Visited 20 October 2009
The zoo at Bukittinggi in west-central Sumatra is, quite frankly, a place that I do not hesitate to call a disgraceful anachronism, a throw-back to 19th century menageries. I wasn’t expecting it to be a great zoo but I was hoping for at least something to appreciate about it. The only thing I can come up with that’s even close to praise however is that the tiger pits give the animals about as much room as seen in various Western zoos, and that the wallabies were on grass. Everything else I shall say is damning.
The zoo itself is tiny, positioned on top of a hill in the middle of town. You could walk round the entire thing in less than half an hour and see all there is on offer. Apart for the aviaries and a couple of other cages for primates and binturong, every single enclosure is in the pit-style, surrounded by bars or spikes, and generally small and dirty. The aviaries can barely be called aviaries, being more like squared boxes of wire in which various species of pheasants pace a few steps in each direction (there were great argus, crested fireback, Lady Amherst’s, common ringneck, and Sumatran peacock-pheasant, as well as blue and green peafowl, guineafowl, domestic poultry, and a very few random other birds like a fire-tufted barbet, eclectus parrots and some purple gallinules).
From the entrance the first enclosure/cage/pit/whatever you want to call it, housed four sambar deer, then there was a series of the completely-inadequate aviaries (when I have uploaded photos in the future you will see exactly what I mean!). A divided pit housed another pair of sambar with a fawn, a dromedary, and wallabies labelled as Thylogale bruijnii (not sure of that ID yet, will check before uploading photos), while opposite that was the elephant enclosure, pitifully small but as both elephants were chained in place I don’t suppose that really matters! More aviaries followed, and then a disgusting pit for a pair of Malayan tapirs which shouldn’t be anywhere near this zoo. A pit for wild pigs was next to that, not really too bad for them I guess, then the path trailed round the lip of the hill to an absolutely shocking concrete hole for sun bears that was more 18th century than 19th. An even worse one was to be seen a bit later (into which apparently a little two-year-old girl had fallen some time ago).
Some more pits for reptiles at least gave them some room. There were kept here three saltwater crocodiles in one pit, two Tomistoma in two pits, a couple of tortoises and a water monitor. Next to these was a pit for two Australian pelicans of all things, with large mesh stretched over the top to keep them in (or keep people out). I’d love to know where these Indonesian zoos are getting all the Australian pelicans! It must be from Irian Jaya. Glass-fronted rooms nearby were partly empty (one was labelled “landak Brasil” which means Brazilian porcupine) but the others held a slow loris, an unidentified snake (with quail), and a couple of Asian porcupines.
At the top of the hill were the pits for Sumatran tigers which, as noted, weren’t as bad as the rest of the zoo, being grassed and of a not-too-small size, as well as the second of the gruesome bear pits. The saddest part of the zoo by far though were the primate cages. There were six, three on one side for orangutans and backing onto them two for siamang and one for macaques. Bars and mesh with a few ropes made up the environment. One of the orangutans was a staggeringly massive male, by far the largest I have encountered in my life, but with the saddest eyes I’ve ever seen on man or beast. He honestly looked like if he had a rope he would hang himself. It was incredibly heartbreaking.
Another not-so-nice part of the zoo was the zoological museum in the centre, which was basically a long glass-walled room that you viewed from outside and which was jam-packed full of mounted animals. Normally I like museums but I have no doubt at all that every one of the specimens displayed here (except the whale skeleton) were former inmates of the zoo itself. There were LOTS of siamang and various monkeys; several tigers, lions and orangutans; serow, goral, various wild cats, a couple of baby elephants, sun bears; Tomistoma and other large reptiles; and many birds including three cassowaries and a greater bird of paradise.
The next zoo I shall be visiting, in a few days time, is the Medan zoo which even Lonely Planet describes as an abomination. If its worse than the Bukittinggi zoo then I shall probably join the orangutan on the end of a rope.
Photos will be uploaded in a month or two.
