Animals relax as lockdown keeps the public away
NEW DELHI : Vijay, 12 has been enjoying long naps, lots of playtime with his favourite wooden log, and peaceful walks around his enclosure.
Six years ago, it was during one such evening stroll that Vijay, one of Delhi zoo’s white tigers, was confronted by a 2 2 - y e a r o l d man who h a d jumped or fallen into the enclosure. Vijay killed the man, an act that changed his life. He was initially kept under observat i o n . T h e n , whe n h e wa s released, he realised he had become a celebrity. He got used to having people screaming to att ract his att ention, even (when the zoo officials were not looking), throwing things at him. he also got used t o t he incessant clicking of mobile phone cameras.
Now, with the zoo close to public, Vijay is enjoying his non-celebrity lifestyle, according to his trainers, who add that he has actually become more relaxed and responsive.
It isn’t just him; most animals have b e c o me l e s s s hy a nd stress-free since the zoo closed for general public on March 18, after the Covid-19 epidemic had started to spread in the national capital.
With a national lockdown for three weeks being declared from March 25, zoo authorities appointed an animal behaviouri s t t o analyse behavioural changes in the 1,200 animals kept in captivity here. Two biologists of the zoo accompany the behaviourist to record activities of the animals on a day-to-day basis to asses if there is any change.
A report on the assessment based on the stress levels, diet, sleep, mating and defecation patterns of the animals will be submitted to the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) after the lockdown is over.
Suneesh Buxy, director of Delhi zoo, said initial observations show that most of the wild animals are now stress-free and enjoying the absence of visitors.
“The stress factor has reduced. There is no noise. Except for the zoo staff, there is no human interaction with animals,” Buxy said, adding that the research could be useful. “If some pattern is observed, it will be a good for further research.”
Explaining t he c hanges observed in the big cats over the last fortnight, zoo officials who are involved in the study said that the animals are now showing more activity, have become more playful, and that their aggression levels have gone down. One tiger, which otherwise is the most aggressive of the lot, has remained mostly calm, Buxy added.
Scientists have also observed that the Asian elephants and apes were spotted roaming freely around, without any coaxing from their keepers. Previously shy foxes, rarely seen during the day, are venturing out. And lion-tailed macaques are using the swings installed for them, more frequently now.
The bowel movement of animals such as elephants and apes are also more regular and the faeces is not as constipated as it used to be, zoo officials said -one indicator that they are not under stress. Another change is that they are drinking enough water now. Many of these animals earlier used to hesitate to drink water, because many water troughs are open to publ i c view. Some even ri sked dehydration, officials said.
“Apart f r om t he l i mited human interaction, animals are now also getting fresh meat, which we are slaughtering in the zoo itself. As a result, we have observed that there is no wastage” said Saurabh Vashisht, range officer at the zoo.
The zoo used to source meat from suppliers before. It was granted special permission to slaughter animals in the zoo during the lockdown.
Among big cats, the zoo has nine tigers, four leopards, two jaguars and four lions.
The story seems to be similar in zoos around the world. Martha Deen, a senior zoologist at the US’S Montana State University, has been heading a project to analyse t he behaviour changes in various categories of animals in America’s zoos since their interaction with humans became limited.
“Our observations are still ongoing, but we have seen that while wild animals such as tigers and lions are more stressfree and are even mating on their own, performing and petting animals — such as chimpanzees, walruses and wild goats — were showing signs of loneliness and depression,” Deen said, in an email response.
She said that in many staterun zoos in the US, people are allowed to pet and play with animals and they are used to having humans around. These animals were seen to shows signs of “attention deficiency”, she added.
“For i ns t a nce i n Ohio’ s Columbus, we have got reports t hat zoo keepers have t o be around the bonobo (a monkey), because every day at 2pm they have a little show for the public...they are like performers, who are missing their audience.”
Vijay clearly isn’t.