It’s summertime at the zoo

Ponni’s four-month-old cub, a female, is as rambunctious as any tiger cub. After its initial days in the animal enclosure at the city zoo, this would have been the time for her to frisk around in the open.

However, the heat has put paid to any such plans. With the sun beating down relentlessly, the zoo authorities deployed infrared sensing equipment and found that the body heat of the tigers was increasing in the open enclosure. For now, Ponni and the cub have been moved to an appropriate enclosure with shade.

Each time seasons change, the zoo authorities gear up to ensure that the animals remain fit and fine, but preparations for the summer are in a different league altogether. From changes in diet to fitting fans near enclosures, all attempts are made to keep the animals in comfort during the stifling heat.

Less meat

Tigers, for instance, are given 1 kg meat less during the hot summer months, while the Himalayan bears get fruit encased in ice to beat the heat. In fact, the quantity of fruit and vegetables purchased goes up during these months, says Zoo superintendent T.V. Anil Kumar.

Herbivores and birds are given sprouted green gram, Bengal gram, and cotton seed. Birds are given vitamins, electrolytes, and a mineral mixture too. For comfort, enclosures are made suitable for the animals. Adequate drinking water is ensured. There are tanks too in some enclosures as that of monkeys, hippos, lions, nilgai, jackal, and some birds.

Tigers could be sure that their small wading pools have water round the clock, while ostriches have fans so that a pressure cooker effect caused by rising humidity does not cause them harm. “Last year, an ostrich had died of this condition. So, we have installed fans to ensure that the birds get cool air,” says Zoo veterinarian Jacob Alexander. Some other animals too have fans in the enclosure, while reptiles have both fans and air conditioners.

Enclosures of rhino, sambar deer, and swamp deer have wallowing areas for the animals to roll about in the mud as protection from the sun.

Showers

Zoo officials plan to install showers too in the new emu enclosures so that the animals could cool down quick as the mercury climbs.

Some animals such as tigers are hosed down with water two to three times a day to bring down body temperatures. In the sambar deer enclosure that is rather bereft of vegetation, there are plans to set up sheds with roofs made of palm leaf fronds and grass so as to provide the animals shade from the harsh sun.

The old and the infirm are given special attention during the summer, Dr. Alexander says. Elderly monkeys, for instance, are not allowed in the open in such conditions. “They have been shifted to the animal house to prevent health problems,” he says.

It is not just animals and birds that the zoo officials are concerned about. There are plans to install more drinking water units for the visitors to the zoo in the coming days.