Bali Zoo 450 animals could face food shortages

Bali Zoo 450 animals and 70.000 animals based in 55 other zoos in Indonesia could face food shortages  when stocks running out  after May 15 th 2020.

The vital work of of Bali Zoo continues through the pandemic to provide excellent care for 450 animals that live here without revenue from admissions.  Mr. Sulistyo Widodo,the  Head of Conservation Section II of Bali Natural Resource Conservation Agency said that it’s getting now increasingly challenging to cover basic operating expenses of Bali Zoo who is closed from March 19 th until May 29 th 2020.

A survey conducted by the Indonesian Zoo Association (PKBS) this month showed that 92 percent of the association’s members in Sumatra, Java, Bali, Lombok and Borneo – 55 zoos – had stocks to feed their animals only until mid-May 2020.

The survey also showed that only three zoos would be able to provide food for one to three months, while only two had enough for more than three months.

The zoos within the association house more than 70,000 animals from 4,912 species endemic to Indonesia and those from other parts of the world. The captive animals include protected species such as the Sumatran tiger, the Bornean orangutan, the Sumatran elephant and the anoa.

“Not all zoos receive money from the government. Some are privately owned and rely on the revenue from ticket sales.

The association’s secretary-general Tony Sumampau said four zoos recently signed up to join the PKBSI so they could solicit the government’s help. In order to register for PKBSI membership, zoos must have contingency plans for unexpected risk in the future.

We do have a contingency plan—but only for one to two months. It has been already a month since zoos started seeing zero attendance as a result of COVID-19,” said Tony.

The association has written to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and related ministries and agencies, asking the government to pay more attention to the condition and welfare of zoos and other conservation centres during the outbreak.

In the meantime, members are sharing strategies with each other regarding animal feed management, including reducing the amount given to the animals and changing the composition of the feed.

Sulhan, who is also a member of the management of the Bandung Zoological Garden in West Java, said zoos could feed their animals for up to four months by using alternative foods.

“For example, we used to feed a leopard every two days with three to four kilograms of [beef and mutton]. For now, we’ve changed its diet to beef and chicken.”

This change has been implemented by zoos that house many carnivorous animals, such as Taman Safari Indonesia (TSI) in Bogor, West Java, which has 134 carnivores including Javan leopards, lions and cheetahs. The zoo has stopped importing meat to feed them.

“The tigers usually eat six days a week, but now we only feed them five days. It is possible that we will only feed them four days a week if conditions remain like this,” said Tony who is also the director of TSI.

Source : Bali zoo 450 animals : https://www.thejakartapost.com