Bid to provide better environment to inmates of State Zoo

GUWAHATI, January 17: Gone are the days when zoos were merely centres of fun and entertainment where the animals were the entertainers. Today, zoos are regarded as important scientific centres. The emphasis is more on the scientific upkeep of animals besides, in some cases, sheltering members of endangered species and facilitating captive breeding. Keeping with the trend worldwide, the Assam State Zoo here has also undertaken several measures to provide a better environment to the inmates trying to bring them as close to their natural environs as possible. In their efforts to ensure minimum disturbance to the animals, the zoo authorities are planning to restrict movement of vehicles within the campus by diverting traffic through a new road from the RG Baruah Road to the staff quarters. Measures are also being taken to remove encroachments from the largest green area of the city which also acts as its lungs. According to the zoo DFO R Bhattacharjee, a ban on carrying in plastic bags into the zoo will be enforced immediately as a step to create an environmentally friendly ambience inside the campus. The State Zoo receives eight to ten lakh visitors annually. Recently, the zoo authorities tried to improve the living conditions of the zoo inmates by shifting some of them to larger accommodation. "Sometimes, serious efforts are more important than funds", says Bhattacharjee. Citing an instance, he points to a shelter created for a baby elephant out of materials lying abandoned in the zoo". It cost us only Rs 50 to whitewash the structure, he says. The Golden Cat, one of the prized inmates of the zoo, was shifted to a bigger cage to provide it with more space. The Assam State Zoo is one of the only two zoos in the country, the other being Imphal, that hosts Golden Cats. A bigger challenge was the shifting of two adult rhinos from a comparatively small pen to an open enclosure with a dry moat. The pair, a male and a female, were shifted some two weeks ago in a rather innovative manner. "We deliberately avoided using tranquilisers", says Bhattacharjee. Instead, the zoo officials built a passageway with bamboo barricades all along the 150 odd metres from the old to the new home for the rhinos. The zoo staff, working round the clock, slowly enticed the rhinos to move along the passageway with food as the bait. "Sometimes, they would come some distance and then retreat to their old shelter", recounts the DFO. The entire operation took a week, he says. The State Zoo has eight Indian and one African rhinos. Bhattacharjee says that a guard would be posted permanently near the open enclosure for the rhinos to prevent any possible attacks on them. The Assam State Zoo, situated in the Hengrabari Hills, was set up in 1957 and is counted among the largest zoos in the country. A botanical garden was also added within the boundary of the zoo later to preserve, conserve and study the floristic composition of the region. The zoo is sprawled over an area of 175 hectare.