One of the World’s Rarest Tigers Dies at the ‘Zoo of Death’

The Surabaya Zoo in Indonesia is a virtual hell on Earth for animals. The facility is one of the largest in Southeast Asia and was quickly dubbed the “zoo of death” by the public after it was reported hundreds of animals die there as a result of neglect and abuse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgoCdz7Ku_E

Rama, an endangered Sumatran tiger who was born in captivity and had numerous health problems, recently died of heart failure at the zoo. In 1978, experts estimated the population of Sumatran tigers to be 1,000. Today, however, fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers exist in the world.

Rare Sumatran tiger dies at Indonesian zoo where hundreds of animals have prematurely died https://t.co/zAxljXZWGL pic.twitter.com/xgWYvMM1W8

— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) April 21, 2016

Rama suffered from a bad cough and lethargy in the weeks before he died, and he’s not the only animal to live a life of misery and die an early, tragic death at the zoo.

In 2012, it was reported that just two years earlier, approximately 25 of the zoo’s 4,000 animals were dying prematurely every month.

A giraffe named Kliwon died at the zoo after swallowing nearly 20 kilograms of litter that had been thrown into his pen. Rozek, a 13-year-old Sumatran tiger, starved to death after his digestive tract rotted away from being fed meat laced with formaldehyde. Weather-related conditions were blamed for the death of a wildebeest and a young orangutan named Betty. Michael the lion was found dead, hanging from wires used to open the enclosure door. Even if only one of these incidents had occurred, it would indicate a significant problem with the zoo’s management. But together, they demonstrate the need for serious and immediate action.

A sick frightened giraffe at Surabaya Zoo in Indonesia. They don’t know what they’re doing #crueltytoanimals #animals pic.twitter.com/r6HNkVZ0Qf

— CC (@texasradio) February 19, 2015

While it’s too late for the many animals who have already died, hundreds of others continue to endure the zoo’s hellish conditions every day. The Surabaya Zoo should be closed immediately, and the animals should be sent to sanctuaries or other facilities that are better able to care for them.

Please e-mail your local Indonesian embassy and urge officials close the Surabaya Zoo. Please also never patronize any zoo. As long as people continue to buy tickets, animals will continue to suffer all over the world.

Close the 'Zoo of Death'!