The death of a youth at the national zoological park in New Delhi following the attack by a white tiger has prompted the authorities of the Thiruvananthapuram zoo to review the safety measures. The tiger and lion open enclosures here have no roof and the animals are allowed to roam freely in a forest-like scenario. Museum and zoo director B. Joseph told DC that the visitors go close to the wild animals with mobile phones posing threat to them.
The lion’s open enclosure has two barriers which prevent the visitors from climbing the wall. Similarly, at the tiger’s open enclosure, there is a pond and the open space where they are allowed to move freely.
The zoo authorities were planning to go to New Delhi zoo to bring a six-year-old female white tiger here.
“Due to the Delhi incident, we have decided to review the safety measures. These wild animals are quite sensitive and when the visitors come close with the mobile cameras on, their life is at risk,” said Mr Joseph.
Though the wild cats have not posed any threat to the life of the visitors, during the 80s the forearm of a woman from Bengaluru was chewed off when she taunted a brown bear. A man was also injured when he tried to jump into the cage of the sloth bear.
“In the 1980s a tiger escaped from the cage and after a high drama it was tranquilised and brought back to its enclosure,” recalled Dr. C. J. Chandra, retired veterinary surgeon over phone from the US where he is settled now.
Even though Thrissur zoo is functioning without sufficient space as per the direction of National Zoo Authority, all the animals here are imprisoned in strong cages. “There has not been a single serious incident reported from Thrissur zoo in recent years. Moreover, we are fully equipped to face any situation” said Mr P.V. Anilkumar, zoo superintendent.
He, however, added that it was time to eliminate all cage structures and provide physical and visual barriers through moats and other means.
