SURABAYA, INDONESIA ¨C Indonesia will lend a breeding pair of endangered Komodo dragons to Japan under an agreement signed Wednesday between zoos from the two countries that emphasized the project's conservation merits.
The five-year renewable deal, criticized by animal rights group PETA, will in turn see Indonesia's Surabaya Zoo receive a pair of red pandas, a pair of giraffes, four Aldabra giant tortoises and two female Japanese macaques from iZoo in Kawazu, Shizuoka Prefecture, officials said.
"This is not just animal exchange. This is a bridge between our two countries, Japan and Indonesia," iZoo director Tsuyoshi Shirawa said at the signing ceremony.
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