Zoo games cloud ape project

Zoo games cloud ape project

Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The prolonged row between the city's Ragunan Zoo and the
councillors has confused Howletts and Port Lympne Animal Park,
which will lend four gorillas to the zoo, and the Gibbon
Foundation, which will provide support for the care of the apes.

Willie Smits, director of the Gibbon Foundation, said he was
disappointed with the inaccuracy of local media reports and with
the dispute between councillors and the Ragunan management,
mostly about the spending on the gorillas.

"The people in Britain are hesitant (to lend the gorillas) as
newspaper clippings on the matter are sent there," Willie said in
a discussion here on the controversy surrounding the gorillas,
organized by the Dialog Forum on Tourism.

He added that soon experts would come to Indonesia to
determine whether Ragunan really deserved the gorillas.

"I don't understand, as we are only trying to help. Why are
people here making such a fuss about the funds to feed the
gorillas? Our foundation will be providing the funds for the
whole three-year period," he added.

Smits was mandated by the late Mrs. Puck Schmutzer, founder of
an animal lovers' foundation, in her will to arrange the lending
of four low-land African gorillas, to Ragunan Zoo.

Schmutzer also financed the building of a giant enclosure for
the gorillas, costing Rp 10 billion, in Ragunan Zoo.

The Gibbon Foundation will cover all expenses for the gorillas
and other primates in the zoo. According to Smits, Rp 200 million
per month was enough to feed and maintain the gorillas and other
primates in the zoo.

The gorillas could eat vegetables, hibiscus leaves known
locally as kembang sepatu, and even sugar cane and not merely
imported and expensive fruits.

Earlier reports stated that for the four gorillas alone, the
zoo would need to allocate Rp 2.2 million per day or a total of
Rp 3.2 billion annually, which would be taken from the city
budget.

"I am confused by media reports that the zoo management is
still asking for some Rp 3.2 billion annually from the city
budget. What is it for?" Smits remarked.

Also speaking in the discussion were Allen Marbun, the zoo's
operational director and Agus Darmawan, a member of the City
Council's Commission B for economics and development affairs.

A councillor last week urged the city governor to dismiss
Allen for allegedly trying to bribe him with Rp 90 million in an
attempt to cover-up irregularities in the spending of funds at
the zoo.

Allen said the City Council deserved the money as they had
actively taken part in land acquirement for the zoo.

Allen denied media reports on the zoo's proposal for the funds
for the gorillas. "You may examine our proposal, there is not a
single mention about the gorillas."

According to Allen, what was reported by the media was the
calculation made by the zoo, which was submitted to the city
administration for the calculation of the ticket price to see the
gorillas.

"We need to put together all costs, including the food, the
maintenance of their enclosures and other things, to calculate
the ticket price," Allen said.

The City Council last month set tickets at between Rp 2,000
and Rp 3,000.

When asked to comment on the gorilla controversy, Agus
Darmawan only said that from the very beginning, the councillors
were never consulted about the plan for the apes to be lent to
the zoo.

"And if all the controversy is now about the figures, it is
still being discussed by the City Council's Commission C for
budgetary affairs," Agus said.