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 city zoo.
Jadu is a ‘veteran’ of the city zoo. Brought here from Assam in 1993, he has been alone since Rita, a female rhino, was gored to death by Ramu, another male, in 2004. Ramu too died of illness later.
Another veteran spending her time alone is Bhavani, the Himalayan bear, who is all of 15.
Unlike Jadu, however, she can look forward to the two Himalayan bears set to arrive from Nagaland in November.
From failing eyesight to loss of agility to cancer, old age brings with it a host of problems for the animals. Sangeetha, the jaguar, is recuperating at the zoo hospital. At 18, she has poor eyesight and has osteo rheumatism that makes walking difficult.
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, especially when it is cold.
Aishwarya, the lioness, has just had a benign tumour removed, and is back in her enclosure.
Both the lion Ayush and she are a little over 15, the average lifespan being 17.
Age also brings with it problems of incompatibility. The sloth bear Ravi, at 20, is kind of a mismatch for Sindhu who is nearly six. So, the likelihood of the stork coming calling is little.
Though Salman, the jaguar who has been on a breeding loan at the Delhi zoo, is set to return, the chances of him and Sangeetha getting together seem remote.
Periodic visits
The female crested duck makes periodic visits to the hospital, so exhausted is she by all the male attention.
The average lifespan of a lion-tailed macaque is 20, but there are three in the zoo who are above the age of 25.
Come medicine time, they just open their mouths, and in goes the medicine, all without fuss. The zoo has been good for the adjutant storks.
They have lived nearly two decades over their average life expectancy, courtesy a good diet, vitamin supplements, and a stress-free life. The cinereous vulture is doing well at the age of 60.
Karishma, the tigress, is 18 years old, and the leopard Ashwini is 20. Surprisingly, Ashwini even gave birth at the ripe old age of 18.
Other seniors
Three rhesus macaques, the king cobra, some of the spotted and sambar deer, a nilgai, and a cape buffalo are the some of the other ‘senior citizens’ of the zoo.
