Negligence is turning Orissa's Nandankanan zoo, once considered one of Asia's finest white tiger safaris, into a hellhole for its denizens and posing a threat to its staff, animal enthusiasts say.
The wire mesh around the tigers' enclosure is in such disarray that the zoo staff are scared the animals may break free.
"We don't know when we are going to be killed by the tigers. The wire mesh (around the tigers' enclosure) has become weak - it has not been changed since super cyclone (in 1999). Any day the tigers may come out and kill us," said a zoo watchman.
While the fear of the animals escaping into people's midst is rampant, deteriorating conditions inside the animal enclosures have put the animals at risk and brought back fears of June 2000 when 13 tigers died of disease.
"The water in the tanks inside the enclosure needs to be changed regularly but authorities are not paying attention to that. The tanks are getting dirty and are full of algae and moss," an animal keeper told IANS on condition of anonymity.
"This may lead to infections in tigers."
To compound matters, the zoo does not have a full-fledged veterinarian. During emergencies authorities fetch help from a veterinary science college 20 km from the zoo.
Some wildlife enthusiasts believe the zoo lacks expertise to handle emergencies, though authorities differ on this point.
"After the tragedy (of June 2000) we are taking a lot of care. Each tiger enclosure has a fly trap. We test the trapped flies for any indication of the disease (trypanosomysis that took the life of eight white tigers)," said A.C. Dinakar, the zoo's deputy director.
"We are vaccinating all the carnivores every three months and have successfully curbed any fatal diseases," Dinakar added
Even the zoo staff admits there are anomalies in the food ration for the animals.
"While a tiger needs 12 kg meat everyday, it is getting only eight kg," said a source in the zoo.
The lighting in the zoo is poor making night surveillance in the area difficult.
"Monkeys broke the solar lights that had been installed but these have not been repaired for the past three to four months. This causes problems in our night movement," said a gardener.
The staff's poor pay is also seen a problem in motivating them. They have to survive on a paltry Rs.1,500 a month and find it difficult maintaining their families.
"How can we mange our family with this salary? When we earn so little, it is difficult to concentrate on the work," confessed another staff member.
--Indo-Asian News Service