The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Headlines | Sun, February 02 2014

After a female barking deer was found dead at the Surabaya Zoo on Friday, zookeepers found a komodo dragon that had died on Saturday. Zoo spokesman Agus Supangkat confirmed the death, saying zookeepers found out at about 11 a.m. but could not reveal the cause of death.

“An autopsy is still being carried out. So we are still trying to identify the cause of death,”  he said as quoted by kompas.com on Saturday.

On Friday, zoo visitors notified zookeepers after seeing a barking deer having a seizure while foaming at the mouth. The deer died at around noon on Friday.

“The deer was already dead when zookeepers arrived. They did not have a chance to help the animal,” head of mammals at the zoo, M Rofi, told kompas.com on Friday.

Rofi said the deer was immediately examined at the pen and evacuated to an animal quarantine facility at the zoo. The female deer was reportedly pregnant. The initial suspicion was that the deer’s death was the result of a miscarriage or hormonal disorder. This was proved by fetus damage inside the 6-year-old female deer.

A number of detectives from the Surabaya City Police were also seen at the zoo and examined both the scene and the deer.

Earlier on Jan. 1, a lion named Michael was found dead at about 7 a.m. with his neck strangled by the door-sling of its own cage.

Agus said the 1.5-year-old lion was found in an extreme position, hanging with his head at the top, very much like human committing suicide by hanging.

In recent years, the Surabaya Zoo has become notorious for its appalling conditions and the inhumane treatment of its animals. In 2012, the Associated Press reported that approximately 15 animals at the zoo were dying every month — a figure that had decreased from two years earlier — due to preventable diseases, starvation, lack of exercise and overcrowding.

Also in 2012, the zoo’s last remaining giraffe, 30-year-old Kliwon, died with an 18-kilogram wad of plastic in its stomach.  A Sumatran tiger also died after being fed meat laced with formaldehyde. Between July and September in 2013, 43 animals were reported to have died.