The official hierarchy at the zoo provides for a head animal keeper for the general management, a lifestock supervisor, who keeps a check on the cleaning and feeding routines of the animals, and this, in turn, is actually carried out by 20-odd workers. It is these individuals who have a daily contact with the animals, who interact with them on a one-to-one basis, are sensitive to their moods and whims, are aware if it's a bad day for any particular animal!

Which is why the different animals are placed in the care of specific cleaners/feeders who do their work daily and are thus able to build a bond over a period of time. It is only on weekly-offs or holidays that somebody else steps in.

Kazmi, who joined the park four years ago (a comparatively short span of time), looks after Binny, the orangutan, along with some others. ``I used to work in a regular office, but when I quit that job, a love for animals, coupled with the need for employment, saw me walk into the Peshwe Park. Since then I've been with Binny, learning on the job. She is quite aggressive, and you have to be perpetually on your guard. Though we're familiar with each other, I can never tell when she'll lunge at me,'' he says, as Binny, in an unusually docile mood, swings his hand with her enormous paw!

Like others in his metier, Kazmi's work begins at 7.30 am. Each cleaner commences by checking out how the animal has been through the previous night. ``That is crucial, as the animal may not have kept well, and nobody may have known,'' explains Suresh Randhir, who's been looking after the white tiger, Super, and his mate ever since he joined nine years ago.

Ensuring that all's well, follows the routine of cleaning, which can take as long as two hours if there is a line of cages in the cleaner's charge. Clearing the food remnants, excreta, and other filth, the cage then has to be washed and disinfected. ``While cleaning the cages with phenol or bleach, we let the animals into the outer enclosure, where they clean themselves,'' says Randhir. But not for Anil Rongdale, who has birds in his charge, and undoubtedly has a tough time in store whenever the door is opened!

For Dattaram Tole, this activity takes not just a lot of time, but also energy, as the animal in his charge is an elephant! ``The daily ritual takes about an hour and a half. It's not just the animal, but all the leftovers of sugarcane, fruits, and other vegetarian food that have to be swept away''.

Once the cages are swept clean, it's time for the animals' feed - getting the laden trays from the zoo kitchen to the cages. For this, the animals are again taken into the cages, and in cases where there is more than one animal in a cage (like it is with birds and smaller animals), the caretaker also has to be prepared for fights, and check that one animal does not gorge all the food!

For Randhir, it's an especially trying time, ``as the tigress is more aggressive and has to be fed first. Also, the tiger and the tigress have to be kept at an arm's length, as a tussle for food could lead to other hassles!'' ``The daily food intake has to be carefully monitored; it's the barometer of the animal's health,'' explains Kazmi, ``and over-feeding by the public is a recurring problem,'' he adds. Any indication of an ailment and it's off to the hospital.

``The animals are just as temperamental as us. They have to be pampered when they're ill,'' laughs Kazmi, ``like with children!'' quips Tole. ``Any change in the people they interact with daily, and they get moody - they may just ignore the new person or get irked.'' And obviously, this sensitivity can be cultivated only if the person is genuinely fond of animals.

But what about their own safety and health? While the caretakers do undergo monthly medical check-ups, they have to be extremely conscious of their own personal hygiene. ``We must wash with disinfectant soap after we clean and feed. And it's not just once a day that we enter their cages, so a thorough bath at the end is necessary,'' tells Randhir. Also, the perpetual stench from the cages needs some time getting used to, as does the sight of half-eaten food, especially by the carnivores.

Breaking into a grin, he remembers his first day, and the fright he felt! In fact, all of them have been through this. As Kazmi says, you just cannot predict the animal's reactions, and even after years of association, one can never be completely at ease.

But then the animals know the caretaker, are aware of what he does for them, and treat him just as any of us would those who look after us. After all, the animal world is not without its share of human bonds and emotions.