Visitors at Vandalur zoo introduced to in-house jumbos

On World Elephant Day (August 12), the officials at the zoo decided to use the occasion to not only celebrate the magnificent creatures but also create awareness among the visitors. “This is the first time we are celebrating the occasion. We had prepared a special meal for the elephants — much like what we do for our festivals. The elephants — Ashok (7) and Masini (2), were given special food such as coconuts, papayas and bananas, along with other specifically prepared delicacies. Their diet usually consists of ragi balls, alternated with rice and sugarcane. But since it was a day in their celebration, we decided to have a special platter,” said an official from zoo. 

The public too could, for a change, view the feeding sessions. The rangers at the zoo acquainted the visitors with the process of preparation of the meal for the in-house pachyderms, to create awareness on the animal’s habits. “Usually, the public is not allowed to watch the feeding sessions. But on Sunday, we allowed them to witness the proceedings and gave them a low-down on how the animal’s food is prepared daily. We also informed the public about the animal adoption program, where they could adopt the animal or even take care of the feeding expenses for a decided duration,” added the official. 

The zoo currently has these two pachyderms, who are monitored by the four in-house vets and their diets specially monitored to ensure they stay in the pink of health. “Days like these are observed in large-scale reserves. But since we had elephants in the zoo — which the public wasn’t aware about — we wanted to highlight that,” said the official.