Benjamin Galstaun

Benjamin Galstaun (Klakah, 30 April 1913 – 3 April 1989) is an Indonesian conservation biologist. Since 1938, he has worked at a zoo which occupies an area of 10 hectares on land given to him by the painter Raden Saleh in the Cikini area, Jakarta. His wife is a landscape architect and botanist. Since 1964, Galstaun has served as director of the Cikini Zoo. When the zoo was moved to the Pasar Minggu area, South Jakarta, Galstaun, with the help of his wife, designed a zoo that was one with nature. In 1977, Galstaun received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service.

Biography Early life. Benjamin Galstaun was born in Klakah, East Java, on 30 April 1913. He was the youngest of seven children of Paulus Johanes Galstaun, an Armenian, and Djainah Mariam Rahardjo, a Javanese. His Armenian father migrated from Isfahan, Persia (now Iran). His father owned a 3,500 hectare plantation planted with coffee, tobacco and pineapples.

Education He attended primary school in Klakah and received his General Certificate of Education in 1930. After his primary schooling, he was sent to the Dutch high school in Surabaya, where he received his General Certificate of Education. On visits to Surabaya, his training in zoology and veterinary science was furthered by friends at the university, including three professors who allowed him to participate in autopsies. During his post-high school years, he lived and worked on the family plantation.

In late 1939, he decided to set out on his own, setting out in the private German trading firm of , where he first apprenticed in the sales department. The firm handled equipment for sugarcane factories and plantations growing coffee, cacao, tobacco, tapioca and other crops, and maintained good relations with customers by giving instruction on the use and care of machinery sold to them. Galstaun became one of those in the information department assigned to train both factory staff and laborers in classes and in the field.

Personal life He married Henriette Esche, who is a landscape architect, botanist, and zoologist. They married on 14 January 1947.

Benjamin Galstaun died on 3 April 1989. As a tribute to his services, a bust of him stands tall in the middle of the Ragunan Zoo.