
Delhi zoo receives otters from Surat after two decades of wait
The animals have been kept in quarantine. The otters are being fed their favourite fishes, and the turtles are being given vegetables.
"Otters and star tortoises have been kept under observation. They will be released for public view after a quarantine period of 3-4 weeks," said Dr Sanjeet Kumar, the zoo director. Otters like clear water, and special ponds will be created for this, he added.
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The otters, approximately 2 years old, reached the zoo around 1 pm after completing a 1,200-km journey across three states — Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan — over two days.
The transporting vehicle had water tanks and ample fishes to bring them here without any stress. On its journey back, the truck will carry five Eld's deer, two blue and yellow macaws, and four green-cheeked macaws from the Delhi zoo, under the exchange agreement between National Zoological Garden (the Delhi zoo) and Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Zoological Garden, Surat.
Veterinarian Dr Abhijit Bhawal, who went to bring the otters, was accompanied by Dr Rajesh Patil from the Surat zoo for better monitoring of the mammals on their journey.
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They helped them acclimatise, inspected their new enclosure and gave suggestions for improvement. He said that otters would be able to breed in a year's time.
"After two decades, we are getting the otters. These two otters have been separated from their family, so we have to be very careful in their upkeep. Patil's inputs on the newly constructed breeding cell will be helpful in managing the otters. The last otter at the Delhi zoo died in 2004, and we hope to revive its population here in the coming days. Otters love species of fish like Bombay duck fish, mud fish, Indian white mullet and Asian sea bass.
During the journey, we examined the animals and gave them rest every 200 km," said Dr Bhawal.
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