Southern States
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Karnataka
Mysore Zoo plans to hand-rear giraffe calf
By R.Krishna Kumar
MYSORE, DEC. 5. An air of expectation pervades the Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens here as the staff and veterinarians gear up to play the vole of a "surrogate mother" and hand-rear a giraffe calf for the fourth time.
The "expectant" mother is Honey, who has neglected to her calves in the past. The zoo authorities, who are monitoring Honey's physical condition, say the delivery could take place during the second week of December. Meanwhile, all attention is rivetted on Honey as the authorities do not want to take any chances this time.
Mr. Kumar Pushkar, Director, Mysore Zoo told The Hindu that past experience was the main reason why the staff were not taking any chances this time with Honey. Earlier, Honey had rejected its calf soon after birth, and hence the authorities were gearing up to play the role of a surrogate mother.
Honey delivered six calves since it started breeding with Henry, a male giraffe. Of the six delivered since 1992, the first three calves did not survive for more than a week, while the others were hand-reared by the zoo authorities.
Psychological fear
The zoo authorities point out that Honey had developed a sense of fear towards its calves, and had never ventured to give them maternal care. Honey had lacked motherly affection and failed to caress the young ones and behaved in a violent manner even when under sedation. The mother used to kick the calves and never allow them to come near her to suckle. Perhaps this could be attributed to the fact that Honey had also been rejected by her mother, and had been hand-reared by the authorities.
What is intriguing is that Honey displays no animosity towards the calves she rejected after they grow up. For instance, both Krishnaraja and Chamarajendra born to Honey and rejected by her initially were hand-reared. But today, the two giraffes have attained maturity, and Honey is affectionate towards them. The zoo authorities are at a loss to explain this strange behaviour.
Hand-rearing calves
Mr. Kumar Pushkar said that when Honey became pregnant for the fourth time, the veterinarians and the zoo staff decided to adopt the role of a surrogate mother. They sought guidance from those experienced in hand-rearing animals. The response was terrific and leading zoos from all over the world gave valuable guidelines on hand-rearing the animals. Important technical details was provided by the Los Angeles Zoo authorities.
Based on such guidelines, the Mysore Zoo authorities successfully hand-reared the first giraffe calf in 1996. Based on this experience they replicated the success story in 1998 and 2000. The authorities also devised a feeding pattern and adopted prophylactic measures such as vaccination against foot-and-mouth disease, de-worming and supplementing the animals food with vitamins.
Sources say hand-rearing of a giraffe calf needs careful monitoring and observation right from the first day with a high degree of hygiene, and even the staff attending to the animal have to be provided special clothing including gloves. The nursing room is specially prepared with a long wall-screen to prevent dust from getting in, and the ground is covered with tarpaulin sheets over a straw bed. Room heaters are also used to maintain an ambient temperature for the calf. The entire operation is supervised by the zoo's veterinarian. Lest anything should go wrong, the nursing room is provided with direct wireless communication with the zoo's director and the veterinarians.
Success story
The Mysore Zoo has an outstanding record of captive breeding wild and exotic animals including the Indian Gaur. It is also the only zoo in India in which giraffe calves have been hand-reared. What is more, it is today among the few leading zoo gardens in the world where hand-rearing of giraffes has been successfully accomplished. According to Mr. Kumar Pushkar, the Mysore Zoo was the first zoo in India and the fourth in the world in hand-rear giraffes. The expertise available with the Mysore zoo has also been passed on to the authorities in the Kolkata Zoological Gardens, and they too have replicated the success of their Mysore counterparts.
Sources say credit should go in no small measure to the keepers, Messrs. Nanjundappa, Mahadevappa and Govindappa who had looked after the calves, and to their assistant Mr. Uday Kumar, who nursed the animals for three months on each occasion. With the combined experience of these staff members, and veterinarians such as Dr. Gopal Rao and Dr. S.M.Khadri, the authorities now await their new assignment.
Giraffe gambolling in the Mysore Zoo.
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