When this correspondent visited the zoo, the officer-in-charge was in the secretariat to plead for funds.

The caretaker said the zoo officials sometimes buy food for the hungry animals with their own money.

According to a senior officer, the environs of the zoo do not conform to the specifications of the Central Zoo Authority.

The authorities intend to shift the animals to a zoo at Rangapahar, near Dimapur, but funds are a constraint. “Hiring a zoo architect is an expensive proposition,” the officer said.