(IN): Zoo in a fix as animals refuse food

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Link: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081213/jsp/guwahati/story_10244464.jsp

 

Zoo in a fix as animals refuse food

- 30 small cats & a leopard turn away from mutton, bears unhappy over not

being served eggs

 

A STAFF REPORTER

 

*Dec. 12:* Has the outbreak of avian flu forced you to put a brake on your

taste buds for that juicy chicken curry? Well, you are not alone. Even the

animals at the state zoo are missing their daily food — chicken.

 

The 30-odd jungle cats at the state zoo have refused the mutton provided to

them yesterday, landing the authorities in a tight spot.

 

Mutton was served as an alternative to chicken after the outbreak of bird

flu in the state. Divisional forest officer Narayan Mahanta said the mutton

left in the cubicles of the small cats last evening was found untouched this

morning.

 

" We were worried and provided local fish as an alternative this morning. But

the entire day we found the cats playing with the fish instead of eating

it, " he added.

 

This evening, the zoo authorities have tried out boiled mutton as another

alternative. " We will know whether the cats have eaten the boiled mutton

only tomorrow morning because the animals are not disturbed during the

night, " the zoo official said.

 

The animals are given food only once in the evening.

 

Mahanta said three kinds of food — raw mutton, fish and boiled mutton — have

been kept separately in three places of the cubicles where the cats are

housed so that they can take their pick.

 

" It is almost like a buffet spread, " he quipped.

 

Chicken was part of the regular diet for the small cats in the zoo till

Wednesday. The zoo needed 26kg of chicken every day to feed them. Yesterday,

the small cats were given alternative meat for the first time.

 

Mahanta said there would not be much of a problem for the next couple of

days since animals can stay without eating for three to four days.

 

" But there will be a problem if the cats refuse to eat even after three

days, " he added.

 

The zoo authorities are hoping that the cats will eventually feed on mutton,

boiled or raw, in the next couple of days.

 

" When they realise that there is no alternative and they have to be content

with mutton, we hope the cats will start feeding on it, " Mahanta said.

 

Not only the small cats, a leopard, which is used to feeding on chicken

since its birth, has also become a cause of concern for the zoo authorities.

 

 

" We provide mutton and beef to the big cats but this leopard is an

exception. It only likes to feed on chicken. It also refused mutton

yesterday, " Mahanta said. He was, however, confident that the leopard would

soon get used to mutton.

 

The bears at the zoo also seemed to be an unhappy lot since yesterday, as

their " favourite " eggs have been struck off the menu because of the bird flu

scare.

 

 

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