His own and future generations of Indonesia would benefit from the appreciation of nature BENJAMIN GALSTAUN gained at Klakah, East Java, where he was born on April 30, 1913 and spent his youth. He was the youngest of seven children of Paulus Johanes Galstaun, an Armenian, and Djainah Mariam Rahardjo, a Javanese.

His Armenian father had migrated from Esfahan, Persia (now Iran). A Caucasian and chiefly farming people, the Armenians had once occupied a region extending from the Black to the Caspian seas. They had maintained their separate identity in spite of successive division and rule of their homeland by Romans, Arabs, Mongols and Persians. In the 1890s the harsh oppression of the Turkish conquerors and especially the nomadic Kurds prompted many Armenians to seek a safer and better life in faraway places. Paulus Galstaun chose to make the Netherlands Indies (now Indonesia) his new homeland and carefully selected Klakah as the place where he would settle. The town was located about 150 kilometers southeast of Surabaya and a lesser distance from Probolinggo and Pasuruan, there was good railway connection to those three seaports and the land was fertile. "The start my father made in building a new life proved to be lucky," his son BENJAMIN writes, "and with his marriage to my mother more land was utilized." By their own learning and enterprise and with assistance from the agricultural experiment station in Pasuruan, the couple's farm grew into a large agricultural estate the produce of which could readily be shipped by rail to the seaports.

Growing up on his family's by then 3,500-hectare, 2,000-work force plantation, where coffee, tobacco and pineapples were raised, BENJAMIN enjoyed roaming the estate and the wild countryside around it, and exploring the wonders of nature. Observing the horses and other domestic animals on the plantation, as well as the tigers, panthers and monkeys inhabiting the lush surrounding areas, instilled in him an early and lifelong fascination for zoology. Visits to the zoo in Surabaya, which his father supported for several years, also encouraged his interest in zoological parks.

After his primary schooling in Klakah, BENJAMIN was sent to the Dutch high school in Surabaya where he received his General Certificate of Education in 1930. Although he did not attend the university, he continued to educate himself by reading widely and avidly. On visits to Surabaya his training in zoology and veterinary science was furthered by friends at the university, in particular three professors who allowed him to participate in autopsies they performed. Recalling those days he has said that for him "the practical experience was always the most exciting" part of the learning process. During those post-high school years he lived and worked on the family plantation.

Determining in late 1939 to set out on his own, his starting point, as he calls it, was the private German trading firm of N.V. (naamlore venrootschap meaning in Dutch limited liability company) Carl Schlieper Handelsgesellschaft where he first apprenticed in the sales department. The firm handled equipment for sugarcane factories and plantations growing coffee, cacao, tobacco, tapioca and other crops, and maintained good relations with its many customers by giving instruction on the use and care of machinery sold to them to insure that good results would be achieved in production and processing. GALSTAUN became one of those in the information department assigned to train both factory staff and laborers in classes and in the field.

After the outbreak of World War II he became an artillery captain with the Dutch Home Guard. In this capacity he was taken prisoner by the Japanese in 1942, soon after their occupation of Indonesia, and sent to Kamioka, near Toyama on the west coast of Honshu Island in Japan, where prisoners of war worked in the copper mines. When the Japanese surrendered to the Americans in 1945 he was transferred first to Okinawa and then to Manila, Philippines, where he spent nine months with the U.S. Prisoners of War Administration assisting in the rehabilitation and repatriation of Australian, American, British and Dutch war prisoners. In April 1946 he was repatriated to Jakarta with a Dutch group connected with the Nederlands Indische Handelsbank, and he spent the next two years as an export inspector for this bank.

Soon after his arrival in Jakarta GALSTAUN met Henriette Esche. Also a Eurasian, she had pursued her self-education in botany as he had in zoology and shared his keen interest in Indonesian flora and fauna. Their marriage on January 14, 1947 cemented a working partnership that had developed from their first meetings.

