Journalism of Courage
Animals,particularly carnivores,braving the heat at Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park in Katraj as temperature soars in the city have some cool wind for company. The zoo authorities have installed coolers to help them beat the heat.
The increasing temperature is giving a tough time to animals,especially the carnivores at the zoo. These animals survive in forests in high temperature amid the greenery that takes the pinch out of the heat but in the urban settings they have a problem. Thus,we decided to install coolers for all the carnivorous animals in the zoo, said zoo director Suresh Jagtap.
He said coolers have been installed in nighthouses as animals use the place in the evening. There are sprinklers in the open cages which keep animals cool during the day time, Jagtap added.
Installing fans was ruled out as they could pose risk to the animals,he said,The option of air coolers was adopted looking at the success it had in a zoo in Madhya Pradesh. The orders were placed in March and they have been installed this week.
It was observed that carnivorous animals were getting lazy and there was fear of their food intake getting reduced. It is necessary to keep them screened from heat to avoid diarrhoea. The diet of animals is also being changed to suit the situation and help the animals withstand the heat, said veterinary officer Navnath Nighot.
The coolers were earlier used only for the tiger and bear,he said adding this time it is being used for all carnivorous animals. We are keeping a close watch on health of each animal at the zoo and taking all possible measures to keep them healthy, he added.
Herbivorous animals are also taken care of but they are able to handle the heat much better but more care has to be taken of carnivores,Nighot said.
There are total of 380 animals of 40 species at the zoo that include reptiles,herbivores,carnivores and omnivores. The main carnivorous species that need special care are the tiger,wolf,bear and leopard.
