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sick hippopotamus at Surabaya Zoo is in danger of following in the tragic hoof-steps of his former neighbor — a babirusa that died on Monday as a result of neglect due to a managerial conflict.

The babirusa, a member of the pig family native to Indonesia, died a day after a komodo dragon passed away at the same zoo, also due to sickness.

The sick hippopotamus is one of eight hippopotami at Surabaya Zoo, which was once hailed as having the most complete animal collection in Southeast Asia.

The zoo has been hit by a string of animal deaths and thefts since 2008 that have been blamed on an internal managerial conflict.

Anthan Warsito, a manager at the zoo, said that he hoped the recent animal deaths would be the last.

“I pray there will be no more deaths. Last year saw too many animals die for us not to learn a lesson,” Anthan told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

The zoo is now famous only for frequent animal deaths and the poor conditions that the animals live in – the legacy of a managerial rift that first emerged in 1998 and then later returned in 2007.

As many as 362 animals died in 2008, followed by 327 animals in 2009 and 20 animals in 2010 due to illness — in most cases pneumonia and diarrhea — as well a malnutrition and cramped and unsanitary conditions.

The government was urged to step in to save the zoo in March 2010 by assisting the caretaker management, chaired by Tony Sumampau.

A seemingly new chapter of conflicts emerged almost a year after the team took over when Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharani expressed the city administration’s interest in managing the zoo.

Risma, as the mayor is popularly known, said that a decree that allowed the team to seek investors violated a Home Ministry regulation on the management of state assets. She also said that the zoo was built on state land asset.

“Under the [Home Ministry] regulations, the municipal administration — not the central government — has the right to select investors. The team must not seek investors without going through legal procedures required by the municipality,” she said.

Tony Sumampau said that some investors had shown interest in investing in the zoo, but all moves to do so had been held up by certainty over the management.

As part of its improvement efforts, the management was reported to have repaired cages, provided clean water for the animals and released 40 starlings; the last step an effort to reduce the animal population at the zoo from 4,000 to 2,000.