As early as 1946, though Jakarta then was periodically being cut off by the Indonesian revolution from land communication with other parts of the country, Dutch zoo lovers had pressed Henriette Esche and GALSTAUN to join with them in rebuilding the city zoo. In late 1946 GALSTAUN accepted appointment by the Board of Trustees as Commissioner of the Zoological and Botanical Gardens, popularly known as the Cikini or Jakarta Zoo. He was charged with supervision over the spending of money being raised from banking and other firms. From the beginning there was no limit on activities. "The difficulties, as always," GALSTAUN writes, "were lack of money and public participation," but with the cooperation of a few biologists and veterinarians he and Henriette began to restore the Cikini Zoo. The war, GALSTAUN felt, had eroded civic responsibility and pride and for recreation that would help rebuild public unity the zoo deserved a much higher priority than cinemas. "Interest or no interest in animals, we must start" was the motto the GALSTAUNS and their colleagues adopted.

Having meanwhile to provide for his own and his wife's living GALSTAUN in 1950 joined the N.V. Telka Company. This firm was engaged in the same business as the German trading firm of N.V. Carl Schlieper, which was no longer operating in Indonesia. He served for three years as an apprentice and from 1953 to 1958 as a Branch Director.

During the war the Jakarta Zoo had been 75 percent destroyed and many animals had been killed while others had been taken to Japan. By the time GALSTAUN was appointed Commissioner there were few animals left and few funds forthcoming for the zoo. However, he devoted himself to focusing public attention on the need for the zoo and directed his considerable energies to reviving the old Flora and Fauna Society. In 1956 he was appointed Secretary-Treasurer of the zoo, a position he held until his appointment as Managing Director in 1958. At this time he gave up his position with the N.V. Telka Company to devote himself full time to his new assignment. Today GALSTAUN chairs the Managing Board which was set up in 1968 as the zoo's governing body by Jakarta Governor Ali Sadikin (1971 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Government Service "for his innovation, foresight and compassion in design and management of a modern administration giving residents of Indonesia's capital a sense of increased well-being in a finer community"). The Managing Board is assisted by an Advisory Board.

The Jakarta Zoo was established in 1864 by the Vereniging Planten en Dierentuin te Batavia (Flora and Fauna Society of Batavia) in an area called Cikini, a suburb of Batavia as Jakarta was known during Dutch rule. The site was the garden of Raden Saleh (1807-1880), Indonesia's first modern painter. A great nature lover who frequently painted native animals, Saleh was appointed the first honorary member of the Board of Founders of the society which had been formed by prominent Dutch residents.

When GALSTAUN became director of the zoo in 1958 there were two basic questions he had to resolve: the location and function of the institution. About 300,000 people resided in Jakarta when the Cikini Zoo was established, but ninety-four years later the population of the city had expanded to nearly 4,000,000. What had once been a site in the suburbs was now in the center of a teeming metropolis and it became clear that a 10-hectare zoo could not adequately serve the large population. It was necessary to find a new site. GALSTAUN’s wife, Henriette, was instrumental in locating a 185-hectare, long abandoned experimental garden of the Department of Agriculture, some 20 kilometers south of the city near the town of Ragunan.

The other problem to deal with was function. GALSTAUN began to explore the possibility of combining a zoological and botanical garden to create a zoological park, and to examine ideas on the contribution which such an institution could make to the nation. In 1964, after talks with city officials where he put forth his by now concrete proposals, the city agreed to move the zoo to Ragunan and to create a modern zoo in a park-like setting. GALSTAUN was appointed Chairman of the Planning Committee and he and his wife, with their respective zoological knowledge and botanical expertise, worked with architects and engineers from the city government to complete the plan and design for the new zoo by 1965. The Cikini site was to become a cultural center—the Taman Ismail Marzuki.

A zoo, in its most limited sense, is a collection of wild animals for the curious to observe. Man has an ancient tradition of displaying exotic creatures—the Egyptians, the Chinese and the Romans all had court menageries. European rulers followed suit with collections of their own. Over the years, however, wild animals began to be displayed before a wider sector of society for they were always a great attraction and a source of entertainment. Traveling menageries exhibited unfamiliar animals with great popular and financial success. Eventually, to save the expense of traveling shows, permanent zoos were established in the 1800s. For the most part these early zoos, like the traveling shows, housed the animals in small gloomy cages; few people were concerned about the conditions the animals barely endured. Focus was upon convenience to the zoo keeper and the visitors, with little attention given to the physical or mental needs of the captives. Moreover, visitors were, in many cases, allowed to feed the animals whatever food they happened to have on hand, with the result that many anima sickened or died.

