Security concerns delay gorillas' arrival

Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Four gorillas from a zoo in England failed to arrive here as scheduled due to the security situation in the capital, it was revealed on Thursday.

The four male apes, Kihi, Kimbou, Kijou and Kumou, from the Howletts and Port Lympne animal park in Kent, England were expected to enter their newly built Rp 10 billion one-hectare home in Ragunan Zoo, South Jakarta, on Saturday.

The project was postponed, however, due to security concerns in the capital, Willie Smits, director of the Gibbon Foundation, said.

Anti-American protests in several cities in Java along with a travel warning issued by a number of embassies in Jakarta, are the main reasons why the Howletts animal park in England decided to postpone sending the gorillas, he said.

"From what they saw in television reports, the situation in Jakarta is unsafe, therefore the delivery of the gorillas has been postponed until the situation is more conducive," Smits told reporters after his meeting with Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso.

In response to this development, Sutiyoso is sending Ismianto, the head of Ragunan zoo to England to assure the management of Howletts and Port Lympe that there is no reason to postpone the delivery as the primates will be unharmed.

"As instructed by the governor, I shall leave for England next week to meet with Howletts' officials and explain to them that the situation in Indonesia is under control," Ismianto said.

All requirements specified by Howletts prior to agreeing to lend the four gorillas for a one-year period, such as vaccinations, quarantine and the gorilla enclosure are well prepared, he added.

Commenting on the delay, Sutiyoso said he had telephoned the British Ambassador, Richard Grozny, to express his objection to the postponement.

"I told him that I personally guarantee the safety of the gorillas," he said.

The governor expects the primates to arrive some time this month and postponed the inauguration of the enclosure.

Should the gorillas arrive at Ragunan, the zoo would be the only one in Asia to have the rare primates.

The delivery of the gorillas is being arranged and financed by an animal lovers foundation founded by the late Mrs. Puck Schmutzer who mandated Willie Smits to arrange the transfer in her will.

The state-run Ragunan zoo has about 3,500 animals consisting of 253 species.