Down, Not Out: Threatened Species Find Sanctuary at Taman Safari

Jakarta Globe, Camelia Pasandaran & Ihsan Hartono, October 9, 2013

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.”

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.

Tapirs are among the animals that Taman Safari's rehabilitation center

houses. (JG Photo/Camelia Pasandaran)

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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).