Only in the early twentieth century did a concern for the weld being of animals in captivity develop into a recognition that animal needed special treatment. A few zoos began to provide natural habitat for the animals. Toward the middle of the century there also developed a concern for the manner in which zoos acquired new specimens. The typical hunting expeditions for zoos had been characterized by a "free for all" attitude, without regard for the possible extinction of certain species. Numerous times the mother would be killed to facilitate the capture of the young which were easier to transport. Those transporting the animals over long distances often had little knowledge or understanding of the diets or health needs of the creatures and many died on route.

With the greater knowledge of and concern for animals which came with the passing of the years, collecting methods improved and designs were developed for modern zoos; today it is not uncommon to view animals in surroundings similar to those from which they originally came. GALSTAUN was one of the pioneers in Asia of the modern zoo.

As an observant boy on the family plantation he had developed keen awareness of his surroundings and sensitivity to animals. He now added meticulous attention to animal needs, both physiological and psychological, and hard work.

From earliest days it was clear to him that the new zoo had to be different from the traditional one. Animals were not to be on display behind bars, nor were they to be housed in barren or artificial settings. They were to be free, as much as possible, to live and roam in a habitat closely replicating their natural one.

Moreover, at the core of his philosophy was the conviction that a zoo ought to take into account the natural environment of a country to reflect the geographical and ecological conditions found there. Ragunan Zoo therefore was to be a showpiece of Indonesian animal and plants.

With urbanization, population growth and the increasing need for cultivating more and more land, many forms of wildlife have suffered the loss of their natural habitat and face extinction. In Indonesia—as in other parts of the world—animals have become scarce and quite a few species have almost disappeared—a condition GALSTAUN desperately wants to prevent. By gathering together representatives of these and other native animals, the Ragunan Zoo hopes to make an important contribution in the preservation of Indonesian wildlife.

GALSTAUN’s emphasis on the preservation of wildlife and its presentation within a natural setting is not only for the sake of the animals, but also to give people as much of an insight into "nature" as possible during zoo visits. In accentuating the native plants and wildlife, citizens, especially the young who have grown up knowing only an urban life, will better appreciate their heritage. The character of the zoo, he feels, can have an important role in strengthening national identity in the midst of the wide variety of nations and cultures in the world.

By recreating nature the zoo, moreover, can teach visitors how animals live in the wild and awaken in them an interest in ecology, showing them the importance of animals in maintaining an ecological balance and the need for safeguarding endangered species. For visitors from abroad it will be an introduction to Indonesia's natural endowments. GALSTAUN’s fervent wish, thus, is that the zoo be a place of beauty which will inspire men to care about their total environment.

GALSTAUN and Henriette worked closely on the construction of the new zoo. Henriette's special interest as a botanist was in orchids and landscaping. In 1964 she was named to the volunteer position of Botanical Architect of the Ragunan Zoo and thus has been in charge of the planting and landscaping from the beginning. The outstanding beauty of the zoo is due largely to her.

In September 1964, the month of the centennial celebration of the Cikini Zoo, GALSTAUN oversaw the exodus of the 450 mammals, reptiles and birds to the new location which was named Taman Margasatwa (Garden of Wild Animals), but is usually known as the Jakarta or Ragunan Zoo. The difficult task of physically moving the animals had to be done at night in order not to disrupt traffic, and wires had to be lifted to permit the transport of the large containers holding the elephants and giraffes.

Many of the staff at the new zoo were inexperienced in dealing with animals and GALSTAUN had to teach them to respect the animals, demonstrating that they were not to be treated roughly. To the outsider the work of an animal keeper appears deceptively easy, but much is involved in maintaining zoo animals that escapes the eye of the visitor. For example, a rapport must be established with elephants so that the keeper can enter the display area to clean the grounds and care for the animals" personal needs. Elephants daily must be hosed down to wash off the dust they love to roll in, and every so often they must have their toenails trimmed—an operation that would have occurred naturally in the wild as they walked over rough ground or rubbed their feet against rocks.

