COVID-19 pushes animals from Indonesian zoo on the verge of hunger

BANDUNG, Indonesia: Thousands of animals, including endangered Sumatran tigers and Borneo orangutans, face famine in Indonesian zoos as the global pandemic pushes closed facilities toward collapse, authorities say.

Around 60 penniless animal parks, home to roughly 70,000 creatures, across the Southeast Asian archipelago have been closed since mid-March, with most saying they only have enough food until mid-May.

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“Most zoos relied on ticket sales, so when they closed, everything collapsed,” said spokesperson for the Indonesian Zoo Association Sulhan Syafi’i.

“We have had to rely on creativity to survive,” he added.

This month, a German zoo director warned that some animals would have to be slaughtered to feed others, and the Indonesian zoo association recognized a similar “worst case”.

“If a few more months pass and we don’t receive any help from the government or other international organizations, then with a big heart we will have to feed the carnivores herbivores,” said Syafi’i.

Zookeepers have taken on the task of collecting grass and plants to increase food reserves for giraffes and other herbivores.

Portions of red meat for tigers and other carnivores have been cut by supplementing their diet with poultry, he said.

And the staff, which has already been hit by cut wages and hours, has even dipped into its own stock of personal chickens.

“That is enough to extend the life line,” said Syafi’i.

Still, it won’t replace the revenue generated by 50 million annual visitors to Indonesian zoos, and some are considering drastic measures as they rely on public donations and request emergency aid from the national government.

“We can sacrifice wildlife that is not endemic” to Indonesia, Syafi’i said.

“But for endemic wildlife in Indonesia, like the Sumatran tigers, we must do whatever it takes to save them. It’s sad, but at this point we have to start thinking about priorities.”

In Thailand, some animal parks depend on private donations to keep the creatures fed.

“Every private zoo is affected,” said Nantakorn Phatnamrob, owner of the now-closed Chang Siam Park in Pattaya, where tourists used to ride elephants, take selfies with tiger cubs, and see crocodiles breaking down.

In neighboring Malaysia, the zoo association has called for funds to try to avoid drastic decisions about which animals live or die.

“If the (shutdown) continues through June or July, there will be some problems,” said Kevin Lazarus, president of the Malaysian Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums.

“But we are not at that point yet. We are trying to mitigate … so we didn’t get to that kind of scenario.”

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