Cage upgrade at Kualoa prolongs Rusti's stay at the zoo
By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser City Hall Writer
Advertiser library photo • Feb. 15, 2003
Rusti the orangutan could remain at Honolulu Zoo for several more months while his owners work on his new cage at Kualoa Ranch to bring it into compliance with U.S. Department of Agriculture standards, said Eric Crispin, city director of planning and permitting.
Rusti, an orangutan waiting for a permanent home since he arrived at Honolulu Zoo six years ago, must keep waiting until his Windward quarters meet federal standards.
Crispin became involved in the plans for the orangutan after an inadequate cage was built at Kualoa without the proper building permit. "The temporary facility had been built under the false assumption that this had to be done in a two-week time frame," he said.
Orangutan Foundation International had planned to move Rusti into the temporary enclosure back in February, but Crispin said the group will now work with USDA to bring the cage up to code and plan out his permanent home before he leaves the zoo.
Animal-rights activists raised alarms over the small concrete enclosure intended to be Rusti's temporary home and suggested that Rusti would be better off if he were moved to an orangutan sanctuary in Florida.
The 23-year-old orangutan has been waiting for a permanent home since he arrived at Honolulu Zoo six years ago. What was meant to be a brief stay has been extended repeatedly as plans to move him to Hilo and Florida fell by the wayside.
There is no timeline set for the move to Kualoa, but Crispin hopes it will be "by the end of the year."
Crispin said he brought the animal-rights groups together with Orangutan Foundation International, Kualoa Ranch, the zoo and USDA to come up with a solution.
Dr. Birute Mary Galdikas of Orangutan Foundation International, one of the leading experts in orangutans, has stated that Kualoa Ranch would be the best place to move Rusti.
John Morgan of Kualoa Ranch, in response to concerns that there were plans to build a roadside zoo at the ranch, said: "That's not the case, they're only going to put one animal there." That eliminates the need to hold public hearings before issuing a permit, he said.
