Penguin's death not isolated: 444 animals died in Byculla zoo in 6 years

The most recent victim was Dory, one of the 8 Humboldt penguins brought to the city just three months ago

These are grave times for animals at Byculla zoo - the facility has sent as many as 444 creatures to their grave in the last six years alone. Time and again, the facility has been criticised for keeping the animals in poor conditions, but the authorities merely blame all the deaths on old age.

mid-day spotted the deer wading through mucky ponds, while the birds were in unkempt enclosures. Pics/Suresh Karkera

In the last six months alone, the zoo has witnessed 32 deaths - including Dory, a 1.5-year-old Humboldt penguin who passed away on Sunday due to digestive complications.

This most recent death has led to even more public scrutiny on the zoo, which is frequently criticised for housing its inmates in filthy, crumbling and overcrowded enclosures. Earlier this month, mid-day had also reported on the zoo receiving a notice from the Central Zoo Authority in Delhi over the terrible conditions (‘Delhi lands slap on wrist to city zoo').

Also Read: Mumbai: Humboldt penguin died during 'warranty' period; will be replaced

Ask the zoo management, however, and all they say is that the animals merely died due to advanced age. This, even though pictures clearly show the animals wading through mucky ponds, or listlessly sitting in the cramped enclosures. Thanks to the series of deaths, many of the enclosures are now empty.

Biggest losses
It is the many species of deer that are worst hit, be it Black Bucks, Antelopes or Spotted Deer. In the aviary, birds like Finches, Myana Hill, Cocktiel are the most vulnerable. Apart from the penguin, Byculla zoo has lost several of its crowd-pullers, like the lioness Jimmy in 2014 (liver infection), the hippo Jassi in 2010 and the rhinoceros Shiva (skin infection) in 2013.

Age old excuse
Officially called Veer Jijamata Bhosle Udyan, the zoo is run by the BMC, which continues to maintain that this high death toll is merely because the animals are getting older. A senior civic official said, "The age factor is the main reason for the deaths. Some of the enclosures are in poor condition, but that is because repairs were last carried out a long time ago. But the project to revamp the zoo has started and soon we will replace all the existing enclosures and construct new ones in their place."

A total of Rs 150 crore was set aside to revamp the facility, but the zoo came in for further censure when it announced plans to fly in eight Humboldt penguins at the cost of R2.5 crore. Considering the poor track record of the zoo, many doubted whether the delicate critters would be able to survive here.

Read Story: Mumbai: Humboldt penguin dies at Byculla Zoo after digestive complications

Zoo speak
Zoo director, Dr Sanjay Tripathi said, "Most of the deaths are due to age-related illnesses. There are birds that are more than 30 years old; hardly any breeding is taking place so number of older, dying animals is increasing."
Regarding the zoo's poor state of affairs, he added, "The last major revamp of zoo was done 70 years ago. Another repair was carried out in 2005. Since the last 21 years, only minor repair works have been done."

Voice

Pawan Sharma. Activist from RAWW
The poor maintenance of animals is one of the prime reasons of high mortality rates. The BMC should focus on real issues and not waste public money on penguin projects. The zoo authorities hide information and do not give us exact number of animals in captivity. There is serious negligence from the authorities that is taking the life of these poor animals.

444
Animals died in the zoo in the last 6 years

399
Current population of the Byculla Zoo