As a part of an animal exchange programme authorised by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), Ranchi’s Bhagwan Birsa Zoological Park will soon welcome a white tigress.
In exchange for the white tigress, two normal tigresses, porcupines, hyena and blue bull from the Birsa Zoo will be taken to the Nandankanan Zoological Park, Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
“We have received an approval for the exchange and are presently working on the logistics for the same. Hopefully by the first week of July the new inmates will be here. About four to five species of animals and birds will be exchanged between the two facilities,” informed the Director of Birsa Zoological Park Jabeer Singh.
Apart from the white tigress, mouse deer, foxes, five to six species of birds including pelicans and ibis will be brought to Ranchi from the zoo in Odisha. Presently the zoo here is home to two male and six female tigers. With the arrival of the tigress, a tiger named Java will get a new partner in the zoo.
Ranchi zoo is also known to be a healthy breeding ground for animals. “Any zoo with good upkeep of the animals and where the creatures tend to feel at home just like in their natural surroundings is a breeding ground for the animals. Breeding is an indication that the animals are healthy and happy there,” added Singh.
In the past, a pair of wolves from the Kamla Nehru Prani Sangrahalaya, Indore, Asiatic lions from Gujarat, black panthers from Guwahati Zoo Assam, white tiger and royal Bengal tiger from Kanan Pindari Zoo, Chhattisgarh have also brought in to the Ranchi zoo.
With the temperatures soaring, keeping the heat in mind water coolers have been provided in the enclosures for the animals. The cages have been covered with hay to keep them cool. Fruits like watermelons have been added to the diet of herbivores animals. For the carnivores medial supplements are given. Special pots for drinking water have also been placed in their cages.
“For the meat eating animals, arrangements are made for them to submerge themselves in the water bodies in the premises. Also for the upcoming monsoon season, deworming for the animals has been done and vaccinations will also be given soon,” said the official.
