india

Updated: Aug 17, 2019 08:13 IST

The big cats and other animals in Delhi Zoo are under threat from feral cats and field rats that are overrunning one of the country’s biggest zoos and which could pass on potentially life-threatening diseases to them, zoo officials and experts warn.

The zoo has around 130 species of animals, birds, and reptiles from around the world. The cats and, ironically, their natural prey base, the rats, have also been getting fat off the food served to the inmates — fruits, fish, even meat, say zoo officials.

Zoo officials plan to reach out to the New Delhi Municipal Council to find a solution to the problem, particularly the cats.

At a recent internal meeting, zoo officials also decided to put up signs asking visitors not to feed the cats or leave food lying around.

“The number of cats and rodents has increased by leaps and bounds. There are also mongoose and civets inside the zoo premises that roam freely and their population is also growing. They are a threat as they can transmit several diseases to the wild animals in the zoo. Sometimes they also enter the cages and nibble on the food of wild animals. Measures need to be taken to control their number and activities,” said a Delhi Zoo official who asked not to be named.

Renu Singh, director of Delhi Zoo, and Abhijit Bhawal, veterinary officer at the zoo, declined comment. The zoo’s curator could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts to do so.

The threat posed by the cats and the rats was first pointed out by a team of veterinarians from the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareily, that visited the zoo earlier this month. During its visit, the team found cats roaming around freely in the zoo premises. The issue was later discussed in the zoo’s health committee meeting held on August 7.

“We suggested that the big cats such as lions and tigers should be vaccinated for at least three types of diseases that are transmitted by domestic cats. The zoo authority was also asked to find a solution for these domestic cats and keep them away from the zoo premises,” said K Mahendran, a scientist with IVRI, who was a part of the team.

Veterinarians said that cats and rodents carry many types of diseases including protozoan, viral and fungal ones. Even herbivores in the zoo can be affected by these, they added.

“While cats can transmit diseases such as toxoplasmosis and feline distemper virus, and rats, leptospirosis, popularly known as rat fever, they need to be kept away from the zoo premises as they can be a threat to the wild animals,” said AM Pawde, head of the wildlife department at IVRI.

Diseases such as canine distemper and rabies that are known to be transmitted by domestic animals such as cats and dogs have previously taken a toll on the zoo’s population.

A lion and several deer died in the last three years on account of these.

“Field rats and cats are a real threat to the zoo animals. While on one hand,they carry several diseases, on the other, they often enter cages and enclosures and steal food from zoo animals. A few years ago, rodents nibbled the carcass of a stump-tailed macaque. Two zoo-keepers were suspended after the incident,” said DN Singh, former director of Delhi Zoo and a former member-secretary of the Central Zoo Authority.