Mysuru Zoo raises safety standards

Mysuru: The century-old Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, famously known as Mysuru Zoo, is safe for animals, their keepers and the general public, and there is no chance of any accidents, said C. Ravishankar, Mysuru Zoo Executive Director.

When Star of Mysore contacted him this morning for his reaction on the safety measures at the Zoo following the death of an animal-keeper who was mauled by two white tiger cubs when he entered their den to feed them at the Bannerghatta Biological Park in Bengaluru on Oct. 7, the officer said that such incidents are rare and the Mysuru Zoo is safe as it has adopted several measures over the years including strengthening of the enclosures, raising their height and also counselling the Zoo-keepers.

Taking cognizance of the Bannerghatta incident, the authorities at the Mysuru Zoo have reviewed the safety set up inside the carnivorous section. The section has 10 tigers, out of which four are caged and the rest are left in an enclosure. There are also four lions, two jaguars, one African hunting cheetah and 10 leopards. The Zoo’s Koorgalli facility has six tigers.

While there are sufficient security measures preventing  tourists from getting close to carnivorous animals, extra care has been taken to secure the caged enclosures.

Enclosures with mesh and rust-resistant steel barricades have been set up since the last two years, he added.

Also, the walls of the open enclosures have been raised to 15 feet preventing tigers from jumping the fence, Ravishankar said. The tiger enclosures  have a dedicated team of four trained animal keepers, two assistants, one supervisor and one RFO who is also responsible for overall safety.

“Unlike Bannerghatta Biological Park, we don’t have safaris here and the risk factor is less. Also, we have extra four tiger cages and even while they are cleaned, the animals are shifted to empty cages and locked. The locking process is ensured by the supervisor and only after his green signal, the cages are cleaned,” he said.

“While feeding the animals, we either feed them from a distance or place the meat inside the cages before the animals are led inside after cleaning. Along with the supervisor, even the RFO ensures that the locks are in place,” he said and added that the keeper and supervisor team operate at a time and no keeper enters the enclosures alone.  Of the 10 tigers, two tigers are left in the exhibit area or the open enclosure on a rotation basis and four are left in day kraals that are not visible to the public. The other four are placed in the enclosure through the day. All kraals are completely fenced so that tigers don’t cross the area, he said. CCTV cameras help round-the clock monitoring.

Frequent orientation sessions are also held on the campus to brief the animal keepers and supervisors on the safety measures, Ravishankar added.

Recalling the incident where a tourist from Tamil Nadu was mauled when he fell into the open moat while posing for photos in 1998, Zoo Authority of Karnataka Chairperson Mallige Veeresh told SOM that the Mysuru Zoo was secure and only experienced staff take care of the carnivorous animals.