Indonesian named international studbook keeper for Tapir

Cisarua, W Java (ANTARA News) - An Indonesian wild animal activist was last January 7 named international studbook keeper for Tapir by the New York-based World Association for Zoo Animals (WAZA), a zoo animals official said.

The title was awarded to Sharmy "Ami" Prastiti, an animal curator of the ex-situ conservation institution of the Safari Indonesia Park (TSI) in Cisarua, Bogor, West Java.

"We can be proud that Indonesia now has an international studbook keeper for Tapir (Tapirus indicus)," Jansen Manannsang, president of the Association of the South East Association for Zoo Animals (SEAZA), said here on Monday.

He made the statement on the sidelines of a training course on ex-situ population management led by Kathy Taylor Holzer, Ph.D of the IUCN-Conservations Breeding Specialist Group.

So far Indonesia already had several national standard studbook keepers, namely Ligaya Ita Tuebelaka for Sumatera Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae), Retno Sudarwati for Gold Cat (Catopuma temminckii) and Yohana Trihastuti for Bekantan (Nasalis larvatus).(*)