Padding of straw and hay in place at one of lion’s night enclosures at Patna zoo. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Patna, Nov. 13: With the winter setting in, children and the elderly are being cautioned against catching a cold. They are getting extra care and cover. So are our four-legged friends at the zoo.

Authorities at Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park are getting ready for the cool days ahead. Steps are being taken to ensure the zoo residents — lions, tigers, leopards and even snakes — don’t catch a cold. The extra care includes warmer enclosures and diet modifications.

Zoo director Abhay Kumar said: “We have started our preparations to protect the animals from extreme cold conditions.”

So, heaters are on their way to the zoo as are beds to protect the animals from the cold floors in their night enclosures.

Apart from diets specially planned for them during winter, most of the four-legged creatures would also be given vitamin supplements.

To shield the animals from the nip in the air, the ventilators at the night houses will be covered with straw.

The zoo residents are already retreating early to keep the cold away. The zoo now opens at 8 in the morning to close an hour earlier than the usual time of 6pm.

Sources said heaters would be in place inside the night enclosures of the tigers and lions within Monday night. The enclosures have been refurbished according to the season — beds made of straw and hay are in place — for the seasoned residents.

But, regal treatment would be accorded to a few new entries in the family. A pair of Asiatic lions, a pair of white tigers and a lone Royal Bengal tiger will be provided with wooden beds.

The diets of the old and new are, however, the same. Apart from the regular ration to deal with the cold, the lions and tigers would be given an additional 2kg chicken and 1kg liver for breakfast.

Special attention to senior inmates — 21-year-old leopard Gita (average lifetime is 18), 17-year-old tigress Sita (average lifetime is 18) and 35-year-old rhinoceros Kancha (oldest among the 13 rhinos) — with food supplements, warmer beds and antibiotics is being ensured.

For the black bears of the Himalayas, bearing with freezing cold is not a big deal. But their relatives at Patna zoo are used to a much warmer climate. The six sloth bears and four Himalayan bears at the zoo are, therefore, being provided heaters, apart from warm straw padding and more meat.

And, while most of the snakes have gone into hibernation, blankets and 200W bulbs are provided in their houses. Care is also being taken of animals in breeding stages or in mating season, like lions, tigers, snakes, deer and blackbucks. Deer will soon be fed mahua, a fruit that generates high energy, and night personnel could be deputed for the well-being of the animals.