From ice popsicles to Chicken Keema: How Byculla zoo’s special menu helps animals beat the heat

With animals regularly gorging on ice popsicles, iced meat cakes and hydrating fruits, officials said that these make for the staple delicacies, charting high on the annual summer menu. While the ice popsicles and iced meat cakes provide cooling and relief to animals experiencing heat, hydrating fruits contain high water content that balances the water levels within the animals.

At the newly launched croc trail exhibit housing crocodiles, gharials and tortoises, the menu comprises Chicken Keema, fish and other forms of flesh.

Abhishek Satam, a biologist at the zoo told The Indian Express, that like in humans, the proportions of the animals’ food is determined based on their age and weight. “We provide the animals with the best resources which facilitates the animals’ mating process without any human intervention”, added Satam.

For Coco (female), Stella (female) and Jerry (male), the latest batch of baby penguins born in the zoo last November, the zoo has curated a menu consisting plenty of mackerels and other fish, in a bid to stimulate their growth at their tender age. However, living within a temperature and humidity controlled environment, the Humboldt penguins remain unbothered by the summer heat.

Responding to questions about the birds, Satam said, “Although the zoo has made artificial nests for birds to comfortably habitat and mate in, the birds prefer to build their own nest. The facility then provides the birds with worm compost made up of leaves and worms along with sunflower seeds.”

In a bid to keep the animals moving despite the heat — ensuring their physiological growth –- the zoo also conducts enrichment exercises, where animals are given treats for moving around and exercising. For Sloth bears, the zoo designs a honey trail laden with berries and honey, spread throughout the enclosure, which encourages them to explore the enclosure and dig through the half buried bamboo chutes. Tigers and jackals, meanwhile, are encouraged to stretch by tying pieces of chicken higher up on trees.

With animals making a splash in the water amidst soaring temperatures, the zoo has also recently installed a special filtration system which cleans the water bodies in the zoo on an hourly basis and removes any waste, algae, charcoal or other materials that harm the animals.

The writer is an intern with The Indian Express.