Many apes require a morning greeting; if neglected they may throw temper tantrums or behave rowdily. Some require verbal praise before they will cooperate so that chores can be done. Apes, as well as many other animals, are intelligent and individual and a keeper needs to understand their personalities. Moreover, most animals must be provided with physical and mental exercise to prevent boredom and lethargy. Inactivity can result in unnatural behavior, giving visitors mistaken notions about how the animals normally behave. Lacking stimulation animals may pace back and forth, continuously repeat one activity, or stand still for hours.

Besides caring for and protecting the animals, GALSTAUN in the early years had to care for and protect the visitors—from the thieves who frequented the grounds. In an ingenious move he convinced the latter to work for the zoo as employees. Littering was also a problem. Relying at first on signs telling visitors not to throw trash over the railings, he found that people did not read them. Therefore he removed the signs and had his wife plant the areas with lovely flowers and shrubbery. Since then the littering had decreased significantly.

The zoo and its parkland today consist of 200 hectares about half an hour drive from Jakarta. The entrance buildings are constructed in local architectural style. A large greyish monument of four rejoicing elephants welcomes visitors, whose eyes then travel toward the gardens which extend from the main driveway in a profusion of colors against a lush green background. The entire area is planted with trees—bamboo, conifers, fruit trees and acacias among others, many of which were planted originally to shade the young plants of the old experimental garden. Now they shelter animals and visitors alike from the hot tropical sun in a setting where animals, plants and visitors seem equally to belong. Even the refreshment stands scattered throughout are made to blend into the surroundings. The animal display sections are linked by good footpaths and lovely landscaped areas. A mini-train will take visitors on round-trip viewing excursions and ponies may be rented by those who want them. Guides are available to explain about the animals and plants to visitors along the way. Identification labels have been provided for the animals and for the majority of trees and shrubs as well.

One of the major attractions of the zoo is the artificial lake 900 meters in length. In the lake are five islands covered with vegetation, the home for geese, ducks, swans, rabbits, peacocks and primates. Visitors can watch black Australian swans gliding slowly by, gibbons and other primates living together and looping from branch to branch in a semi-natural situation, and peacocks scratching for food along the footpaths. A leisurely row in a rented boat may result in a closer view. In other areas animals also are displayed in ways that show affiliation by taxonomic group and in some cases by community.

The zoo is now the home of over 1,800 mammals, amphibians and reptiles, fish and crustaceans, and around 1,700 birds. These figures indicate a dramatic increase over the 450 specimens moved in 1964. Most of the specimens are from the Indonesian archipelago, although there are a few foreigners: European bears, Australian kangaroos, German golden pheasants, several Portuguese bulls donated by Portuguese matadors in 1969, and African lions and zebras.

One of the most unusual exhibits is the rare Komodo dragon, the world's largest lizard. These flesh eating creatures, which sometimes reach nine feet in length, come from the small hilly, barren island of Komodo which lies east of Java between the islands of Sumbawa and Flores. Sumatran tigers, some of the few left in the world, are fascinating to watch as they take their morning bath in the moat around their spacious den. From Sumatra also come elephants, now protected by law because of their scarcity; the saddlebacked tapir (also known as the long-spouted Sumatran tapir), another species with few left in the wild; and some black siamangs (gibbons) which constantly swing back and forth, whooping and shouting in their zoo habitat. There are shorttailed apes and proboscis monkeys native of, and found only in, Borneo.

Among the most popular animals in the zoo are the six orangutans (in Malay lit. "men of the forest"), once plentiful in the heavily forested areas of Borneo and northwestern Sumatra. Big, reddish-brown and manlike, these apes can often be seen begging for handouts; the zoo, however, enforces the strict rule against feeding animals. Highly intelligent and clever, the orangutans are constantly finding weaknesses in the construction of their "castle"—a reminder that zoo maintenance can never cease.

The birds to be found in this garden of wildlife include the birds of paradise with their elegant plumage of bright colors, and the kasuari with their violet or red and yellow necks; both come from New Guinea. Also from New Guinea are the Brolga cranes, tall silvery gray with dark brown wings and naked skin on the sides of their faces and backs of their necks; and the blue-crowned pigeon with intriguing tufts of peacock-like feathers adorning its head. And for some 90 species of free living birds the zoo is an important refuge in a rapidly spreading urban complex.

