Jaipur:
Eleven cheetals have died in the Jaipur zoo in the past few days due to extremely cold weather with temperatures dropping to 3-4 degrees. The zoo authorities say they got pneumonia as the cheetal is a highly sensitive animal and very susceptible to any change in environment. Also, the cheetals don't like to be kept in enclosed shelters, preferring to be out in the open making them more vulnerable to cold conditions.
"The cheetals died due to the cold as the contracted pneumonia," said Y K Sahu, Superintendent, Jaipur Zoo.
But they are taking no chances with the other animals. Tigers and panthers have been given heaters and for the smaller animals the diet has been enriched to help them deal with the cold.
"The tigers are fed milk and eggs apart from the regular meals. Bears are fed an extra dose of honey and milk and as far as the primates are concerned we feed them dates to add to their body heat," Y K Sahu added.
There is a relief for the animals and the zoo administration as in the past few days, the temperatures have gone up a bit raising the chances of survival of these animals.