Rare gorillas from Africa can be seen at last in Ragunan
Rare gorillas from Africa can be seen at last in Ragunan
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
After months of delay and controversy, four male gorillas are
scheduled to welcome visitors to their lavish cage at Ragunan
Zoo, South Jakarta, from Aug. 20.
The gorillas, Kihi, Kimbou, Kijou and Komou, have occupied
their new enclosure, costing Rp 10 billion, since Monday.
On Friday, they amused themselves in the playground of their
one-hectare enclosure. The black gorillas behaved like children
as they are reportedly still young, from four years to six years
old.
Apparently, they have adapted well to their new environment,
after being in quarantine since their arrival here from the UK
last month.
They have also been close to Dharma Jaya, a zookeeper who was
trained at the Howlett and Port Lympne Park in Kent, the UK, for
nine months in how to look after them.
Dharma is able to communicate with the rare apes, which can
best understand communication with humans in English as they were
born and grew up in the UK.
Peter Lichtfield, Hewlett's collection director, said earlier
that Howletts would "lend" the lowlander gorillas for one year
initially, but if their health deteriorated, Howletts would
return them to England.
The gorillas have been a matter of controversy here since last
year. They were supposed to arrive here last September, but
their arrival was postponed due to concern over the security
situation here.
At the time, the city was experiencing continual
demonstrations following the bombardment of Afghanistan by the
U.S. military.
In October, another controversy surfaced when the
administration demanded Rp 3.2 billion from the city budget to
pay for the gorillas' food.
However, director of the Gibbon Foundation Willie Smits said
later that the Gibbon Foundation would bear the cost of the
gorillas' food.
The foundation also oversees conservation of the primates in
Kalimantan.
After that, the date of their arrival was uncertain. The
enclosure, whose official name is the Schmutzer Primate Center,
was left vacant for months.
The center's name originates from the late Mrs. Puck
Schmutzer, an animal lover from Germany, who mandated Willie
Smits to construct a gorilla enclosure here as well as to bring
several gorillas over from the UK.
Visitors who intend to see the gorillas must pay an additional
Rp 5000 per person for entry to the enclosure. All visitors are
banned from taking bags in and feeding the gorillas.
The zoo has installed dozens of cameras to monitor both
gorillas and visitors. Zookeepers are under strict instructions
to remove visitors from the enclosure, should they try to feed
the gorillas.
Visitors would also not be allowed to take pictures of the
apes, to prevent them from becoming distressed by camera
flashlight, Dharma explained.