Three white tigers dead

Three white tigers dead

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A former employee of the Ragunan Zoo disclosed on Friday that
three white tiger cubs died last month due to what he claims was
improper care and feeding by handlers of the rare animals.

Nadi Sanjaya, a former employee, made the statement to city
council members as he complained that he had been wrongfully
demoted by the zoo management. Ragunan officials accused Nadi and
another staff member, Masduki, of negligence in the death of the
rare and beautiful tiger cubs.

Nadi claimed that Ragunan Zoo management falsely accused he
and Masduki in the deaths of the animals and forcibly transferred
the pair of civil servants to the South Jakarta Mayor's Office to
work as janitors. His salary was also cut from Rp 350,000 to Rp
100,000 per month.

According to Nadi, who had been working at the zoo for 15
years, the tigers died after consuming rancid pork. "It was a
veterinarian of the zoo who caused the deaths (by feeding them
the spoiled meat)," he claimed.

His colleague, Masduki, had reported the case to the South
Jakarta Police but said he received no response.

City Governor Sutiyoso said he was shocked to hear Nadi's
report, saying that he would check and ask Ragunan authorities to
explain the problem.

But Ismunanto, the director of Ragunan Zoo, denied Nadi's
reports, saying that Nadi and his colleagues were not telling the
truth.

"It's not true. The white tigers died, not because of improper
care, but because they contracted typhoid," he said.

Typhoid is contracted from the Salmonella bacteria found
especially in rotten meat.

He noted that Nadi and Masduki were not fired. "They are civil
servants. So it is natural if they also experience a kind of
staff rotation from the zoo to the mayor's office," he said.

Ismunanto said that Nadi and Masduki were employed to observe
and report on the animals at the zoo and not to care directly for
the animals.

He added that they are third rank civil servants with salaries
more than the Rp350,000 which they claimed.

Previously, the Ragunan Zoo was criticized for losing three
Komodo dragons and then accused staff members of stealing the
huge, rare lizards. The missing animals were later found in the
zoo complex alive and well.