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.