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While the rest of the country is beginning to take stricter measures after the recent scare, the Zoo authorities said that they never slackened after the first incident of bird flu last year. The zoo has been spraying anti-virus medicine on the cages to avoid infection.
“We are extra careful because there are lots of migratory birds in the zoo. There is always a possibility of contamination from them even though nothing has been reported,” says an official. At present, the zoo has thousands of migratory birds, mostly pelicans that will be flying out by mid February. Other than that, the zoo has 50 species of bird, some of which are endangered.
Last Thursday, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) had asked every zoo in the country to step up precautionary measures. The Delhi Zoo also had a meeting to increase surveillance and disinfections schedules. “The Director has ordered the staff to be on high alert. Now, whenever any bird falls sick, it is immediately reported at the office and the blood samples are examined. Most of the birds suffer from pneumonia and worms,” said the zoo official.
According to the zoo doctors, the Delhi Zoo is very adept at their work because last year they had attended a bird flu workshop in which experts from abroad taught them how to deal with the virus. “They taught us which animals are susceptible to bird flu and how to manage birds with the virus among other things,” said a doctor. “We were prepared for bird flu even before the CZA gave out its orders. We are not taking any chances here,” he adds.
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