Vandalur gears up for a bear safari

BEARS. THEY are accustomed to performing on the roads. A metal ring tied to their nose, they obey their master's commands without any inhibitions. Because any hesitation is punished with extreme measures.

There has been a shift of environment now; they are now at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Vandalur.

An European Brown bear, four Himalayan Black bears and half a dozen Sloth bears seem to be liking their new home, at the `spacious' Vandalur zoo.

Yhey seem quite happy, for they can see a little bit more of sky than they normally can; the nose ring has been removed and their legs are not chained.

Another added attraction is the bounteous availability of termite hill in the zoo.

They have quickly become one of the most favourites at the zoo.

One of the most active animal here, it has been provided with additional enrichments says the Zoo Director, Mr. N. Krishnakumar. This is to ensure that they grow healthy enough to exhibit their natural behaviour, he adds.

Bears are mainly rescued from two sources - while performing on the roadside or from mobile illegal circuses.

As soon as they are rescued they are brought to the zoo, where they are kept in quarantine for a few weeks and later released into the exhibit area. With the announcement of ban on animals performing on the roads and in circus, the zoo is getting at least one bear a month. Most of the animals rescued on the roads are owned by people from the neighbouring Karnataka, while the circuses are run by people from Kerala.

Already the zoo has earmarked 22 hectares land for creating a bear safari. With the increased number of bear rescues, there is a good scope for opening a bear safari, says Mr. B. Venkataraman, Deputy Director.

Recently a bear was rescued from an illegal circus from Theni district. When it landed in the zoo, the bear was very docile.

The zoo authorities using heavy cutters, removed both the nose ring and the chain around its legs. But even then, there was no `normal' reaction on the part of the animal.

A couple of days ago, the zoo staff saw the bear burrowing.

Though they are happy that the bear is active, they are afraid that the animal will dig a tunnel and escape !

Milk, Bengal gram, vegetables, gruel and honey form part of the diet for the bears.

A year ago, the zoo was planning to acquire a pair of sun bears from Taiwan under an animal exchange programme.

But during physical verification, it was found that one of them was visually handicapped due to which the exchange offer was not accepted by the authorities.

Now, with additional bears coming in, it is quite a treat for anyone visiting the zoo.

By P. Oppili

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