Medan zoo workers protest after loss of rare animal

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.