Bannerghatta Park animals cool off as mercury soars

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Bengaluru: Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) is taking special measures to help animals to cope with rising temperatures in and around Bengaluru.

These measures include the animals being given ice slabs and popsicles with fruits inside, “enrichment” which refers to giving animals more water-rich food, deployment of sprinklers, fans and coolers, creation of some additional watering holes, apart from temporary shelters for people to take cover.

Park authorities pointed out that footfall had been dropping at BBP and the scorching heat was the most likely reason.

BBP executive director Surya Sen said that these measures were a part of the protocol for the summer months, adding that it extended to the comforts of visitors as well.

“So generally, we do these activities for all summers and not specific to this summer alone. We keep sprinklers for animals. We put temporary shelters for people. This time, we are seeing a decline in the visitor count. Because of the heat, people are not coming out,” he said.

Sen said that animals were being given additional water intake to make up for lost moisture due to the heat.

“We’ll do animal enrichment. We give them water-rich food, more water trucks, water baths and things like that, he said.

“Enrichment plans include ice popsicles,” he added.

The BBP director said that the summer heat affected cold-blooded animals like reptiles and smaller birds more acutely.

“This especially affects the coldblooded animals. Coldblooded animals, mainly smaller reptiles, are the ones suffering. Larger mammals generally survive,” Sen said, adding that smaller reptiles like snakes in enclosures require maintaining temperatures with measures like air coolers.

It is to be noted that the body temperature of reptiles is equivalent to the atmospheric temperature as opposed to mammals, who maintain their body heat.

Borewells to the rescue

Surya Sen said that the park was tiding over the water scarcity plaguing Bengaluru and its surrounding areas by drawing water from their borewells and ferrying them by way of trucks.

He added that he was optimistic about getting drinking water to the park eventually.

Sen revealed that a contract had been awarded and work was underway for the past few months to establish a Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSS) connection to the park.