Wednesday 16th July, 2008
‘Father’
Nihal
Wandering
in Wonosobo
Agus Maryono
The Jakarta Post
The high Dieng Plateau at
Wonosobo (Indonesia) is the centre
of some of Central Java's more
famous tourist attractions.
Some tourist sites you can visit
on the plateau are as high as 2,400m
above sea level, including ancient
sites and temples, the Sikidang and
Sinila volcanic craters and the totally green landscape of the Tambi tea
plantation that covers an area of
eight hectares.
The plantation, which dates
back to 1865, during the Dutch colonial era, is now owned by
Agrowisata and open to the general
public. It's a suitable place if you
want to be refreshed by nature or
look into the agricultural aspects of
tea production.
Located in Wonosobo regency,
the plantation is in Tambi village in
Kejajar subdistrict, 16km north of
the regency capital, Wonosobo city.
From the city, local transportation
will get you out to the village in
around 20 minutes.
If you want to spend the night at
the Agrowisata complex, a comfortable homestay is available with both
good facilities and green surroundings, with views of the hills. The
homestay rates range from 225,000
rupiah (US$24) per room per night
to the most expensive at 1.25 million
rupiah ($136).
Agrowisata also offers a hall and
restaurant big enough to accommodate about 75 people. Near the
homestay is a pond where visitors
can relax and fish.
If you come with a group and
spend the night, a local band is
ready to provide entertainment for
tourists in the yard of the homestay
complex. They staff will even light
a campfire to ward off the chilly
night air of the Dieng Plateau.
Don't come with lowered expectations; Even though the homestay
staff come from the surrounding
mountains they play a broad repertoire of music, including pop, dangdut, rock, jazz and Western songs
guaranteed to entertain.
Since the high altitude climate
can penetrate the body, don't forget
to take a thick sweater to protect
you from chilly weather.
Exploring the area around the
Agrowisata tea plantation can make
for a fascinating trip. If you're fed
up with the stale city weather and
want to get away to enjoy some
fresh air, a visit here might be just
the thing. The view alone is restorative. You can see across the spread
of the tea plantation which is vast
and neatly managed. At a distance
it looks like a giant green carpet.
"Almost every week there's a
group that comes through. Many
spend the night here and we give
them the best possible service,"
Titik Zubaedah, from Agrowisata's
operations department, told The
Jakarta Post.
by Ifham Nizam
Pix by Kamal Bogoda
A
nimal lovers,
especially those
who prefer reptiles, will have the rare
opportunity to witness 20
young four-day old anacondas (Eunectes murinus) at the National
Zoological Gardens in
Dehiwela from today.
On Saturday the fiveyear old mother of a
green anaconda variety
created history by producing the highest litter
in an Asian country and,
of course, the first time
the world’s heaviest
snake had given birth in
Sri Lanka.
The Zoo’s herpetarium Caretaker Hemasiri
Peiris told The Island the
mother anaconda, as
usual, the heaviest of the
two parents, measuring
almost 12 feet, had produced 23 miniature version of herself, but the
last three of the lot didn’t
survive.
When the parents
were brought five years
ago, they were between
one and one half months
old.
“Usually most of the
snake species give a bite
to see whether their
young are strong and
robust. Should the mother feel that the young are
not strong, she would
immediately gobble
them”, said Hemasiri.
The young anacondas
are kept as a group of
five. They are fed with a
day-old rate each and this
schedule is adhered to. As
they grow old, the quantity of food would be
increased. Following a litter, the female anaconda
is fed with chicken which
is injected with vitamins
and other nutrients.
“Usually we inject
vitamins and nutrients
into the snake’s body, but
here the procedure is
quite different.”
He said that some
snakes give birth in their
last stages and often die
after giving birth. “This
may be due to injuries
and infections that easily
affect a weakened animal.” The mother anaconda too was inactive
after giving birth till
Monday. However, when
we entered the cage, the
weakened female became
active.
Hemasiri,
Siriwardena, Sunil and
Sampath confessed that
they never witnessed the
parent anacondas mating.
Hemasiri, who counts
15 years experience working in the zoo, especially
looking after snake
species, said that the
male anaconda is fed with
50 one-day old chicks a
week, while the female
anaconda is fed with two
medium sized chickens a
week.
According to
Siriwardena, snake
species like the Spitting
cobras and King snakes
produced young, but the
new born did not
survive.
Though anacondas are not
really an endangered
species, they belong to the
Boidae –Boa- family of
snakes and are listed in
the Convention on
International Trade in
Endangered Species
–CITES- 11 appendix. The
CITES 11 appendix lists
species which might
become endangered if
trade is not controlled.
Hemasiri
The litters are
between two and three
fee. They would be subject to sex identification
today – (Wednesday, June
16). The parents now are
12 feet in length and will
usually grow up to 30 feet.
With the maximum
weight approaching nearly 300 kg, the anaconda is
the heaviest snake found
in South America.
Usually they have a life
span of more than 25
years. And the longest
snake is the Reticulated
Python – cousin to the
anaconda.
The green anacondas
are dark green in colour
with black oval shaped
patterns on their back
which are very clear on
the mother anaconda.
Their sides have spots
with a yellow centre.
Because of their colouration they are able to hide
in swamps.
According to the Zoo’s
Assistant Director,
Renuka Bandaranaike,
he parent animals
were brought down on an
animal exchange programme. They were
brought on June 11, 2003
from the Czech Republic
Pleasant City Zoo.
She says that plans
are afoot to exchange
some of the 20 young anacondas under an
exchange programme.
Usually if there is an
excess of native animals,
they are released to sanctuaries or national parks.
However, she said that
when it comes to animal
exchange programmes, it
is a long and tedious
process. Firstly they have
to prepare a report on the
surplus and circulate
same to other zoos in the
world. Then there are
other laid down procedures to be meticulously
followed. The exchange
process will take place by
next year, she added.
Nihal, the Zoo’s
Education Officer
chipped in saying the
anaconda’s eyes and nostrils were atop their
heads which enabled
them to breathe and follow their prey while
being hidden underneath
water.
Trade in anaconda is
prohibited in most South
American countries
although some are still
exported for zoos,
research or the pet industry.
Though anacondas are
not really an endangered
species, they belong to the
Boidae –Boa- family of
snakes and are listed in
the Convention on
International Trade in
Endangered Species
–CITES- 11 appendix. The
CITES 11 appendix lists
species which might
become endangered if
trade is not controlled.
CITES was instituted
to control the movement
of live wild animals, animal products and wild
plants across international borders.
‘Mother’
Leisure Land 2-3
RONNIE, CORRINE
AND MIDNIGHT MIST- IT
WAS A BLAST
THE DHEVA WAY TO
DIVINITY