T

he Surabaya zoo, which is embroiled in a management conflict that has spilled over to threaten the health of its resident animals, has announced that 14 of its animals, including a babirusa, a Bawean deer, a koala bear, an American black bear, a camel and a Sumatran tiger, are currently on the brink of death.

The news comes just weeks after two Komodo dragons at the zoo died from disease due to neglect.

“They are in a very critical state. Besides being skinny and ridden with disease, some of the animals are suffering from disabilities,” Surabaya Zoo interim management team head Tony Sumampau said.

The American black bear has a skin tumor and the Sumatran tiger is suffering from digestive problems. The two camels have head and leg wounds. The sick animals are being cared for by a team of veterinarians, Sumampau said.

“The conditions — cramped and unhygienic cages, and [poor] food — have affected the condition of the animals. I will continue to improve the condition of the cages so that they are worthy of being occupied by the animals,” he said, adding that an elephant and a white tiger were also in critical condition at the zoo.

Sumampau told The Jakarta Post on Monday that the zoo had a collection of 4,021 animals.

He said that the white tiger was very thin and had lost its appetite, and that the elephant was suffering from a foot disease.

He said that the internal managerial conflict at the zoo was a major contributor to the worsening conditions for the animals.

“The dispute within the zoo management is very complex. The animals have been deprived of care due to the worsening feud among the zoo managers. A number of zoo managers and employees are busy fighting rather than taking care of the animals,” he said.

The conflict — between Basuki Reksi Wibowo and the Stany Soebakir — began in 1998 and reached a crescendo in 2007.

Consequently, 362 animals at the zoo died in 2008, 327 in 2009 and 20 animals died from June through August last year, including a Sumatran tiger and 13 young Komodo dragons, all due to illness.

Most of them died of pneumonia, enteritis and malnutrition.

Consequently, the zoo management was taken over by a temporary management team consisting of members of the Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA), Indonesian Zoo Association, Surabaya municipality and Surabaya Flora and Fauna Association.

On Aug. 22, 2010, the Forestry Ministry revoked the operating license of the Surabaya Zoo, in the hopes of forcing an improvement of its management.

However, the internal conflict rekindled after Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini in April this year said that the city administration intended to take over management of the zoo, claiming that the zoo’s land was city property.

Animal observer and founder of ProFauna, Rosek Nursahid, said that the media had not been effective in reporting the deaths of the animals at the zoo. He added that reporters should be able to ascertain the causes of the deaths from the medical records at the zoo, rather than just repeat official statements declaring the causes of death as old age.

“The cause of the animal deaths at the zoo is connected to the management conflict at the zoo between the central government, through the Forestry Ministry, and the Surabaya municipality,” Rosek said.

He said that based on a ProFauna survey conducted together with zoological experts from the United Kingdom in 2000, state-run zoos in Indonesia tended to have inferior conditions to those run by the private sector.

“The survey was based on around 40 zoos in Java, Bali and Sumatra. Results showed that state-run zoos tended to be more poorly managed,” Rosek said.

14 critically ill animals:

5 Bawean deer
1 honey bear
1 black bear
1 Sumatran tiger
2 camels