STAR-BULLETIN / 2001
Rusti the orangutan has been housed in an undersize pen at the Honolulu Zoo since 1997.
New home still sought
for rescued orangutanA proposal to relocate a 275-pound
primate to Kualoa Ranch ends amid
rising concerns
Rusti the orangutan is homeless again.
Kualoa Ranch has decided that it will not keep a proposed cage for the 275-pound primate that has been "temporarily" housed at the Honolulu Zoo since 1997, ranch President John Morgan said yesterday.
Rusti's owner, the Orangutan Foundation International, proposed last year to build an enclosure for Rusti on ranch land after a failed multiyear effort to build an orangutan refuge on the Big Island.
"We said it seems like there's an animal that the kids like. This would be no expense to Kualoa, and they'll maintain the animal. We said that sounds good," Morgan recalled.
"But when it became a more protracted permit and potentially litigious situation, we said we don't need this," Morgan said.
Carroll Cox, president of EnviroWatch, complained in August to the city Department of Planning & Permitting that state land use laws would require a permit, public hearings and an environmental impact statement before an orangutan could be housed at the ranch, which is zoned agricultural land.
Cox said yesterday that he is pleased Kualoa Ranch decided not to pursue housing the orangutan, but he still believes his concerns were not addressed properly by the city.
City and Orangutan Foundation officials did not respond to requests for comment.
The Orangutan Foundation took over Rusti's care when he was rescued from a "roadside zoo" in New Jersey.
His extended stay at the Honolulu Zoo has been in an undersize cage. He is a popular attraction, but he is taking up space slated for a lorikeet exhibit that cannot be built as long as he remains.
Many zoo-goers have expressed sadness at the gentle giant's cramped quarters, which do not meet modern recommendations for holding a large primate.
When Kualoa Ranch was proposed, animal rights activists complained that Rusti would be returning to a "roadside zoo" situation not unlike the one he was rescued from years ago.
"It seems like there is significant opposition that has gotten to the height of, presumably, contested-case hearings, things like that," said Morgan, whose Windward ranch is both a working cattle ranch and an eco-tourism venue. "It was an intention on our part to be a good home for a nice animal and have a win-win for the kids of Hawaii and a nice animal."
