IT HAS been over a 30-year journey for Mohammed Sajid Khan, who was 25-year-old when he started working along with his father Mohammed Shakir Khan to take care of elephants - four at that time, in Veer Mata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo in Byculla. Now it is his son and the fourth generation of the Khan family taking care of the last remaining elephant at the zoo, Anarkali (56). Mohammed Saif Khan (21), who is training under the watchful eye of his father and uncle, is among the youngest zookeeper taking care of Anarkali, one of the oldest residents of the zoo. Anarkali was brought to the zoo at the age of 12 and was embraced by her mahouts. She has given rides to scores of visitors in the city’s only zoo. After the recent death of the 64-year-old elephant, Laxmi, the 56-year-old Anarkali is the oldest resident and will be the last elephant to live in the Byculla zoo after a Central Zoo authority ruling in 2009 that banned captive breeding, and collection of elephants by zoos across the country. Like his father, Saif Khan, also started working as a labourer in the zoo. “I started working as a labourer then moved to work in the kitchen and trained with other animals and have taken care of monkey, deer in the zoo. But since my childhood, I have seen my father in the elephant enclosure and I always wanted to be trained as a mahout,” he said. Sajid, who is known as “father and mother” to the elephants, retired in 2019 but still shares a strong bond with Anarkali. “When I was working as a labourer at the zoo, my father used to be ruthless with me if I didn’t do my work properly, which initially was merely cleaning the area around the elephants and being around during the elephant safari, which is banned since 2000. My training was taking care of Champakali, one of the five elephants in the zoo in the 1990s,” said Sajid Khan. Sajid’s family originally hails from Uttar Pradesh, but they consider the Byculla Zoo as their home. Sajid’s family lives within earshot of the elephants’ enclosure to ensure that he is available in case of any emergency. Saif Khan is still learning and training under his father and uncle as Anarkali accepted his presence. Laxmi, who died in 2020, following a chronic heart attack, was brought to the zoo with two other elephants from a circus in 1977. With a smile on his face, now a retired mahout, Jamal Ahmed Khan, remembered Laxmi’s temper. “Anarkali has a calm attitude, listens to me. But Laxmi was more expressive about her temper. Banging the iron gate, blowing out air from her trunk. She disliked if anyone, except me and Sajid, entered her enclosure. She would not stop unless the person stepped out,” Ahmed Khan. A veterinarian at the zoo said Sajid’s presence was mandatory in the enclosure during Laxmi’s health check-up, otherwise, she would not remain still. Sanju Kharla, the assistant to Jamal, has been working at the elephant enclosure for six years, quickly added, “Laxmi made me run around a lot. It was in her last two years; she accepted my presence.” On a normal day, keepers start with checking on animals, cleaning the enclosure, cleaning and giving baths to animals. In the case of elephants, mahouts clean and bathe them daily, doctors go on rounds twice a day to check on the animals, take detailed stool samples when necessary. Dr Dipika Valsarajan, who has been working at the zoo since 2007, said, “Each animal has a unique set of routines. They are fond of their keepers and react to their presence, they have a very keen sense of smell and voice. Among all the animals, deer is the most scared species, and it is a tiresome job to tend to them. Elephants are the most sensitive and intelligent animals and have higher interactions with humans than other animals.” While the zoo went through its fair share of controversies - from unkept and rickety enclosures, poor health of animals, death of one of the newly acquired Humboldt penguins – the Byculla zoo spread over 53 acres is now trying to turn the page. More than 150 years old, the zoo is going under a massive revamp. There are a total of 391 different birds, reptiles and mammals at its premises. Each animal with its unique set of needs, routine is tended to by three veterinarians, assistants, interns and keepers. Yashwant Khandekar, (56), head of the zoo staff, has been working in the zoo for about 30 years and is one of the oldest staff. He believes that now the revamp of the zoo could bring back the old glory. Before Khandekar, his father had also worked in a zoo. Khandekar is also looking after the zoo’s Anarkali. Before this, he had taken care of seven other animals, including lions, hippopotamus, rhino, bears. “There were Asiatic Lion couple Anita and Naveen in the zoo. While working as their zookeeper I had developed a special bond and they used to feel my presence with the sound of keys in my pocket. When I used to enter the cage, the lioness used to run towards me,” said Khandekar, who took care of the lion couple for seven years. According to the data available with the zoo, most of its big attractions either died due to old age or were transferred to other zoos. The revamp plan of the zoo is going on since last more than 10 years. Under the revamp plan, the total area of the zoo, currently at 53 acres, will be expanded by another 10 acres at an estimated cost of Rs 200 crore. This area is supposed to house the new animals, which will be brought in from across the world. Built during 1982, the zoo is presently home to around 335 animals, birds and reptiles, including monkeys, crocodiles, an elephant, a herd of deer, a hippopotamus, penguins and several exotic birds. Just before the lockdown was imposed last year, a pair of Bengal tigers, striped hyenas, a jackal and a leopard was brought to the zoo. In January 2020, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had inaugurated a new aviary that houses over 100 species of bird. According to phase III of its expansion plan, the BMC plans on bringing in giraffe, zebra, white lion, black jaguar, chimpanzee, oryx, cassowary, ostrich, okapi, ringtail lemur and cheetah from abroad for the zoo.
