Patna zoo gears up to keep inmates warm this winter

PATNA: With the winter season setting in and the mercury level coming down, the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park commonly known as Patna zoo administration has made arrangements to keep the inmates warm by installing 46 heat convectors in different enclosures and night houses.
The zoo authorities have started implementing systemic changes to prepare its 1,161 inhabitants and dietary plan to meet their increased nutritional requirement during the winter season.
Heaters or blowers, wooden blocks, sheet of hem grass and an extra platter of food have been kept in the cages of carnivorous animals like tigers, lions, leopards, cheetah and other cat families to help them stay warm and healthy. Heaters are also installed in night houses of bears, wolves, chimpanzees and monkeys.
Amit Kumar, Patna zoo director said meat-eating animals are taken care of with extra meat of 2- 2.5 kg in their diets and wooden planks have been placed in their cages, so they can rest on the warm surface. “All ventilators of the cages and night houses have been covered with bamboo straw to keep the room warm. Enclosures of several animals and birds like ostriches, emus, eagles, cheetals, sambars, giraffe, deers, bears, rhinos and monkeys have been redone with beds made of straw and hay,” he said.
He added: “High-voltage bulbs and pots are placed in snake house to keep the cold- blooded reptiles warm. Normally reptiles go into hibernation during winters, so there is no metabolic activity, but the animals need to keep themselves warm. Blankets and quilts are given to monkeys, chimpanzees and snakes.”
Some inmates are being provided with a healthy dose of seasonal fruits and vegetables and other supplements to help them counter cold and strengthen their immunity.
Honey and boiled eggs have been added in the menu of the chimpanzees, monkeys and bears while elephants are being fed sugar- cane and jaggery, and they also receive massage of mustard oil. Primates also get health supplement like— chawyanprash.
The authorities are also providing lukewarm water in moats and in ponds for birds, reptiles and crocodiles. Paddy straw and wheat husk bedding have been provided to all birds for warm nesting. Zookeepers are constantly checking the weather to make sure the animals stay safe, keeping in view their natural environmental requirements.