In another part of the zoo a small stream which runs into the lake, goes through the fenced-in living quarters of three big crocodiles. The snake display is unusual in that the snakes, instead of inhabiting a flat concrete area, live in a natural setting with dripping water, a pool, rock and tree trunks. There is also an aquarium with between 7,000 and 10,000 fish. Some of the creatures mingle together much as they would in the wild. For example, birds and mousedeer—small hornless animal of Southeast Asia and West Africa superficially resembling miniature deer—live together in harmonious balance.

A challenge faced by any zoo director is to encourage animals in captivity to reproduce. While some, such as lions, seem to have no area difficulty in producing offspring in captivity, others infrequently, if ever, do so. The reproduction of zoo animals is vitally important today because it is the only way to save some species from extinction. When babies are born to rare animals it is indeed a reason to rejoice. GALSTAUN and his associates were rightly elated in 1976 when 22 species of mammals, 12 species of birds and 2 species of reptiles gave birth in the zoo and 8 of these mammal species and 7 of the bird species were listed in the International Zoo Yearbook census of rare animals in captivity.

Problems encountered in the reproduction and rearing of captive animals are numerous. Taken from their natural environment and traumatized by the move itself, the animals may react by refusing to mate or by becoming sterile. Animals, paired by their keepers in what are thought of as "perfect" matches, may not take any sexual interest in each other; perhaps because of having been separated for a long time from one of the opposite sex, or perhaps because of having been denied the experience of seeing mature adults mating in the wild, they may not know exactly how to go about it. Even if they mate there is no guarantee that their sexual activity will lead to offspring.

Moreover, mother animals do not always know how to take care of their young; often they do not know how to nurse. This may be b cause of shyness in the presence of human observers or because they have not observed their peers in the wild.

It is most important for animal keepers to understand the natural practices of animals and to provide the right conditions for them to reproduce and raise their young. Some animals may display an instinctive and natural desire to hide the infant, in which case there is the need to provide hiding places. It is also frequently necessary to separate the father from the offspring (as in the case of the hippopotamus) for the male may display jealousy and harm the baby.

GALSTAUN's exceptional understanding of and empathy for animals can be seen when he talks proudly of the successful births and rearing of 12 orangutan babies in the Jakarta Zoo. Given that fewer than 3,000 are believed to exist in their native rain forests, this is an important accomplishment. The two youngest, Felix born in 1974 and Bernadetta born in 1975, were kept in cribs and clothed to avoid chills while very young; helpless as any human infant, they had to be fed. Also noteworthy is the success the zoo has had in keeping the delicate proboscis monkey alive in captivity. These animals need at least five years of gentle handling after capture before they fully accept new feeding patterns and new surroundings. Only then can they be displayed or sent to distant zoos.

In this work an important contribution was made by Frau Ulriche von Mengden who was a special zoo cooperator. This German woman had "an affinity for animals," GALSTAUN writes. "She was a world famous specialist in newborn orangutans who may need help at any hour, also cared for sick animals and made a point of cleanliness in the hospital." An enthusiastic volunteer, she donated 10,000 deutsche marks in 1968-1969 when the zoo was in need of funds.

The Ragunan Zoo has a quarantine section and a hospital for sick animals or those not yet accustomed to their new lodgings. Here they are in the able hands of zoo veterinarians who rarely lack work, for they are concerned with preventive as well as curative medicine. Checkups are routine. Loss of appetite or unexplained activity must be investigated. Surgery for broken bones or other injuries is not uncommon.

"We feel that we have made steady progress in the few years that our zoo has been in its present location," GALSTAUN wrote in 1977. "During the first phase our emphasis was on developing facilities. Now we are at a stage where we can plan more extension education and scientific research programs for the future."

The zoo's limited resources for basic scientific research have been concentrated in four areas: the captive breeding and animal health programs, rare animal surveys and cooperation with Indonesian and foreign scientists. In its captive breeding program the zoo has been slowly gathering information both on the more common and the rare species that will help other zoos and provide managers with data needed to maintain wild populations. The animal health program is expanding and becoming more efficient but, GALSTAUN says, "the zoo has a long way to go and in this area we are actively trying to cooperate with an interested institution."

