Neglect and infighting between the management of Indonesia's largest zoo cost the lives of hundreds of animals, including a rare Sumatran tiger over the weekend, an official said Monday. "The deaths of the animals were a result of neglect in the zoo as the officials were busy fighting over who would manage the facility," Surabaya zoo's interim management member Tony Sumampau told AFP.
A 20-year-old critically endangered Sumatran tiger died on Saturday. A lioness died on Wednesday and female Papuan kangaroo two days earlier. Between June and August alone, 20 animals died from illnesses and poor living conditions such as overcrowded cages, he said. "In January, 13 baby Komodo dragons died due to overcrowded cages and lack of sunlight," he said.
Sumampau recorded 362 animal deaths in 2008, and 327 last year, attributing the majority to treatable illnesses including pneumonia, diarrhoea and malnutrition. Thousands of animals in the zoo are languishing in cramped and dirty cages, he said. Due to internal conflicts, the zoo's management had not renovated the cages for about 20 years, although the government allocated billions of rupiah annually for the zoo's upkeep, Sumampau said.