Summer Special : Special care to cool wild animals at SV Zoo

Tirupati: As the summer has set in, employees of the SV Zoological Park in Tirupati are taking extra steps to provide cool atmosphere for the wild animals.A In multi-pronged steps, the workers are taking special measures to keep cool the atmosphere at the enclosures. This year, the zoo park has procured conventional nets to keep the room temperature low, apart from keeping air coolers at the enclosures for leopards, jaguars, lions, tigers and some other wild animals. A The care takers and time-scale workers of the zoo park are watering the window nets periodically. The air coolers will work round the clock. The green cover arrangements have been made at enclosures where the birds are being kept. Apart from these steps, zoo doctors are providing electrolytes, protein supplements, salt and dextrose to all animals and birds through liquid and solid food. A "Naturally the intake of water would be more in summer season for all wild animals even though they are inside the cages and enclosures. Hence, they are mixing nutrients in food. Like human beings, the salt, glucose, electrolytes and minerals are essential to wild animals. For this, we are taking additional precautions and are making frequent visits to all enclosures to monitor the health condition of animals," said Dr. Thoiba Singh, veterinary doctor of SV Zoo. Every day the veterinary doctors are mixing electrolytes like Sodium Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Bicrarbonate, Sodium Acid Phosphate, Sodium Citrate, Magnesium Sulphate, Dextrose and pre-biotics in food items and feeding wild animals and birds. In SV Zoological Park, about 1070 animals and birds are in various enclosures in which 44 are Lions, 11 White Tigers, Two Jaguars, two Bengal Tigers, Leopards, four elephants, one Giraffe, three Bisons, tens of deers and spotted deers, Sambars and various birds and all these are being administered with protein supplements and electrolytes. The care takers of elephants made the lake convenient for the elephants to enjoy a leisurely bath to get relief from summer heat. Doctors clarified that they were taking all steps to prevent the animals and birds from sun stroke and hence all these precautions include covering the enclosures and cages with conventional mats, keeping of air coolers, regular watering of mats, and providing electrolytes.