Gorillas arrive in Jakarta after flight delays

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Gorillas arrive in Jakarta after flight delays

Deutsche Presse-Agentur

July 10, 2002

 

Four gorillas from a British wildlife park have arrived in Jakarta after a

lengthy postponement of their visit because of security concerns following

the September 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S., news reports said on

Wednesday.

 

The four males apes, hailing from the Wild Life Park in Howletts, Port

Lympne, England, arrived in Jakarta late Monday night aboard a special

flight that included a stopover in the Netherlands, said the state-run

Antara news agency. They will become a special attraction at the capital's

Ragunan Zoological Garden after spending a month in quarantine.

 

The gorillas were originally scheduled to arrive in Indonesia late last

year, but their visit was postponed by almost 10 months due to " certain

technical problems, " said Dr Willie Smits, executive head of the Gibbon

Foundation in Indonesia.

 

Local newspapers reported that the British zoo had postponed the ape

delivery shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and

Washington, which sparked security concerns in Indonesia - the world's

largest Moslem country.

 

There were also concerns raised about the facilities of the Ragunan

Zoological Garden, which has been blamed for the untimely deaths of several

exotic inmates in recent years.

 

The Gibbon Foundation has donated 6 billion rupiah (690,000 dollars) for the

gorillas' care while its Indonesian branch has given another 210 million

rupiah (24,138 dollars) to cover the animals' food, medical and

grass-matress bills during their three-year sojourn in the Jakarta zoo.