Monas park to welcome ten deer next month
Monas park to welcome ten deer next month
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The city administration is scheduled to transfer 10 spotted deer
from the Bogor presidential palace in Bogor, West Java to the
National Monument (Monas) square in Central Jakarta on May 22.
Hadi S. Alikodra, the coordinator of the team tasked to handle
the relocation of the animals, said on Thursday all preparations,
including the 2.5-hectare site at Monas square, had been
completed.
"Everything is OK., we have also received the permit from the
state secretary to move the deer from Bogor presidential palace,"
Alikodra told the press after meeting with Governor Sutiyoso.
Alikodra, who is an expert on the wild Javanese ox from the
Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), was hired by the city
administration to coordinate the team tasked with preparing the
release of the deer at Monas grounds.
The idea to release the 10 deer -- eight doe and two males --
came from Governor Sutiyoso following the completion of his
controversial project to fence Monas.
The deer settlement has also alarmed many, as experts have
questioned whether a crowded area like Monas is a suitable place
for such sensitive animals. Sutiyoso has ignored the warnings,
saying the plan has been approved by experts.
Alikodra also revealed the plan of the city administration to
take two male deer from India, as part of the efforts to improve
the genes of the animals, who have been inbred since they were
placed in the grounds of the Bogor palace in 1911.
"We hope that the Indian deer will arrive in Jakarta next
year," he added.
Five hectares of land or 5 percent of Monas square has been
prepared for the deer. Some 1.5 hectares of it has been planted
with grass expected to be the source of food for the animals,
which consume between five kilograms and seven kilograms of grass
per day.
As explained in the paper prepared for the meeting, some 3.2
hectares of the area has been planted with trees to provide
shelter from both from the sun and rain.
Alikodra said that although Monas only needed 10 deer, the
team would catch some 20 deer, from which 10 would be selected.
The deer will be placed in plywood boxes and then taken to a
quarantine room.
The deer will be tranquilized to prevent injury in case they
try to escape from the boxes.
Before being taken to Jakarta, the animals will be kept in a
room measuring 2.2 meters wide and 53 meters long at the Bogor
palace for three days. This is expected to help reduce the stress
of the relocation.
The deer will be taken to Jakarta at 10 p.m. to avoid traffic
congestion. The vehicles carrying them will travel at around 60
kilometers per hour to avoid sudden braking during the journey.
After reaching Monas, the animals will be kept in another area
for two days to prepare them to adjust to the new place.