Shiva ‘enjoying Delhi weather’,adjusting to new environment

“Shiva is responding to our keepers and is venturing into the main enclosure he shares with female rhinos. He is taken care of by four keepers,” said Amitabh Agnihotri,director of National Zoological Park.

Panneer Selvam,the veterinary officer at Delhi zoo who escorted Shiva from Mumbai,said,“We release him into the main enclosure once a week. Initially,we tried leaving him there but he was scared. Moreover,when he was kept outside,his wound got aggravated. Now,we are trying to help him adjust gradually. We keep food and water in the main enclosure so he has to come out to get it.”

The two females,Mageshwari (18) and Anjuga (8),who are now more acquainted with their new neighbour. Selvam said,“It will take some time before the animals mate as it depends on the females’ mood and when they are in heat.”

Prakash Kadam,Byculla zoo’s head animal keeper who visited Shiva in September,said,“They will wait till the wound heals before they let him out into the main enclosure. When they put his cage next to that of the female rhinos,Mageshwari would try to lick his wound but this made it worse. They had to wait for the animals to get acquainted with each other before placing the cages next to each other.”

Dr Sanjay Tripathi,deputy superintendent at the Veermata Jijabai Bhonsle Zoo,Byculla,said as part of a capacity-building exercise among zoos in the country,Kadam and Ramesh Pawar,Shiva’s keeper of 23 years,were sent to the Delhi zoo. “They were quite satisfied with the way Shiva is being taken care of.”

Kadam said,“They are taking care of him the right way. Shiva has more space to roam in the new enclosure. Ours was not as big. While the diet given to him is largely the same,I believe the zoo there receives better quality food. Moreover,the quality of the soil in the mud pits there is better,” Kadam said.

He added that during the visit,the keepers also gave tips to the National Zoological Park staff on how to handle Shiva.

“They were asking us if he responds to Hindi or Marathi. Since we mainly spoke to Shiva in Marathi,we wrote down a list of Marathi phrases that we regularly used,such as ‘Shiva,jaa’ (Shiva,go) or ‘Shiva,nigh’ (Shiva,leave). However,he has now adapted to their style and is being trained in Hindi,” Kadam said.

alison.saldanha@expressindia.com