As the mercury soars, a hippopotamus relaxes at Jawaharlal Nehru Park in Bokaro. Picture by Pankaj Singh

Bokaro, April 27: The mercury might hover around 45ºC here but for the wild animals at the Jawaharlal Nehru Biological Park it is a different picture altogether.

For, the zoo authorities are leaving no stone unturned to protect the animals from the scorching heat by providing them with citrus fruits like watermelon, sugarcane, papaya, green mangoes, cucumbers and bananas.

These, they feel, would help minimise the chances of sunstroke.

Apart from these, they are also making other arrangements like setting up special fabricated shades and water pools to give the animals respite from the blazing heat.

The zoo authorities have also constructed big cages where lions, tigers, leopards and panthers are being housed.

They are making sure that there is a regular supply of drinking water. These days lunch is served before 10am so that the wild guests have no problem in assimilation of food. Big fans have been fixed in the cages, said a zoo official.

The sources also revealed that though the wild animals have a unique way of adapting themselves to changing season, this summer the lions, tigers, leopards and hippopotamuses are keeping themselves cool by plunging into the pond for a few hours in the day.

With no possibility of the mercury dipping by even a few degrees in the near future, the zoo authorities have made special arrangements to look after the general health of animals.

They are taking special care of the birds by providing them with extra medicines so that they do not suffer from dehydration.

The zoological park was established on January 14, 1989. It is one of the biggest zoos in Jharkhand covering an area of 127 acres.

It houses more than 437 animals and birds with more than 75,000 trees and medicinal plants.

The central zoo authorities branded this as one of the best parks of eastern India for its clean environment and beautiful landscape.