[Kabar-indonesia] Lack of funds forces suspension of Yogya komodo breeding program

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

The Jakarta Post
Tuesday, October 3, 2006

Gembira Loka forced to suspend komodo dragon breeding program 

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

photo: Komodo Breeding: Two komodo dragons fight for food in their enclosure 
at Gembira Loka zoo in Yogyakarta. The zoo authorities have stopped the komodo 
breeding program due to limited funds. (JP/Slamet Susanto) 

Declining numbers of visitors in the past six years has forced Gembira Loka 
Botanical Garden and Zoo in Yogyakarta to suspend its komodo dragon 
(Varanus komodoensis) breeding program.

Director of the Gembira Loka Foundation management, KMT A. Tirtodiningrat, 
said that the zoo could no longer afford to finance the program. 

"The cost of running the place is around Rp 200 million (US$22,300) a month, 
while income from ticket sales is less than half of the overhead costs," he 
said. 

Data showed that more than 1.1 million people visited the zoo in 2000, but 
the figure has continued to drop to a little more than 600,000 in 2005. The 
figure is expected to reach 400,000 this year. 

Breeding the reptiles, he said, required considerable funds. Enclosures have 
to be extended to separate the adults to prevent them from eating the young 
ones. "We have no means to build such enclosures," he said. 

One komodo dragon costs Rp 20,000 a day to feed, he said, adding that the low 
income has made it even difficult to breed the small number of komodos. 

Tirtodiningrat acknowledged Gembira Loka was never intended as a 
profit-oriented enterprise right from its inception. It was built due to the Yogyakarta 
Sultanate's love and interest in animals. 

The zoo has made efforts to attract investors but does not have any at 
present. 

Currently, there are nine komodo dragons remaining -- seven placed in 
enclosures and the two others who are quarantined due to illness. 

In order to save money, the lizards are fed horse meat every Wednesday, which 
is cheaper than beef. 

The seven giant lizards live in two separate enclosures measuring 10-by-10 
meters. To minimize costs, the enclosures are separated by corrugated zinc 
sheets, while the one measuring 10-by-20 meters cannot be used since one of its 
walls has collapsed and has not been repaired. 

Gembira Loka started breeding komodos in 1974. It received a pair of komodo 
dragons from their natural habitat in East Nusa Tenggara, to be bred in 
captivity. 

The breeding program was quite a success, especially from 1992 to 1996, when 
it was able to breed 111 young komodo dragons. 

It obtained the Wana Lestari Nugraha award from the forestry minister in 1998 
and another award from Thoiry Zoo in Paris, France, also in 1998, for the 
achievement. 

However, it has not received any real support from the government. 

"The government had only provided support in the form of an award, but not 
financially. That's why we decided to stop the breeding program," he said. 

The zoo needs Rp 5 billion to repair animal enclosures, office buildings and 
public facilities while the management can only afford Rp 100 million for the 
purpose. 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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