Kohima, a 10-year-old Himalayan bear, chilling with a fruit plater inside his enclosure in Thiruvananthapuram zoo on Friday.
| Photo Credit: Nirmal Harindran
The 166-year-old Thiruvananthapuram Zoo, one of the oldest in the country, is working overtime to shield its pelted and feathered residents from the sweltering summer’s worst effects.
Situated in the busy city’s heart amid a 55-acre lush botanical garden dotted with artificial waterbodies, the zoo is home to various wildlife, including big cats, bears, monkeys, birds, deer, and reptiles.
The glut of greenhouse pollution has rendered summers increasingly ferocious for humans and animals. Come summer, the zoo’s caretakers mirror paramedics tending to humans beset by heat exhaustion and dehydration. However, their approach appears more pre-emptive in nature.
Nayla, an 8-year-old lioness, reacts as she gets a spray shower inside her enclosure in Thiruvananthapuram zoo on Friday.
| Photo Credit:
NIRMAL HARINDRAN
Ice popsicles
Frozen and fruit-packed ice popsicles, cold showers, water pools, outdoor misting systems, fluid and mineral-rich diet, and continuous monitoring for signs of heat exhaustion, dehydration, and other seasonal ailments, including eye, skin and parasite infections, have helped the zoo authorities insulate the wild animals in their charge from the ferocity of summer in some measure.
M. Ramachandran, the tiger’s caretaker, says big cats are usually averse to water. However, the six-year-old female Royal Bengal tigress Babitha seems to enjoy the sprinkler hose down she gets several times a day from her handler.
“She was extremely hostile and withdrawn when forest authorities captured and delivered her to the zoo in 2018. However, over the years, Babitha has acclimatised herself to her new environment and the expansive wooded enclosure she considers home,” he said.
The zoo authorities have established water mist sprinkler lines in animal enclosures and created climate-controlled environments to help the wildlife beat the heat.
Sangeetha Mohan, the zoo’s curator, says she feeds her charges an additional eight kilogrammes of watermelons and seasonal fruit-laden ice popsicles to help them endure the summer. She also keeps their foraging areas green during summer through constant watering.
Green cover
The zoo’s expansive green cover is also a boon for wildlife. The authorities have air-conditioned the reptile enclosure, which houses exotic snakes.
“Compared to last year, we extended the period we spray water using the mist system as it consumes less water and helps better climate control in enclosures,” says P. S. Manjula Devi, Director of the Department of Museums and Zoo.
Published – March 28, 2025 07:45 pm IST