The zoo at Bukittinggi in west-central Sumatra is, quite frankly, a place that I do not hesitate to call a disgraceful anachronism, a throw-back to 19th century menageries. I wasn’t expecting it to be a great zoo but I was hoping for at least something to appreciate about it. The only thing I can come up with that’s even close to praise however is that the tiger pits give the animals about as much room as seen in various Western zoos, and that the wallabies were on grass. Everything else I shall say is damning.
The zoo itself is tiny, positioned on top of a hill in the middle of town. You could walk round the entire thing in less than half an hour and see all there is on offer. Apart for the aviaries and a couple of other cages for primates and binturong, every single enclosure is in the pit-style, surrounded by bars or spikes, and generally small and dirty. The aviaries can barely be called aviaries, being more like squared boxes of wire in which various species of pheasants pace a few steps in each direction (there were great argus, crested fireback, Lady Amherst’s, common ringneck, and Sumatran peacock-pheasant, as well as blue and green peafowl, guineafowl, domestic poultry, and a very few random other birds like a fire-tufted barbet, eclectus parrots and some purple gallinules).
From the entrance the first enclosure/cage/pit/whatever you want to call it, housed four sambar deer, then there was a series of the completely-inadequate aviaries (when I have uploaded photos in the future you will see exactly what I mean!). A divided pit housed another pair of sambar with a fawn, a dromedary, and wallabies labelled as Thylogale bruijnii (not sure of that ID yet, will check before uploading photos), while opposite that was the elephant enclosure, pitifully small but as both elephants were chained in place I don’t suppose that really matters! More aviaries followed, and then a disgusting pit for a pair of Malayan tapirs which shouldn’t be anywhere near this zoo. A pit for wild pigs was next to that, not really too bad for them I guess, then the path trailed round the lip of the hill to an absolutely shocking concrete hole for sun bears that was more 18th century than 19th. An even worse one was to be seen a bit later (into which apparently a little two-year-old girl had fallen some time ago).
Some more pits for reptiles at least gave them some room. There were kept here three saltwater crocodiles in one pit, two Tomistoma in two pits, a couple of tortoises and a water monitor. Next to these was a pit for two Australian pelicans of all things, with large mesh stretched over the top to keep them in (or keep people out). I’d love to know where these Indonesian zoos are getting all the Australian pelicans! It must be from Irian Jaya. Glass-fronted rooms nearby were partly empty (one was labelled “landak Brasil” which means Brazilian porcupine) but the others held a slow loris, an unidentified snake (with quail), and a couple of Asian porcupines.
At the top of the hill were the pits for Sumatran tigers which, as noted, weren’t as bad as the rest of the zoo, being grassed and of a not-too-small size, as well as the second of the gruesome bear pits. The saddest part of the zoo by far though were the primate cages. There were six, three on one side for orangutans and backing onto them two for siamang and one for macaques. Bars and mesh with a few ropes made up the environment. One of the orangutans was a staggeringly massive male, by far the largest I have encountered in my life, but with the saddest eyes I’ve ever seen on man or beast. He honestly looked like if he had a rope he would hang himself. It was incredibly heartbreaking.
Another not-so-nice part of the zoo was the zoological museum in the centre, which was basically a long glass-walled room that you viewed from outside and which was jam-packed full of mounted animals. Normally I like museums but I have no doubt at all that every one of the specimens displayed here (except the whale skeleton) were former inmates of the zoo itself. There were LOTS of siamang and various monkeys; several tigers, lions and orangutans; serow, goral, various wild cats, a couple of baby elephants, sun bears; Tomistoma and other large reptiles; and many birds including three cassowaries and a greater bird of paradise.
The next zoo I shall be visiting, in a few days time, is the Medan zoo which even Lonely Planet describes as an abomination. If its worse than the Bukittinggi zoo then I shall probably join the orangutan on the end of a rope.
Photos will be uploaded in a month or two.
Selamat datang ke dunia, bayi harimau Sumatra! 