41 of the 110 Orang-Utans are missing from Bangkok's "Safari World" wildlife and amusement park, very famous with tourists in Thailand for its Orang-Utan kick-boxing shows.
The "Safari Park" manager says the monkeys passed away from pneumonia, but Thai police suspect the animals may have been disposed of to avoid DNA testing, as to determine if the endangered apes had not been smuggled illegally into Thailand.
The Thai Police confiscated the zoo's 110 Orang-Utans last week after smuggling allegations surfaced that the Orang-Utans had been smuggled to Bangkok from the jungles of Indonesia and Malaysia, but the animals had to stay in Safari World's cages as the Bangkok Police did not have another suitable home for the confiscated animals.
Police Colonel Wisit Nantawong of Thailand's Forestry Police said that the "Safari World" amusement park uses the highly endangered and protected animals to stage mock Thai kick-boxing shows, had told them 41 orang-utans had died.
The manager of "Safari World" told Colonel Nantawong that the 41 missing apes had suddenly passed away from pneumonia and park officials had to dispose of the bodies to avoid the spread of the disease, but the Police Colonel suspects monkey business, and thinks the missing Orang-Utans, most of them very young, have been quietly moved elsewhere or have even been burned to avoid the DNA testing.
We don't believe what the owners of Bangkok's "Safari World" are saying, said the Thai Police. We are interrogating the "Safari World" staff to find out whether the apes really passed away from sickness or not and we want to see their carcasses, said Police Officer Wisit.
Police suspect that "Safari World" is trying to cover its tracks, after allegations were made that the endangered animals had been smuggled into Thailand, but the "Safari World" manager claims that all their Orang-Utans are the fruit of a successful captive breeding program.
The Bangkok amusement park has been the target of animal rights campaigners for some time and last week, Thai authorities forced "Safari World" to suspend its Orang-Utan fights while Police investigated the many claims of cruelty and exploitation.
The Orang-Utans, in brightly colored shorts and with boxing gloves have featured Bangkok's Safari World park on brochures and posters for decades.
Orang-Utans are protected and endangered animals and only found in the wild in the jungles of Malaysia and Indonesia. Forestry officials from Jakarta visited Bangkok last week with smuggling allegations and to press the Thai Government for DNA tests on Safari World's apes to determine their provenance.