The Ragunan Zoo has conducted surveys of some of the rare animals and has helped with others. Recent examples are the cooperation with the World Wildlife Fund's Java tiger survey and the zoo's own survey of the proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) in south Kalimantan In a broader context the doors of the Ragunan Zoo are always open for research activities. Close cooperation between the zoo and several universities in Indonesia has resulted in joint appointments, joint seminar and the exchange of information and advice. This collaborative effort makes possible field and laboratory research in the areas of animal behavior and the relationship of animals to the environment. The zoo' reference library, though still short of GALSTAUN's aim, contains some 1,300 books on biology, zoology, botany, ecology and related subjects in Dutch, German, English and Indonesian, and is administered by librarian from the University of Indonesia.

GALSTAUN has consistently expressed his desire and willingness to work with foreign zoological and botanical gardens and foreign scientists. He corresponds with numerous zoos and has established connections with the New York Zoological Society and the National Zoological Park of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the Survival Service of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, and in 1975 he visited Germany, the first zoo director to be invited by the government of the Federal Republic. On that trip—his first away from Indonesia since the war—he visited zoos and colleagues in Berlin, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Hanover and Hamburg, the latter the site of one of the earliest animal parks designed to take the natural habitat of animals into account. In August 1977 he went to Austria as a member of the International Union of Directors of Zoological Gardens, a world organization of 960 zoo directors. He has received numerous distinguished visitors at Ragunan e.g., scientists and diplomats from West Germany, the United States, Japan and Italy, two staff photographers of Life magazine, and many Indonesian government officials.

The overwhelming number of people who have visited the zoo have been, however, just plain citizens who come to enjoy the beautiful surroundings and to learn something about nature. Open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., the entrance fee is 100 rupiahs (US$.25) for adults, 50 rupiahs for children under 14, and those under three are admitted free. The annual attendance has increased steadily over the years, with 1,500,000 coming through the entrance gate in 1976 compared to 300,000 in 1971. For the most part these visitors come from Jakarta but more and more urbanites from other parts of Indonesia are coming to see the collection of animals and plants which offers them their only contact with "nature." There are also villagers whose reactions GALSTAUN finds interesting and sometimes delightfully direct. He relates the example of a group of villagers passing the enclosure where four tigers were playing and bathing in the pool. He overheard a mother ask her 12 year old son, "What food must be given to those animals besides grass?" The boy's answer was, "Only meat and good meat and no grass at all. They eat grass only if they feel sick." To this the mother nodded and said, "Just what I thought. We eat meat if we feel sick, otherwise there is no chance to get it. It is better to be a tiger."

All of the professional zoo staff are involved in local conservation efforts and are ready to give talks when asked. They try to reach Jakarta school and Boy Scout groups going into the country on camping trips on their holidays, and to increase their appreciation of the natural world. A major source of information for the public about animals in Indonesia have been articles contributed to newspapers by senior staff members or articles written by reporters who have interviewed them. A formal education program for the staff includes the use of films and lectures by senior members and outside experts. Staff families are invited to the film showings to maintain their interest in the zoo. The zoo curators work with the keepers to increase their working knowledge about the animals in their care and the keepers are actively involved in the data gathering process, especially regarding the breeding and animal health programs.

The staff of the zoo numbers 245—including gate attendants, gardeners, security personnel, those who run the refreshment stands (often retired zoo employees), and cleaners (frequently widows from the surrounding area). GALSTAUN insists on high standards and he is credited with both efficiency and imagination in running the zoo and in coordinating the great variety of activities which go into maintaining it. As director he must make sure that the display areas meet the physical and psychological needs of the animals. At the same time he must be sure the animals are securely confined yet clearly observable to viewers. Visitors must be protected from potentially dangerous animals, yet the animals must also be protected from uncaring, irresponsible persons. The success of a zoo depends upon the proper interaction between animals, animal keepers, veterinarians, administrative staff and visitors. GALSTAUN’s success in administering Ragunan Zoo can be seen in the healthy look of animals and in the happy faces of the visitors.

GALSTAUN has always had a successful working relationship w the city -officials as well. When the zoo was being moved from Cikini the governor of Jakarta was most supportive as were other officials. Since then the zoo has continued to receive the enthusiastic backing the municipal council. GALSTAUN has worked closely with the city landscaping department and the departments of parks and public works. The city allocated the zoo 40 million rupiahs annually for the first five years, with 20 million designated for roads, housing of animals, office space and other necessities, and the rest for land purchases. The city has continued to provide subsidies for capital expenditures and the salaries of municipal personnel assigned there, but the institution otherwise entirely self-supporting. Expenses are covered by gate receipts, the sale of refreshments and tickets for recreational facilities. There is currently a surplus of some 14,000,000 rupiahs which GALSTAUN hopes to use for expansion.

