It's raining love and care for the seven elephant calves at the Vandalur zoo.
The seven calves at the zoo now can bathe twice-a-day in the newly provided showers. Besides this, they can also wallow in the mud like their friends in the wild, as zoo officials are creating a pond in a five metre area.
Chief Conservator of Forests and Zoo Director K.S.S.V.P. Reddy said the new facility has been provided as part of the summer management programme for the abandoned seven elephant calves. In an attempt to recycle the water from the shower, a pit measuring five metres has been created, which would be made a “mud wallowing pond” for the calves. At a time two or three calves could wallow in it, he said.
The shower has been provided in two places. One shower has been fixed close to the shed where the calves are housed during the night.
The second one is in the front side of the 20-hectare sprawling elephant enclosure. Visitors to the zoo will get to see elephants bathing in the shower from the front end of the enclosure between 3 and 4 in the evenings on all working days, he said.
In the shower located close to their shed, the calves would bathe between 11 a.m. and noon. The shower facility is in addition to water trough where the elephants bathe every day.
Mr. Reddy said: “The new facilities will remain till the arrival of monsoon. Similarly, the size of the pond will also be increased in due course of time to help the calves.”
The zoo at present houses six male calves and a female calf, rehabilitated after being abandoned by their herds and mothers.
