Every few hours, the two chimpanzees are drawn to their animal keeper standing at the entrance to their enclosures in Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Vandalur. It is not part of any training exercise. They just love the chilled lassi. The yogurt-based drink is now part of a special summer diet at the zoo.
Elsewhere, watermelon, cucumber, tender coconut and muskmelon are given to the animals in captivity. In four zoos in the State, officials are coming up with new ideas to keep animals cool and safe. Thatched roofs, sprinklers, water showers, shade nets and other special measures are already in place.
“Every year, we add something new to the diet of zoo inmates, apart from regular steps like water sprinkling in enclosures,” says, KSSVP Reddy, Director, Arignar Anna Zoological Park. Fresh fruits like oranges, bananas, pine apple and pomegranate are also part of the diet.
Each species is provided a special diet depending on its need. For example, apart from primates, 27 tigers including 12 white tigers are fond of lassi and tender coconut water apart from their regular six kg of chicken (for each tiger). Separate swimming tracks with a depth of 10 feet have been created for tigers.
“Temperature for most of the species should be maintained below 30 degree Celsius,” Mr. Reddy said.
Wet gunny bags cover the ceilings in birds’ enclosures. The ostriches, zebras, elephants and giraffe have been provided a different kind of luxury —water sprinklers.
The Coimbatore Corporation also installed sprinklers and kept its water tank full for birds in the zoo, but there is no change in the menu, say officials. In the past, the officials have fed ice cream to monkeys and watermelons to other animals during peak summer – the agni nakshatram period.
With mercury level crossing 42 degree Celsius in Salem, animals at the Kurumbapatti Zoological Park, located 13 km away, get watermelons, muskmelons and more greens.
Also, ponds are full and the animals get regular showers.
As the zoo is located in the foothills of Shevaroys ranges amidst greenery, the trees help in lowering the temperature in the zoo, say officials, emphasising that the enclosures are always kept wet in summer and veterinarians regularly monitor the health of the animals.
At the Amirthi mini zoo in Vellore, most of the enclosures are located under the shade of trees. “This reduces the impact of the heat by at least 50 per cent. We have also covered the enclosures with dry coconut fronds,” said an officer of the Amirthi Forest Range. “Since deer cannot withstand the scorching sun, we feed them cucumber and watermelon frequently. There are tubs filled with water inside all enclosures. Whenever the heat becomes intolerable, the deer get into the tub,” the official said.
(With additional inputs
from Karthik Madhavan,
S.P. Saravanan and
Serena Josephine M)
