Jadu is half submerged in water when his keeper calls out to him. A flick of the ear is the only reaction of the lone rhino at the Thiruvananthapuram city zoo.
Jadu is a veteran of the city zoo. He has been here since 1993 when he was brought from Assam.
He has been alone since the death of Rita, a female rhino, who was gored to death by Ramu, another rhino, in 2004. Ramu later died after falling ill.
Another veteran spending her time alone is Bhavani, the Himalayan bear, who is 15. Unlike Jadu, however, she can look forward to being with others of her ilk, for the zoo will likely bring two Himalayan bears from Nagaland in November.
Sangeetha, the jaguar, is recuperating at the zoo hospital. At 18, she has poor eyesight and has osteorheumatism, which makes walking difficult.
Salman, the other jaguar, is on a breeding loan to the Delhi zoo.
The sloth bear Ravi at 20 is kind of a mismatch for Sindhu who is nearly 6. So, the chances of the stork coming calling are little.
The average life span of lion-tailed macaques is 20 but there are three in the zoo who are above the age of 25 – Pachi, Ganesh, and Bindu. Come medicine time, they just walk up and open their mouths, and all the keeper needs to do is administer the vitamin drops.
Poor eyesight
Plagued by poor eyesight, the lone zebra Sindhu spends much of her time standing still or tottering around if her laminitis is not hurting bad.
The zoo has been good for the adjutant storks.
They have lived nearly two decades over their average life expectancy, courtesy a diet comprising fresh fish, vitamin supplements, and a stress-free life.
The cinereous vulture, too, is doing well at the age of 60.
The lions Ayush and Aishwarya are a little over 15, the average lifespan being 17. Aishwarya has just had a benign tumour removed, and is back in her enclosure.
Karishma, the tigress, is older at 18 years, and the leopard Ashwini is 20. Surprisingly, Ashwini even gave birth at the ripe old age of 18.
Three rhesus macaques, the king cobra, some of the spotted and sambar deer, the female-crested duck, a nilgai, and cape buffalo and the crocodiles are the some of the other ‘senior citizens’ of the zoo.
