Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, March 29: With the mercury soaring and the prevailing heat wave condition persisting it’s time we took proper measures to not only protect us but also our fellow city dwellers, even if their address be the Nandankanan zoo at the outskirts of the city, from heat.
The zoo authorities are exactly doing that to make the lives of its inmates relatively comfortable. While the herbivore enclosures are being covered with thatched roofs and the animals are being sprinkled with water daily, non-stop water supply is being provided to the water pools inside the enclosures.
“The amount of meat served to the carnivores has been reduced to ensure better metabolism in them; animals such as bears are being served sugarcane juices and watermelons so that those can avert the harmful effects of heat. Herbivores such as deer are also getting watermelons and coconut water,” K L Purohit, assistant director, Nandankanan zoo, told Orissa POST.
Keeping in view the alarming rise in temperature levels, the zoo veterinary doctors are also monitoring the condition of the animals for any symptoms of sunstroke or dehydration and are taking adequate measures for their protection, the assistant director explained.
When asked about the water availability in the zoo, Purohit said, “There is no water problem in the zoo as of now. We have a requirement of 50,000 litres of water every day and we are meeting the requirements from the bore well on the premises and till now we are not depending on any other external source.
“Birds are also vulnerable to heat. We are giving them diluted anti-depressants. So far, no heat-related casualties have taken place in the zoo.”