Sexual distancing: Big cats in zoo barred from mating

Himanshu.Kaushik@timesgroup.com

Ahmedabad:13.04.2020

While workers across the world have been excused from meetings because of Covid, the jungle royalty at the Ahmedabad zoo has been exempted from the mating duties.

“We are a zoo with breeding facilities and controlled mating is permitted at the Kamla Nehru Zoological Garden,” in-charge zoo superintendent Bharatsinh Vivol said. “But due to the coronavirus concerns, we have completely stopped the mating programme and we ensure that two animals are not housed in one cage.”

The facility has the only nocturnal zoo in the state. The zoo has taken a series of precautions to ensure that Covid does not affect its animals. “A team of doctors makes regular rounds of every cage to check on animals’ health,” Vivol said. “We examine animals for unusual behaviour, breathing problems, running nose, and coughing.”

The zoo has a lion, Ambar; two lionesses, Janki and Shreya; a tiger, Pratap; a tigress, Ananya; and a white tigress, Jumi. The zoo also has eight leopards (four males and four females).

Vivol said that the zoo sanitizes cages every alternate day. Even the walkways are being sanitized. He said that as a precaution, animals are being given vitamins and other supplementary medicines.

Vivol said that utensils and equipment are properly sterilized before use. Moreover, keepers do not touch the utensils without wearing gloves and masks. He said that the zoo staff has been directed to follow a strict hygiene protocol after reaching home: put away clothes for washing, bathe, and only then meet family members.

“When employees report to work, they are checked for fever. They have been directed to take leave even if they have cough and cold,” Vivol said. “So far not a single staffer has reported sick.”

Zoo officials said when the lockdown was announced, the zoo had provided masks, gloves, and sanitizers to keepers and had implemented various other anti-Covid measures. Officials said that only doctors and keepers are allowed near the cages.

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