Jakarta Globe, Camelia
Pasandaran & Ihsan Hartono, October 9, 2013
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| Taman Safari, located in Bogor, West Java, has 18 tigers in its breeding center, six of which were brought to the zoo for rehabilitation after suffering serious injuries elsewhere. (JG Photo/Camelia Pasandaran) |
The car
came to a sudden stop as Taman Safari park director Tony Sumampau opened the
door, yelling at a group of foreign tourists breaking one of the park’s most
important rules: never step out of your vehicle.
“Get back
into the car,” he yelled at the confused-looking men.
The men
stood there sheepishly before climbing back inside. Guest safety is a constant
concern for Tony. Taman Safari is a cage-less zoo and a veritable Noah’s Ark of
animals. Our van rolled past wandering giraffes, bathing hippos and crouching
lions as we headed deeper into the park.
The beasts,
which seem tame enough from the car window, have enticed curious visitors from
their cars. The consequences of getting too close to a wild animal, Tony
warned, can be severe.
“We had an
incident one time where a foreigner ventured outside of his vehicle and got
bitten,” he said. “The embassy got involved.”
Located in
the Puncak highlands of Bogor, West Java, Taman Safari is one of Indonesia’s
most famous zoos. It houses roughly 2,500 animals with a special focus on
Indonesian species. At the safari section of the zoo, visitors can drive
through the grounds and gaze out the window at a wide range of free-roaming
animals.
But the zoo
is also known for something else: it’s an internationally recognized
animal-rehabilitation center tasked with treating some of the nation’s most
critically endangered animals.
Decades of
unchecked deforestation and rampant poaching have taken a toll on Indonesia’s
population of forest-dwelling animals. The Sumatran rhino, elephant and tiger
are all critically endangered.
Tiger tank
It’s a
tough life for Indonesia’s remaining Sumatran tigers.
Conservation
groups estimate that there are fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild.
Those that remain face serious threats from villagers, poachers and shrinking
habitats. The cats, the smallest living tiger species in the world, used to
thrive in the heavy jungles of Sumatra, where they existed parallel to cousins
in Bali and Java.
Experts now
worry that without intervention the Sumatran tiger will face similar
extinction.
Tigers in
the wild fall under the protection of several groups, including the Ministry of
Forestry and armed park rangers. But when the animals are injured by humans —
caught in snares or neglected by other zoos — they often end up at Taman
Safari.
The zoo has
18 tigers in its breeding center, six of which were brought to Taman Safari for
rehabilitation after suffering serious injuries elsewhere.
Dara, a
five-year-old tiger, was found trapped in a snare in Jambi.
“She was
taken to the Jambi zoo at first, but [after she came here], the infection
caused by the snare left us with no other choice but to remove her paw,” Bongot
Huaso Mulia, a veterinarian at Taman Safari, told the Jakarta Globe.
She rarely
leaves the platform in her enclosure and shields her missing paw under her body
constantly, keenly aware of her handicap.
“She
doesn’t want people to know that she’s missing a paw,” Tony said. “They
[tigers] behave like humans.”
Salamah,
another female tiger, was found trapped in a snare in Aceh. Her injuries were
so severe veterinarians had to remove one of her legs.
“She was
less than a year old at the time of the accident,” Tony said. “She was caught
for three days in the trap when a team from Syah Kuala University found her.
They amputated her paw, but her leg showed signs of necrosis, so they had to
amputate.
“After
several amputations, her leg was gone.”
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| Melani was rescued from the Surabaya Zoo and brought to Taman Safari after years of abuse. (JG Photo/Camelia Pasandaran) |
No gilded
cages
Sumatran
tigers face threats in captivity as well.
Taman
Safari’s most famous tiger-in-residence, Melani, made waves internationally
when photos of her emaciated frame were posted online by animal rights
activists. The photos served as a stark reminder of the state of some of
Indonesia’s zoos.
The
Surabaya Zoo, Melani’s former home, was less a zoo than a dungeon — a sad
symbol of neglect and mismanagement where dozens of animals dropped dead or
disappeared.
A giraffe
was found dead with 20 kilograms of plastic in its stomach. Komodo dragons
disappeared. An African lion slowly died in pain.
Melani, who
was born in captivity, was fed a diet of formaldehyde-tainted meat for years,
destroying her digestive tract in the process. The tiger lost all her teeth and
fell seriously ill, dropping to less than half her recommended weight.
Her
condition was poor enough that zoo staff first recommended Melani be put down.
But after months of treatment at Taman Safari, she was on the mend.
Nowadays,
Melani still struggles to keep on weight and consume solid food. She spends her
time silently sitting in her enclosure, displaying none of the ferocity usually
associated with her species.
“She’s no
longer suffering from anemia and hipovolemia, and her blood tests are showing
positive results. However, her malabsorption issue persists and since she is
getting older, it is difficult for her to go back to normal,” Yohana, Melani’s
veterinarian, previously told the Jakarta Globe.
Though
Melani has survived her mistreatment, it’s apparent that she will feel the
effects of years of neglect for the rest of her life.
A better
tomorrow?
The future
looks dim for Indonesia’s critically endangered animals. Deforestation
continues despite several high-profile commitments to curb the destructive
practice.
Animal-human
conflicts have become increasingly common in Sumatra, with villages reporting
elephant and tiger issues in Aceh and Riau. The Indonesian government has made
commitments to protect its endangered species, but a parallel push for
sustained economic growth has opened up previously untouched tracts of forest
to potential development.
The island
of Sumatra, home to some of the most critically endangered species, is ground
zero for the nation’s agri-business sector. Logging and plantation conversion
have decimated the natural forests in Riau, home to Southeast Asia’s largest
pulp mill.
From 1985
to 1997, an estimated 67,000 square kilometers of forest were lost in Sumatra.
Furthermore,
annual brush fires tear through the province, choking the region in thick haze
and injuring local wildlife — including several tapirs who now live at Taman
Safari.
Back to the
breeding center, a now-healthy Sumatran tiger named Bimo paces his enclosure.
After being rescued by the Riau Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA)
and brought to Taman Safari in 2011, Bimo was reportedly poisoned.
“A nearby
river from the place of his rescue contained diazinon, a type of insecticide
used in the area,” said Bongot Huaso Mulia, a veterinarian at the zoo. “So we
assume that he ingested that.”
As his
caretakers passed his cage, Bimo let out a devastating roar, a testament to his
health and well-being.
As wildlife
organizations try to work with plantation companies to monitor endangered
species on the island and thwart further habitat destruction, places like Taman
Safari provide a safe haven for Sumatra’s most vulnerable animals.
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Tapirs are among the animals that Taman Safari's rehabilitation center
houses. (JG Photo/Camelia Pasandaran)
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Related Article:
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| Surabaya Zoo, which is home to almost 3,000 animals, has come under fire for its gross negligence and mistreatment. (Photo courtesy of Jakarta Animal Aid etwork). |
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