The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Summer? No sweat!

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 21, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Summer? No sweat!

Staff Reporter

Zoo is the coolest zone around. Animals have been provided air-coolers and regular showers to beat the heat

AM LOVING IT: An elephant soaking in the luxury of a shower at the zoo in Hyderabad. Photo: K. Gajendran

HYDERABAD: As the mercury starts soaring hinting a long summer ahead, the Nehru Zoological Park has taken up initiatives to provide some respite for its inmates from searing heat.

The zoo which houses wild animals, birds and reptiles has taken up special measures that include proper cover to creatures that are particularly sensitive to extreme heat conditions. Paying attention to the needs of birds which cannot tolerate temperature rise, the staff had already covered their enclosures with `thunga' which is regularly watered to keep the insides cool. Those given dry grass cover include parrots and macaw.

The authorities are also in the process of equipping some rest homes with air-coolers in view of the impending temperature escalation. Some of the coolers that needed repairs are being serviced and will be installed for chimpanzees and orang-utans. Similar arrangements have also been made for the nocturnal enclosure.

The sprawling campus of zoo which house more than 2,000 different species is also getting dotted with sprinklers for the lawns. The elephants which recently acquired a separate home, where they retire during nights and also hide from the sun during day time, have been provided with facilities for a regular bath.

The zoo has spent around Rs.1.50 lakhs on procuring `thunga', other paraphernalia and also to repair the air-coolers. "We are ensuring that the animals do not feel any discomfort when temperature goes up this summer," an official said.

Given its green cover, the temperatures in the zoo campus usually are lower than outside.

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