A month ago, zoo officials from Germany sent a letter to the Zoo Authority of Karnataka, informing them that they had information about the prevalence of foot and mouth disease in the state.
So you had read that four cheetahs would soon arrive from the Leipzig Zoo, Germany. Here’s news that sounds like a spanner in the works. Authorities at Leipzig have put forth a set of demands, and the Zoo Authority of Karnataka has cause for apprehension.
A month ago, zoo officials from Germany sent a letter to the Zoo Authority of Karnataka, informing them that they had information about the prevalence of foot and mouth disease in the state.
They have sought a certificate from the Zoo Authority of Karnataka, affirming that the state is free of the disease.
What is more, they want to be assured that in future too, the state will remain free of the foot and mouth disease.
Authorities there have also sought assurance that the elephant to be sent to Germany as part of the exchange programme is disease-free.
Preparations had been made to welcome the four cheetahs at Mysore by the end of January. Eight leopards from Mysore Zoo were moved to the Bannerghatta Biological Park, Bangalore, in December, to make room for the larger enclosures that the cheetahs need.
Chairman of the Zoo Authority of Karnataka, M Nanjundaswamy, said, “A certificate claiming that there is no foot and mouth disease in Karnataka would not be possible. The disease is rampant here. However, we have said that we will certify that in case an elephant calf is sent, it would be free of foot and mouth disease.”
But we cannot offer such a certificate for the entire state. We have communicated this information to Leipzig, but they have sought time to decide and revert to us.”
Nanjundaswamy also said that the elephant calf which was to be sent from Mysore Zoo has now grown, and would be hard to transport as cargo.
Arrangements are being made to send another male elephant calf, of a smaller size, from the Bannerghatta Biological Park. Once the go-ahead for sending the calf is received from Germany, a calf would be sent to Germany, and the cheetahs will be brought in exchange.
Nanjundaswamy said that it would not be possible to specify a time frame for the arrival of the cheetahs.
Eight adult leopards were shifted from Mysore Zoo to Bannerghatta Biological Park last month, in a bid to prepare the Mysore Zoo for the arrival of the cheetahs from Germany. The three male leopards and five females, in the age range of three to 10 years, were moved to the Bannerghatta Biological Park.
Each cheetah needs a minimum of 10-12 square feet area, and such space was readied for the four animals set to arrive, along with chain link wire fencing. It cost Rs40 lakh to get the space ready. The area (including cages and open area designated as the ‘day crawl area’) were quarantined.
Mysore Zoo housed a total of 11 leopards and two jaguars. Now, only three leopards remain there. If the cheetahs arrive from Leipzig, Mysore will be the second zoo in India, after Junagarh, Gujarat, to house cheetahs.
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