Two Bengal tiger cubs christened
JAKARTA (JP): Two of the four Bengal tiger cubs born at the Ragunan Zoo in South Jakarta over three months ago were christened on Tuesday.
The names -- Bima and Belang -- were selected from entries sent by 379 students of six international schools and two local private schools in a contest sponsored by the Friends of the Zoo.
Zoo director Ismiyanto announced the selection in a ceremony on Tuesday beside the tiger enclosure.
Lena Ripple from Pondok Indah Elementary School and Andrea K. from the International French School in Cilandak selected the winning names.
Kartini School students Aditya Hartawan and Yustus La Rangka were the other winners in the competition with their choice of Komar and Rimba.
The four cubs are the offspring of Basha, a white Bengal Tiger, brought in from Cincinnati in the United States in 1990 for breeding purposes, and Kunti, a yellow Bengal Tiger, said Diana Ridgeway, a volunteer with the Friends of the Zoo.
The Kartini students' names were not conferred on the other two cubs as the animals will not be staying at the zoo, but would be held over as potential names for other cubs, Diana said.
"We've no idea when or where the two are leaving for, but the names of Komar and Rimba will be kept aside," Diana told The Jakarta Post.
She said the names would possibly be given to the as yet unborn offspring of two White Tigers Nieve and Nehru. The cubs are due to be born at the end of June.
The zoo attendant in charge of the four cubs, Massadi, said the four were bathed every day at 10 a.m..
"All four cubs play for at least two hours after being bathed and then sleep until 3 p.m. They are doing just fine. At night, the four sleep with their mother, Kunti," Massadi said, pointing to an enclosure equipped with a wooden plank separating the lower section.
Kunti was seen roaming restlessly in the enclosure, once the plank was removed.
"The plank is placed in such a way so as to prevent Kunti from seeing her cubs playing. She does not like to see the cubs play without her," Massadi said.
He said the schools which had joined in the contest had done a "noble thing".
Participating schools included Cita Buana School, the International Australian School, the Jakarta International School and the Global Jaya School. A total of Rp 5.75 million was raised for the Friends of the Zoo, which is in charge of feeding 47 carnivores at the zoo.
Diana said it cost between Rp 1.6 million to Rp 2.2 million each day to feed the carnivores.
"The animals are fed boar meat from Sumatra and chicken."
She said that Friends of the Zoo -- an organization of about 150 families who care for the welfare of animals -- contributed up to 220 kilograms of meat every week. (ylt)