Month after hippo death,Byculla zoo wakes up

“This is an ongoing process. We are trying to ensure that a good living environment is available for the animals till the makeover kicks off. We are currently improvising the monkey cages after which we will move on to the bears,lions and birds enclosures,” a zoo veterinarian said. At the monkey cage,work was on to set up new tree branches and swings on Monday. 

Th BMC has engaged the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to carry out the upgrading work,under the supervision of their newly-appointed honorary vets Dr Yuvraj Kaginkar of SPCA and retired zoo vet Dr M S Karavale.

According to Anuradha Sawhney,chief functionary of PETA,provision of enrichment has been slated for the EMU,Himalayan black bear,monkeys and aquatic birds. “We have been long urging the BMC to upscale the zoo cages. All we want is to provide some kind of temporary environmental enrichment for the animals till the makeover,to make life comfortable for them,” she explained. PETA has agreed to sponsor the activity.

Environmental enrichment involves inclusion of articles in animal cages so that each animal can express natural behaviour,similar to their life in the wild. “Zoos can help them do this by providing opportunities that make it possible for them to take their own behavioural decision or inclination. In their natural environment,wild animals go through complex development stages,involving countless external environmental stimuli,which equip them for the various trials of nature,” Kaginkar said.

He added that objective was to increase the behavioral repertoire of captive animals,to reduce abnormal behavior characteristic of wild animals in captivity,to encourage positive utilization of the whole enclosure space (both horizontal and vertical),to enhance the ability to cope with novelty,and (in some instances) to prepare the animal for re-introduction programmes.

Besides cage enrichment,other improvisation activities in the zoo will include adding signage boards at each enclosure and increasing vigil,a zoo vet stated.

The comfort list
EMU
* Providing one water pond (8 x 4 ft wide and 1 ft deep) in the enclosure
* Enclosure should be made green with grass
* Distribution of feed that is ‘Lucrene’ grass and green vegetables at different places (kept hanging)
* Putting dry coconut branches or hay on the roof.
* A shed structure developed for shelter,during monsoons.

Himalaya Black Bear
* Greenery in enclosure
* Replacing hanging rubber tyres in the cage.
* A swing between two trees
* Putting hay and straws for sitting and play
* Fixing logs in the enclosure.
* Putting honey for bear in the holes of the tree by fixing some steel pot