Zoo animals show their true self with no visitors around

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It’s not human beings alone who have been affected with the lockdown following the Covid-19 outbreak. A majority of the animals at the Thiruvananthapuram zoo have been displaying hitherto strange behaviour, at least for the zoo keepers, in the absence of the steady stream of visitors from March 23. Their alertness now amid the quietness in the zoo has been a unique learning experience for the staff.

Thiruvananthapuram’s was the first zoo in the country to close down due to Covid-19. Even before the coronavirus had infected a tiger at Bronx Zoo in New York from one of its keepers in early April, the LDF government had decided to close down all museums and zoos in the state. Currently, the 55-acre Thiruvananthapuram Museum and Zoo campus looks deserted with only 20 per cent of the staff working and its gates are shut for even the scores of joggers who used to frequent otherwise. Interestingly, the zoo animals are exhibiting their unique characteristics much to the amusement of the keepers.

“I feel that it is the spotted deer population that have been showing high alert these days. With no noise around, the roaring of the lions and tigers is being heard louder, which is scaring them. Kuttan, a Lion-tailed macaque, has been bored by not seeing any visitors and he shows all kinds of antics to garner the attention of the keepers,” said Dr Jacob Alexander, senior zoo veterinary surgeon, to TNIE. Four-year-old white tiger Shravan, which was brought down from National Zoological Gardens, New Delhi, has been attached to its keeper M Ramachandran, aka Raman.

With no visitors around, Shravan is keen to see his keeper spending more time around, which is not good for the animal itself. Earlier, nocturnal animals like hyena hardly came out of their den. Now almost all five of them enclosed in a single spacious enclosure come out for sunbathing and occasionally play around. At the water aviary too, the birds are frequently seen flying when earlier they used to move around only to feed. With four more tigers and three lions testing positive for Covid-19 at Bronx Zoo on Thursday as well as more big cats showing the symptoms, the authorities here are trying to avoid maximum human contact without compromising on the welfare of the animals.

Abu Sivadas, director of the Museum and Zoo, told TNIE that 2,000 face masks, hand sanitisers and hand wash have been distributed among the staff. There is no shortage of food stuff including meat and dried grass for the animals. “The green fresh leaves are being procured from private homes from across the city by the labourers who have been awarded the contract. We have ensured that the families at these houses don’t feel circumspect about the labourers being possible carriers of coronavirus. So, we have distributed masks and hand sanitisers to the workers. We have also been spraying anti-viral sodium hypochlorite in the enclosures of primates and cattle,” said Sivadas.

Safety first
According to Abu Sivadas, director of the Museum and Zoo, that 2,000 face masks, hand sanitisers and hand wash have been distributed among the staff.