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In Ludhiana zoo, coolers, ice slabs help animals beat the heat
Coolers, ice slabs, and juicy fruits are helping animals beat the heat at the Ludhiana Zoo near Amaltas village; with the mercury already climbing to 40°C, the coolers and ice slabs have been unboxed much earlier than usual
Coolers, ice slabs, and juicy fruits are helping animals beat the heat at the Tiger Safari Zoo near Amaltas village. With the mercury already climbing to 40°C, the coolers and ice slabs have been unboxed much earlier than usual.
Asked what arrangements have been made for the royal cats, zoo in-charge Narinder Singh says, “Apart from installing air coolers in their cage, we have also released water into the tigers’ pond so that the big cats may cool themselves with a midday swim whenever the heat becomes too unconformable for them.”
Meanwhile, bears, who have thick furry coats, are lounging on ice slabs as the mercury continues to rise.
Calling such high temperatures in mid-April an anomaly, Singh says, “Normally, we make these arrangements in the last week of April or beginning of May, but this time we had to take these measures 20 days in advance lest the animals suffer a heatstroke.”
The humble herbivores have not been forgotten and are being served glucose water to help them stay hydrated, Singh says. The zoo’s flock of birds, which includes parrots, emus, and ducks, are also merrily chirruping with full gusto as they enjoy a wholesome diet of juicy and watery vegetables and fruits such as cucumber, grapes and papayas .
Spread across 59 hectares near the Jalandhar Bypass on the National Highway, the safari was opened in 1992 and has been a major tourist attraction. One can also adopt an animal and bird at the zoo by paying an annual caretaking fee.
