More interesting things at the zoo

- Asha SENEVIRATHNE
 

Educational Officer Nihal Senerath

A zoo keeper with a chimpanzee

Today we continue our stroll around the Dehiwala Zoological Gardens and our first stop is its hospital.

Did you know that there is an animal hospital attached to the zoo and that it is the biggest animal hospital in the country? The doctors and staff there work hard daily for the well-being of the animals.

The staff members have a variety of duties including treating animals, operating on them when necessary, doing lab experiments and breeding rats for the consumption of the zoo snakes. They also supervise and take care of the food given to the animals.

The Dehiwala Zoo Hospital also treats outside animals with injuries, but it does not accept birds because of the spreading of bird flu. The zoo animals are treated in two ways. The bigger animals like elephants are mostly treated in their cages and are brought to the zoo hospital only if it is necessary. The zoo has a transport system in place to bring the sick animals to the hospital.

Today the zoo hospital is geared to address the well-being of a multitude of animals. This would be a great advantage for the increasing number of animals at the zoo and would definitely provide a new experience. The hospital has further extended its services by providing assistance towards both local and foreign studies.

Education centre

Most people come to the zoo only to enjoy themselves. They just walk around and see the animals, talk about what they have seen among themselves and leave. But there is a lot we can learn about the animals from a visit to the zoo. According to the zoo's Educational Officer Nihal Senerath, that requirement is fulfilled by the zoo's education centre.

The zoological garden gives its maximum services to the people. Guides are provided to people who need them (especially to groups) and people can also visit the education centre and get any information they require.

The giraffe enclosure

The zoo has an extensive library on animals which at present provides a valuable service to university students and other researchers. Most people are still not aware of this valuable place. The next time you visit the zoo, you would have to allocate some of your time to visit this centre as well.

Animal shows

The zoo, under its new concept, is moving away from its traditional cage concept into more free areas. There are two aviaries - the second one is for the exotic birds and the first aviary, as we already know, is full of endemic species of birds.

The zoo has a very famous reptile garden too.

The existing animal shows in the zoo such as sea lion, elephant and chimpanzee shows have been extended to include a show of reptiles as well.

In this show, a lot of reptiles can be seen at close quarters, which may be a new experience for most visitors. It is conducted by Educational Officer Senerath. Next time you visit the zoo, don't forget to experience this novel feature.

Media publicity

The zoo authorities are now seeking the support of the media. Most special events related to the zoo including the new arrivals this year have received wide publicity over various forms of media. It is through the media that you first got to know about the birth of the 23 anaconda babies.

A keeper at the aviary

Three of them have died since then although the others have shown progress. As a result of the wide publicity given to these anacondas, the zoo recorded the best attendance in its history, 32,058, on August 24, 2008.The zoo gets its animals from both local and foreign sources. In the case of foreign animals, the zoo has to spend a lot of money for ordering and transporting the animals.

They have to do a lot of work to give us the opportunity to see familiar foreign animals like giraffes and gorillas and also introduce new faces to the zoo. All these hard work come together to heighten the 'zoo experience'.

New arrivals

The zoo reported many new arrivals last year while many more are planned for
this year. Here is a list of these animals.

New arrivals in 2008
Ring tailed coati 1
Maras 2
Bengal tigers 3
Zebras 2
Greater kudu 1
Meerkats 2
Rhino iguanas 2
Red gang kangaroos 2
Californian sea lion 1

Arrivals planned for
this year
Green tree pythons 4
Dwara crocodiles 3
White tigers 2
African lions 2
Pygmy Hippo 1
Capybaras 2
Bearded lizards 4