Via Cee4Life and Sybelle Foxcroft: Melani’s Story – (pronounced – Mel-arrni) Melani was born in 1998 and was hand raised by a variety of keepers at Surabaya Zoo. As Melani grew older and the zoo’s internal conflict increased, the care of the Surabaya animals decreased. One of the things that occurred was the buying of low quality meat for the tigers. All of the tigers became extremely ill. Throughout 2010 and 2011, the media reported on “starving tigers” dying at Surabaya Zoo. This in fact was caused by the tigers, including Melani, that ate the tainted and basically poisonous meat diet. The meat was found to have formaldehyde in it, which is an automatic killer. The formaldehyde caused horrific internal decay of vital organs and stomach linings. Once the source of the problem was found, the source of this tainted meat was stopped, and untainted meat was introduced. However it was too late for the other tigers and they all died in excruciating pain. Melani continued to fight to live but she was in a tragic condition. Dr Sumampau of Taman Safari in Bogor, Indonesia, tried to introduce extra nutritional elements to Melani’s diet, however the staff at Surabaya Zoo who “did not like” Dr Sumampau refused and rebelled against his advice, and Melani continued to suffer. In June 2013, after wide media reports on the frail Melani, the Minister of Forests, ordered that Melani be removed from Surabaya Zoo and taken for treatment to Taman Safari, Bogor, Indonesia. Melani was to begin her move to Taman Safari in Bogor, however her transport arrangements were haulted after Dr Sumampau found out she would be transported in the back of a normal truck. Melani’s condition was so frail that she could neither be flown due to the altitude that would cause probable death, nor could she travel by road in a normal truck as the humidity would kill her. Dr Sumampau arranged an air-conditioned vehicle for Melani to be transported. So over a 20 hour period, Melani arrived at Taman Safari in Bogor. On her arrival on the 25th June 2013, she was diagnosed as severely dehydrated and there was fear she would die within hours. But this dear girl hung on. She was placed on intravenous drips which rehydrated her and supplied her with the much needed vitamin supplements that she had been missing from her diet for so long. In addition, her diet was completely changed and which included minced meat for easier digestion, formula of nutrition and vitamin supplements, carnivore supplements and more. Melani underwent blood testing and other testing to determine her organ functions. She was dangerously low in weight, at 48kg. Note: A healthy female Sumatran Tiger weighs at least 75kg – 120kg. Melani was on deaths door. The blood test and function test results were processed at the Taman Safari Veterinary Hospital, and the results were shocking. Melani’s liver and kidney tests were so low, that she should have been dead. But again, she hung on for her life. This is a tiger that wants to live. By 11th July 2013, Melani had gained 7kg, and now weighed in at 55kg. By 22nd July 2013, Melani was 58kg. The years of neglect that Melani has endured along with the horrific damage done to her internal organs has resulted in the fact that Melani will never gain full health again. Her condition is chronic and she is being maintained. However, forever the fighter, she continues to survive and increase in her weight. Another strange fact arose from Melani’s arrival at Taman Safari. In all of the earlier pictures of Melani she is extremely dark, nearly black in colour. This is highly unusual for a tiger. On viewing Melani on the 22nd June 2013, the one thing that struck me first, was Melani was more “orange” and fluffy. I asked about this and found out the following. When Melani arrived it was noticed that she was covered in a thick black oily substance. The Vets at Taman Safari bathed Melani, and the black oil began to leave her fur. Melani has now been bathed a number of times and she continues to lose the black oily substance, and becoming cleaner. Even when I was stroking her, my hand became coated with a fine black oil. I had a very strong smell to it however I cannot place the smell. If you look at the 2 photographs above you will notice that in the older picture of Melani at Surabaya Zoo, there is black oil on the walls and on the path she has walked on the floor with her paws. This is disgraceful. At this time it is still unknown what type of oil has caused this, however it is being tested and I will let you know when I know. In conclusion, Melani is still an incredibly frail girl. She is being kept in the hospital for now as she is highly prone to pneumonia and she is watched 24/7 including on CCTV cameras. She could go either way at this time. The cage that you see her in, in recent pictures, is not her “real” cage but it is a holding cage which enables the ongoing treatment of her. In the hospital, there are also some little Orangutans, so when Melani is walking around in the hospital, staff have to really keep an eye on her as she goes up to the Orangutans to have a look and they attempt to reach out to this frail girl. Orangutans could cause some real injury on Melani, so these “outings” are closely monitored of course. I have offered to help assist with Melani’s upkeep and veterinary care. If you can help with this please donate to wildlifecalling.org.uk and clearly mark the donation as Melani Cee4life. We will get all donations to her and we will film and photograph everything and continue to report on her progress. When I met her, I can tell you that she is the most gentle girl. As she was raised by humans, she loves to get affection. Something she did miss out on a lot at Surabaya. I cannot express to you the incredibly blissful way that she reacted to human affection. It was like utter bliss to her, she chuffed and rubbed closely and was content. I will be travelling there again over time to see her and the other rescued tigers at Taman Safari that are survivors from attempted poaching incidents. In addition, Cee4life has offered our assistance at Surabaya Zoo for training and education to staff. We are awaiting the confirmation of that, and I will post more about this soon. Thankyou so very much for your ongoing support, it is greatly appreciated. Stay with us on this journey for animal welfare and ethical care of the Surabaya Animals. Sincerely Sybelle Foxcroft – Director Cee4life – cee4life.org
Posted on: Thu, 25 Jul 2013 12:45:19 +0000
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