Deer population at Bogor Palace concerns officials
Deer population at Bogor Palace concerns officials
BOGOR (JP): The 804 deer grazing on the 28-hectares Bogor
Palace grounds is worrying the palace staff because of the
limited amount of grass for their feeding.
According to the palace head of protocol Endang Sumitra, the
grass on the 20 hectares allowed for feeding the deer is only
sufficient for feeding 500 deer.
"This is one of the primary problems the Bogor Palace is
facing," Endang told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
He admitted that the problem was not the first time it has
occurred. The deer population at the palace, which celebrated its
518th anniversary early this month, also was overcrowded in 1979
with some 900 deer.
"We (at the time) settled the problem by distributing the deer
to zoos and animal shelters in Indonesia, including the Taman
Safari park in Cisarua, West Java," Endang said.
What the palace staff most worries about is a drought, similar
to the long dry season of two or three years ago.
"The 20 kinds of grass at the palace grounds usually become
dry," he said.
According to him, the deer have never been considered a bother
by palace officials or guards even though the animals are free to
roam.
"They are sensitive and private creatures, who find strategic
and isolated places when they want to deliver their young, or
die. When their horns fall off, the palace cleaners usually
collect them and hand them over to the palace," she said.
"In the past, some of the horns were sent to Tampak Siring
Palace (in Bali) where they are used as a tool to hit the
traditional gamelan musical instruments," Endang said.
Rumors have it that some of the deer have been slaughtered by
the palace staff and guards for eating.
According to Endang, the deer at the palace were brought in by
the Dutch colonial governor general Herman Willem Daendels in
1808.
He bought three pairs taken from the border of India and
Nepal, he said.
But a report said that the six deer were brought to the park
by British governor general Thomas Stanford Raffles in 1811.
In 1992, police arrested a group of men for stealing 37 deer
from the palace. One of the suspects admitted to having sold some
of the stolen animals for between Rp 2 million and Rp 3 million
each. (21/ylt)