Chennai: Ever wondered how the animals at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park a.k.a. Vandalur zoo are fed and what is the source of their feed?
Well, this might come as a surprise to you but there is 12-acre agricultural land which takes care of the needs of the herbivores in the zoo.
In this week’s Zoo Tales, we bring you the details about the fodder plot started almost 18 years ago and that has been feeding the animals since then.
The agricultural land is divided into two sections – 10 acres known as the one compost fodder plot and another two acres known as pre-historic site fodder plot.
Speaking to News Today about the fodder plot, zoo veterinarian Pa Kalaignan said, “Not many zoos in the country have their own fodder system. The major reason behind having our own feeding system is that we will be able to ensure that the animals in the zoo are given healthy feed.”
Talking about the need for having their own fodder plot, Kalaignan said, “When we buy fodder from outside, we will have to depend on someone else and cannot be sure of the quality of the food. Sometimes, the quality of the grass might vary and it might be infected which can harm the animals. But when we harvest it ourselves, we can be confident of feeding the animal stuff that will help them stay fit.”
Fellow veterinarian K Sridhar said there are 14 staff who exclusively work in the fodder plots.
“They harvest the grass before noon and tie them in 160 to 170 bundles each with a capacity of 6 to 7 kg. Later, these bundles are taken to the various enclosures and are fed to the animals. In the afternoon, the staff at the fodder plots start doing maintenance works such as deweeding. The harvest is done on a rotational basis every 45 days. The type of grass that is harvested is also changed. Since the grass grows in stems, the bottom portion is not harvested. One stem can be productive for three years,” he explained.
Talking about the fodder plot, Sridhar said, “On an average, every day, one tonnne is harvested and fed to the animals. Only natural fertilisers are used. Water sprinklers are used for irrigation in the 10-acre plot and in the pre-historic site fodder plot there are three sources of water, two borewells and another source is the water from the hippo enclosure which is used as manure,” he added.
Sridhar said at times there is shortage of water during summer when tree fodders is also used.
“To make sure that the animals get used to the tree fodder they are mixed with the grass fodder. So far, we have never faced inundation in the fodder area during the rainy season as we have excellent drainage mechanism,” he added.
WHAT ABOUT CARNIVORES?
As far as the carnivores are concerned, the meat is purchased from outside and around 440 kg is procured every day.
The vets also said the birds are fed based on their type. Every day, around 250 kg fish, vegetables and greens are procured to feed the birds.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST
All good things have to come to an end, and so does Zoo Tales with our next edition 3 November. In our last edition, we will bring to our readers about the bird enclosures and their maintenance.