Thiruvananthapuram zoo in dire need of additional vet

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: No one in the city zoo will forget where they were at ten minutes past 11 on Wednesday. It was the day when a man jumped into the open enclosure of a lioness and crawled his way towards the big cat. Tense moments prevailed. A shocked guard screamed into his wireless set and passed the alarming message to the authorities. Visitors milled around the barricade. The zoo superintendent, the vet and ten odd zookeepers rushed to the spot. They lost no time and the team of zookeepers led by supervisor entered the open enclosure, in a bid to save the man. All arrangements to dart the animal were also in progress. As Murugan advanced on all fours towards Gracy the lioness, the perplexed animal retreated and ran away. The zookeepers tackled him and dragged him away from danger. 

No one was harmed. But the dangerous incident brings to light a few aspects the zoo is ill-equipped in. At present, the 33.5-acre zoo which houses 120 species and has more than 1,000 animals has only one veterinary surgeon. The lone vet has to be present 365 days of the year. Zoo director K Gangadharan acknowledged such emergencies do highlight the need to have one more vet. “The zoo falls under the large category. As such, two permanent doctors can be deployed.

We had given the proposal to the government to recruit one more vet in the hospital,” said the director. In fact, the proposal to add one more veterinarian, on contract, had been made several years ago, but nothing had come of it. The government, it is learned, is not too keen on the proposal.  The zoo is perhaps one of the most well-monitored areas in the city with around 200 surveillance cameras keeping track of the activities. But the absence of one more doctor on the premises can dampen any rescue operations in future. Even if another doctor is deployed on days when the permanent vet takes a leave, he or she wouldn’t be experienced enough to handle emergencies akin to one like Wednesday’s. The incident also highlights the need to conduct mock drills to check the preparedness in dealing with such eventualities. 

Zoo to get electric vehicle
Soon the zoo will get a four-seater electric vehicle which will aid in rescue operations. “The tender procedures have been completed and we expect to get the vehicles by next month. It will also aid a great deal in rescue services,” said zoo superintendent T V Anilkumar. Having an electric vehicle was one of the long pending demands of the zoo staff. It wasn’t long before that a Sambar deer had tried to attack a keeper. There was also an instance of a deer escaping from its enclosure. The vehicle will also come handy in traversing across the terrain and help tranquillize animals that have escaped from their enclosure.