She was a familiar sight for city residents who were regulars at the zoo. Swishing her tail, ambling around her enclosure and nibbling at the grass, Sita the zebra never failed to tug at visitors’ heartstrings, her solitary state bemoaned.
Sita was brought from the Vandalur zoo in Chennai in 2002 to partner Mani, the resident zebra of the zoo. Mani by then was suffering from laminitis, a disease that affects the feet of hoofed animals. Her presence in an adjacent enclosure had an excited Mani galloping around, worsening his laminitis.
His health kept deteriorating and in 2003 Mani died. Sita was left alone, without mate or progeny.
Efforts were made to bring another zebra from other zoos in the following years, says the former zoo superintendent Sadasivan Pillai. The Vandalur zoo though did not have any to spare. A plan to bring zebras, along with giraffe and other animals from Germany, also got aborted at the last stage. And Sita seemed to be in for a long wait for some company.
That wait stretched to nearly a decade and a half. Then towards the fag end of 2016, she was taken off display, her chronic arthritis making it difficult for her to walk.
Today, her days are not very different, but for the fact that she spends them behind a green shade net in a portion of the enclosure, away from prying eyes. Sand has been dumped on the ground so that even if she falls and flails around, she would not hurt herself.
Rarely does Sita lie down during the day. At night though, one keeper is posted to keep an eye on her when she rests. And when she gets up in the morning, she needs assistance in getting back on her feet. “She does get up on her own sometimes, but if she does not and struggles to stand up, she may injure herself. So, people are posted to lend her a hand,” says zoo veterinarian Jacob Alexander.
Her laminitis is under control, but the arthritis has led to her joints becoming deformed, making walking difficult. Equines are usually culled but it cannot be done for a zoo animal. The only recourse left is euthanasia.
“However, her condition does not warrant mercy killing. But for difficulty in getting up, and slight problem with mobility, she is going about her regular activities,” Dr. Alexander says.
Of course, she is helped by a good dose of medicines all through the year. The medicines include those for her arthritis, supplements such as mineral mixers especially meant for equines, and those for her wellness. Food includes ‘karuga’ grass, tree leaves, carrots, ‘nendran’ plantain, some vegetables, and a bran-based concentrate.
“She may be alone, but requires a lot of work,” says Rajendran, her regular keeper for five years, with an affectionate smile as he chops up carrots into chunks and makes a hollow in their core which he fills with an assortment of orange and white tablets.
“You cannot fill too many in one chunk or she may choke. She has lost her teeth and cannot chew on things easily. And if she does detect the tablets, she will spit them out. Even the grass fed to her is chopped,” he says.
Dr. Alexander is hopeful that Sita will survive the summer ahead without many problems, thought he cannot say the same for the rains when her arthritis takes a turn for the worse.
Rajendran for his part is waiting for the day when more zebras will reach the zoo though he knows her days of horsing around are over for good.
