Plan for Rusti leaves city a bit shaky
By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer
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A lawyers' disagreement threw a monkey wrench yesterday into plans to build the great ape a swinging new bachelor pad at the Honolulu Zoo.
Everyone agrees the hairy orange creature deserves a better home than the cramped old gorilla cage he was "temporarily" placed in seven years ago, and Rusti's owners want to pay for a modern enclosure where he could hang out in a tall banyan tree.
But City Council members yesterday balked at the plan after questioning who would be responsible if the animal got out and "caused some damage."
A lawyer for Rusti's Los Angeles-based owners, Orangutan Foundation International, said the problems could delay the new habitat or force Rusti to move elsewhere.
"Poor Rusti's in a place where he's not able to be as active as an adult male orangutan should be," attorney Jon Van Dyke said. "It's time for him to have a better facility."
Rusti has faced repeated setbacks since the foundation helped gain his release from a private New Jersey zoo where conditions were considered substandard.
The group brought him to Honolulu in 1997 for what was supposed to be a short stay while a new orangutan sanctuary was built on the Big Island. The project fell apart, as did later plans to build a special habitat for him at Kualoa Ranch in Windward O'ahu.
In the meantime, Rusti became one of the zoo's most popular animals. Mayor Jeremy Harris announced last month that the ape would remain there but moved to a $200,000 enclosure the foundation would build near the tortoise exhibit and give to the city.
"Turning down the gift means we'll have to give him up, and I don't know what would be gained by that," said Barry Fukunaga, director of the city's Department of Enterprise Services.
The foundation would remain Rusti's owner, continue paying for his upkeep and have access to him at the zoo. But city lawyers say it would be wise to ensure the zoo wouldn't be legally responsible if someone accidentally let Rusti out.
"I know people love Rusti, and I understand people have been very concerned for a long time that Rusti have a proper home, and I hate being the one to stand in the way," Councilwoman Barbara Marshall said. "But on the other hand, it's our duty to protect the city and our constituents as well."
The council's Parks Committee agreed to give the lawyers at least three weeks to work out a compromise.
But some animal rights activists and city watchdogs question whether the foundation will use Rusti for raising money without taking full responsibility for his future.
"If OFI really cares about Rusti, they would give him to the city," said Animal Rights Hawai'i president Cathy Goeggel. "They want to make money off him for the rest of his life."
The group said raising money at the zoo would only take place if city attorneys didn't object to it, and that Rusti's well-being is the main concern.
Carroll Cox, president of EnviroWatch Inc., said the city's plan to keep Rusti had been put together too quickly and with too much secrecy.
"This is the public's first chance of having input," Cox said. "This is all half-hatched. It hasn't been fully thought out, and the taxpayers were the last concern. But great apes are great, and Rusti needs to have a stable home."
Reach Johnny Brannon at 525-8070 or at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com.
