Bogor Zoology Museum (Indonesian, ''Museum Zoologi Bogor'' or ''Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense'', often abbreviated to ''MZB'') is a museum located next to the main entrance of the

Bogor Botanical Gardens The Bogor Botanical Gardens () is a botanical garden located in Bogor, Indonesia, 60 km south of central Jakarta. It is currently operated by the National Research and Innovation Agency. The garden is located in the city center and adjoin the ...

in the city of

Bogor Bogor City (), or Bogor (, ), is a landlocked city in the West Java, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide.

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. The museum and its laboratory were founded in 1894 by government of

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

during the colonial era. It contain one of the largest collections of preserved

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

specimens in

southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

History

Bogor Zoology Museum was founded by Dr. J.C. Koningsberger in August 1894, and was originally just a small

laboratory A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratories are found in a variety of settings such as schools ...

at the corner of the Bogor Botanical Garden (formerly known as s Lands Plantentuin''). The first laboratory was known as (Agriculture and Zoological Laboratory), which focussed on insect

pests PESTS was an anonymous American activist group formed in 1986 to critique racism, tokenism, and exclusion in the art world. PESTS produced newsletters, posters, and other print material highlighting examples of discrimination in gallery represent ...

in plants. Inspired by his visit to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

in 1898, J. Koningsberger went to collect animal specimens for research with assistance of Dr

Melchior Treub Melchior Treub (26 December 1851 – 3 October 1910) was a Dutch botanist. He worked at the Bogor Botanical Gardens in Buitenzorg on the island of Java, south of Batavia, Dutch East Indies, gaining attention for his work on tropical flora. He a ...

. At the end of August 1901, a building was completed to house the zoological museum, to be known as . In 1906 the museum and the laboratory were combined, and renamed . In 1912 at the museum,

Peter Ouwens Pieter Anthonis Ouwens (14 February 1849, Amsterdam – 5 March 1922, Buitenzorg) was a Dutch scientist and Director of the Java Zoological Museum and Botanical Gardens. He is best known for writing the first formal description of the Komodo dra ...

wrote the first scientific description of

Komodo dragon The Komodo dragon (''Varanus komodoensis''), also known as the Komodo monitor, is a large reptile of the monitor lizard family Varanidae that is endemic to the Indonesian islands of Komodo (island), Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Dasami, and Gili ...

. The museum has been known by its current name since Indonesia gained its independence in 1950. Since changing its name to the ''Balai Penelitian dan Pengembangan Zoologi'' (Zoological Research and Development Centre) in 1987, this institution, under the auspices of the ''Pusat Penelitian dan Pengembangan Biologi, Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia'' (Center for Biological Research and Development, Indonesian Institute of Sciences), has developed its activities not only as a museum involved in the field of taxonomy, but also carries out research and development in the field of ecology. and fauna physiology. The collection currently held by the museum was enhanced in 1997 using grants from the World Bank and the Japanese government.

Collection

Closed front door of Bogor Zoology Museum from inside

The Bogor Zoological Museum has an area of , and contains one of the most extensive fauna collections in Southeast Asia. There are 24 rooms in the museum, which are maintained at a constant temperature of to help protect the exhibits in its collection. The museum collection includes fossilised and preserved animals:Museum Zoologi Bogor
museumindonesia.com * Mammals – 650 species and 30,000 specimens, including a rare mounted specimen of a

Javan rhinoceros The Javan rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros sondaicus''), Javan rhino, Sunda rhinoceros or lesser one-horned rhinoceros is a critically endangered member of the genus ''Rhinoceros'', of the rhinoceros family Rhinocerotidae, and one of the five remainin ...

(''Rhinoceros sondaicus'') * Birds – 1000 species and 30,762 specimens * Reptiles and amphibians – 763 species and 19,937 specimens * Insects – 12000 species and 2,580,000 specimens * Molluscs – 959 species and 13,146 specimens * Other invertebrates – 700 species and 15,558 specimens There is also a skeleton of a

blue whale The blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of and weighing up to , it is the largest animal known ever to have existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can ...

(''Balaenoptera musculus''), the biggest of its kind in Indonesia.

References

Bogor Museums in West Java Natural history museums in Indonesia Zoological museums in Indonesia {{Indonesia-museum-stub