grass at the palace and that taken from nearby
Mount Salak could not meet their daily consumption needs during
the dry season.

Apandi said that around 300 kilograms of sweet potatoes were
purchased each day for the deer with the price ranging from Rp
900 to Rp 1,200 per kilogram.

"The deer eat a small part of the grass. But they eat all
parts of the sweet potatoes," he said.

Apandi said the changing food of the deer would not affect
their health condition as it had been given according to an
expert recommendation: Half a kilogram of sweet potatoes for each
deer.

Head of the animal care division at the Bogor municipal
Agriculture Agency, Herlin Krisnaningsih, said his office
contributed hay as additional nutrition.

"Starting this evening we will give four sacks of hay produced
by the National Research and Development Center," he said.