Medan zoo workers protest after loss of rare animal

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

The deaths of several endangered zoo animals, allegedly due to carelessness in their relocation, has triggered protests from zookeepers at the Medan Zoo.

One of the zookeepers, Abdul Torek, said on Saturday that they had submitted their protest letter to the Medan municipal council, pointing out that the relocation of the animals to the new zoo was not adequately prepared and did not involve all the people who have expertise in such relocations.

"The number of rare animals, which have died in the new zoo has continued to increase since the relocation," said Torek, who has been working at the zoo for 15 years.

The relocation started about eight weeks ago, removing the animals from the old three-hectare zoo located in the heart of Medan to a new, 30-hectare site located on the city's outskirts, some 10 kilometers from the former zoo. The new zoo was officially opened on April 16.

According to the zoo's head veterinarian Asrul Anwar, some 25 rare animals -- including two Sumatran tigers, a honey bear, five spotted deer, 14 turtles, a wildcat and a Polish fowl -- have died due to ill-treatment.

The animals, he said, died either during the relocation process or a few days after being relocated to the new zoo.

Asrul said the causes of death are most likely due to careless relocation procedures and poor conditions at the new zoo, which lacks sufficient water and shade trees.

He also blamed inappropriate dosages of tranquilizers being used, some past their expiration dates.

"We've discovered the misuse of tranquilizers. For instance, one animal was supposed to have two bottles of sedative, but was only given one. And the expiration dates had passed. We have all the evidence," Asrul told The Jakarta Post at the zoo.

Several animals, such as two Sumatran tigers and the honey bear, could not survive because of illnesses, and they eventually died, he added.

On Saturday, he said, three orangutans, a Sumatran tiger and a lion were still suffering from the effects of the sedatives.

"Their conditions have not returned to normal because they have not been eating properly at the new location. How can they possibly get well if there's not enough food," asked Asrul.

The five Sumatran tigers, for instance, should have been given 21 kilograms of meat daily, but are given only 10 to 15 kg per day, he said.

When asked to confirm these allegations, caretaker of the Medan Zoo, Syariful Alam, said he had only heard about the protest but had not received anything in writing. He declined to comment further, saying he had referred the matter to his superiors at the city's Medan Development Agency, as the zoo management is under the auspices of that agency.

However, he denied the relocation was conducted in a careless manner, saying it had been planed for a long time. But he did acknowledge that the barren and humid conditions at the new zoo were adversely affecting the animals. They have, however, recently planted around 100 tree seedlings of various kinds, such as mango, palm, cotton and hardwood trees, so that in a few years there may be some shade for the animals at the zoo.

Relating to the misuse of expired tranquilizers, Syariful said the relocation process was done appropriately and the administered dosage was correct, while adding that the cause of death was not due to expired drugs, but because the animals were already sick before they were moved.

Responding to questions about the amount of food for the animals, he only could respond by saying that some animals were not supposed to be fed on a daily basis, such as snakes which are only fed once a week.

"We have to spend Rp 1 million (US$105) for animal feed every day, so it's not true that the animals are underfed here," said Syariful, adding that the zoo was currently home to over 266 animals.

Asrul, however, disagreed about the number of animals mentioned by Syariful. According to him, the number of animals has decreased to 182 since the relocation.

"The number of animals in the new zoo now stands at 182, because many have died and some of them have not been moved to the new site, such as 65 fish," said Asrul.