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Born free, live free

The ARC has been doing excellent work in providing shelter to rescued animals of circus companies, writes NIVEDITA GANGULY

PHOTO: K.R.DEEPAK

COOLING HIS HEELS 13-year-old Shiva resting in the cool water tank at the Animal Rescue Centre.

Shiva rests in the cool water tank, padding softly, silently in the pristine quite surroundings.

After years of subdued existence in the Famous Circus, he was brought to the Animal Rescue Centre three years ago in a battered state. With the care of the officials and doctors, the Royal Bengal tiger soon regained his health in a matter of two months.

The ARC was set up in 2001 with funding from the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) to shelter animals rescued from circus companies as per the directive of the Supreme Court. Right now there are 13 tigers and 49 lions in the rescue centre.

The main attraction of this rescue centre is the excellent work it is doing in rescuing captive animals including the ones, which were brought from far off places after spending many years of tortured life! Here, there are lions and tigers that were once subjected to fiendish cruelty to make them leap through fiery hoops in circuses. So fearful were they of the searing agony of the red-hot poker that they pranced and begged just to avoid being touched by a red tipped stick!

Their lives in the circus were reduced to that of a domesticated under-developed pet, with complete dependency on their masters.

They were kept in compressed small enclosures that make their hind limbs weak. Due to this, a stark difference can be noticed in their walking style. Most animals suffer from kidney problems due to unhygienic food and water in the circus.

Such traumatised animals are, at first brought to the Rescue Centre that is not open to the public. Some have been anguished for too long to be able to fend for themselves even in protected enclosures. Many, however, have responded to tender loving care and can be released in Zoological Parks where they are cosseted, and fed, and allowed to roam freely in fenced off wilderness.

Drug resistance

"It takes more than two months for the animal to recover after they are brought to the rescue centre. But still they remain weak and fragile," says the curator of Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, Vijaykumar. "This is because they become resistant to certain drugs. In the circuses, if an animal falls ill, the local veterinary doctor is called.

However, the drug course is never completed and the animal becomes drug resistant," he explains.

Oldest inmates

One of the oldest inmates of the rescue centre is lion `Dhruta' aged 23 who is completely blind. The average life span of a feline bred in captivity is 15 to 18 years.

"He is surviving on soft diet like milk, liver and vitamin supplements. Despite its visibility problem, Dhruta has got adjusted to the surroundings," he says.

Review

Every year, the Central Zoo Authority reviews all the animal rescue centres and zoos. In case of any irregularity in the centres, the CZA has a right to de-recognise them. "That's what happened two years ago with the de-recognised Pratap Sinhav Udyan Zoo in Sangli from where lions in a badly bruised state were brought to the ARC here," says the curator. The central government spends around Rs.60 lakhs every year for the maintenance of the ARC. In spite of spending such a large amount of money on the centers, the animals are not displayed to the public, he adds.

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