GALSTAUN’s love of animals shines through in pictures published in the newspapers in which he is often seen holding one of the tamer beasts. He has made a point of writing articles for the press, informing the public about latest zoo developments, just as he encourages other senior staff to write feature stories. He has been continuously active the Director of the Flora and Fauna Society since 1964, Director the Indonesian Kennel Association and a Conservator of the Forest (the preservation office in charge of maintaining the forest and the ecological balance of the area).

Viewing the Jakarta Zoo as an important element in develop a strong and viable infrastructure for nature conservation in Indonesia, GALSTAUN lays emphasis both on educating the public and on train personnel from the Department of Nature Conservation and Wild Management.

Always concerned about protecting wildlife, he has called strong measures to be taken in limiting the issuance of gun licenses in greater Jakarta. Although the guns are purportedly so that people can rid crop lands of wild animals, in reality, he says, people shoot whatever they want; therefore as long as people want and buy animal hides, skins, GALSTAUN we will continue to lose species." Not only must an effort made to educate the public about the value of living creatures, he continues, zoos must refrain from buying illegally captured animals. Acting in cooperation with the Department of Nature Conservation and Wildlife Management to control this trade, the zoo reports information receives on illegal activities and provides facilities for holding con cased animals.

GALSTAUN and his wife live in the midst of their creation, for their home is situated in a private sector of the zoo, surrounded by the flowers, vines and trees of their native land. After a day in which both put in long hours of work, they return to this quiet, restful retreat. GALSTAUN is an excellent painter, a hobby he turns to in his few spare moments. Henriette continues with her interest in orchids, and the front veranda of the house overflows with a spectacular collection.

In their garden are three cages: one the home of a black Sumatran siamang, the second the home of a grey gibbon, and the third for two talking myna birds. Taught by Henriette the birds have mastered a sizeable vocabulary—Indonesian and Dutch, and have perfected an imitation of GALSTAUN’s throat clearing. A tame black South American alligator snoozes by a nearby pond waiting for an occasional pat, while a number of deer wander in the area. A Great Dane dog completes their personal menagerie. These are token representatives of the animal life which BENJAMIN GALSTAUN has worked so hard to preserve for future generations.

September 1977|
Manila

REFERENCES:

Galstaun, Benjamin. "Conservation, Scientific and Breeding Programmes; Kebun Binatang Jakarta, Ragunan." July 12, 1977 (Typewritten.)

______. "Education Program: Kebun Binatang Jakarta Ragunan." July 12, 1977. (Typewritten.)

______. "Flora and Fauna—Part of Changing Lide," Indonesian Observer. Jakarta, July 23, 1975.

______. "The Foundation of Modern Indonesia."Ibid. October 21, 1976.

______. Jakarta Zoo—Municipal, Zoological and Botanical Gardens. Taman Margasatwa (Jakarta Zoo). June 22, 1966. (Typewritten.)

______. "Notes on the Jakarta Zoo." June 28, 1977. (Typewritten translation from Dutch by Father Potsma.)

______. "Once Again, You Are Welcome in the Ragunan Zoo, Jakarta," Indonesian Observer, Jakarta. May 9, 1974.

______. "Welcome to Taman Margasatwa, the Jakarta Zoo," Ibid. June 13, 1973.

______. "Zoological and Botanical Gardens and Their Role in Society." Presentation made to Group Discussion. Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, Manila. September 2,1977. (Typewritten transcript.)

Hancock, David.Animals and Architecture. New York: Praeger Publichers, Inc. 1971.

"The History of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 'Taman Margasatwa Ragunan' Jakarta." Jakarta: Association of Flora and Fauna. 1961.

Jakarta Zoo, Ragunan. Brochure. 1966.

"Ragunan Zoo," Indonesia. Jakarta. April 1970.

Interview with and letters from persons acquainted with Benjamin Galstaun and his work. Visits to the Jakarta Zoo, Ragunan.