The young elephant tugged on his hind legs shackled so often the manacles were cut through the flesh, leaving it raw.
Emptying not help himself. A chain in his left front leg means he can move either forward, backward or sideways.
Tethered elephant owners Do the youngster because he prefers to tend to his small shop on the basis of the Surabaya Zoo in Indonesia.
Money comes first. And so, day after day, week after week, the elephant is standing there, released from his chain only at the end of each day.
Anyone looking at the scene of pressing, and who turns away to look for more fun animals in the zoo are long leave, as I did, quite depressed.
Surabaya Zoo has been branded the worst in the world and when I walk through the land animal torture I was left in no doubt its reputation is well earned.
I live close to Sydney harbor where it is a joy to watch pelicans gliding low across the waters of Blackwattle Bay. Surabaya Zoo but I just shake my head in despair at the sight of more than 150 pelicans jammed in a cage, trying to share a small pool of water, so be tightly packed they can not even spread their wings, let alone fly.
'How many zoo pelicans need it?' I asked a keeper. 'They already endangered. No need to maintain multiple penned in. 'He knows what I said, but I got only shrugs.
Each step took me through a gloomy dungeon beast. While I've seen eating chopped vegetables for primates, the ribs of some large animals can be seen. A camel in particular appear terribly thin. The capuchin monkey I came across showed almost begged to be released.
In another cage, a sad rhinocerous hornbill looks up at the blue sky, trying to take off from its perch, but no room to flap its wings.
Well over 50 animals that died here in the past three months, says Tony Sumampau, a former member of the temporary management of the zoo's team, who finally left in despair. "The keepers have to run stalls selling food and drinks and it is more important for them to earn money than it is to their animal care taking. '
Zoo, opened in 1916 during the Dutch colonial rule, and next to nothing is done to improve it. Instead, more and more animals are to be pack in
A report by an independent team set up by the Indonesian forestry ministry has called for the animals to be moved to other zoos but nothing was done. Other zoo animals refuse to do because of their condition and the fear that many of them bring diseases.
The state of the zoo 's animals came to the attention of the world - wide following the death of a giraffe in 2012 found that no less than 20 kilograms of plastic bags in its stomach . They were blown its enclosure and the keepers had not bothered to take them .
The giraffe death would probably faded from the conscience of the world has not been for the discovery of a dead female orangutan , Nanik , in confined spaces it a few weeks ago . Orangutans , an endangered species , live until the age of 60 in captivity , but Nanik is only 12 years old when he died , found a large tumor in his intestines .
Sitting alone is another orangutan . I can not believe what I see - he was chewing on the yellow top with a marker pen someone is thrown to him . He pushes it forward between her lips , then sucks it back into her mouth . I fear she will soon swallow it . Beside him , rats scurry in and out of holes in a dike .
I stare at a Sumatran tiger - or rather just face it - as it peers out from behind the bars of his living quarters stones . One of its brothers , I was told , it has not been seriously ill with this Digest tract rotted away due to formaldehyde - laced meat is fed . An African lion has been reported to die in pain , adding to the shameful catelogue zoo deaths from starvation , mistreatment and other unnatural causes.
Agus Supangkat , a spokesman for the zoo , insisted conditions have improved in recent years , but accepted that ' we also have issues ' . The Jakarta Globe reported that it has acquired data showed that 43 animals died at the zoo between July 15 and 17 September this year . Zoo , is believed however , that the animals on the list died because they were old or had diseases .
The 3,000 or so creatures that live in appalling conditions destined to die here , naturally or through negligence , but one thing is certain that they will not die happily unless something is done urgently . Leave A last glimpse of the baby elephant with three legs tethered me in no doubt of that .