More controversy befalls gorillas

More controversy befalls gorillas

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It seems like a gorilla can't get a break in this town. After
having their arrival delayed by several months, four male
gorillas on loan from the Howlett and Lympne Park in Kent,
England, continue to be a source of controversy more than a month
after their arrival.

Visitors who want to get a look at Kihi, Kimbou, Kijou and
Komou -- as the lowland African gorillas are known -- will have
to pay Rp 5,000, in addition to Ragunan Zoo's entrance fee of Rp
3,000 for adults and Rp 2,000 for children.

This amount is higher than that stipulated in a bylaw the City
Council approved on Oct. 24 of last year.

The bylaw, which was approved by a vote of the council's 11
factions, stipulates that the entrance fee to see the gorillas is
Rp 2,000 for children and Rp 3,000 for adults.

The authorities have not explained why visitors will be
charged Rp 5,000 instead of the amounts laid down in the bylaw.

Controversy was already swirling around the gorillas, which
have been loaned to Ragunan Zoo for one year initially, before
they even arrived in Jakarta.

The four were scheduled to arrive here in September last year,
but the date was pushed back because of security concerns in the
capital.

In October, the city administration caused a minor uproar by
requesting Rp 3.2 billion from the city budget to pay for the
gorillas' food.

However, the director of the Gibbon Foundation, which is
concerned with the conservation of primates in Kalimantan,
Willie Smits, said the foundation would bear the cost of the
gorillas' food.

Following this controversy, there was some question as to if
the four gorillas would ever get the chance to visit Jakarta, and
their luxurious enclosure was left vacant for months.

But on Monday, the gorillas were in their Rp 10-billion
enclosure, official named the Schmutzer Primate Center, after the
late Mrs. Puck Schmutzer whose donation made all of this
possible.

And with Governor Sutiysoso scheduled on Tuesday to officially
open the primate center, everything was in spic-and-span order,
with all of the controversies seemingly forgotten.