Tata Steel Zoological Park makes its sloth bears feel at home with almonds and honey

Tata Steel Zoological Park in Jamshedpur wants to make its sloth bears feel at home and hence have made liberal use of almonds and honey. It has got honey trickling from tree trunks. This is because of directives issued by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) which states that the animal enclosures must be more natural.
The enclosures must simulate the wild to make animals come out of cages. The bears must feel as if they were living in the wild.
This has been reported in telgraphindia.com dated 6 December 2016.

Because of that, the 3,000sqft enclosure that hosts a male and two female sloth bears has two ponds and artificial tunnels and one hump. The caretakers smear honey daily on trees and strew almonds on the ground so that the bears can enjoy these in a more natural way.
Moreover, the cell for the sloth bears also wears a wild look - it looks like a cave with rocks. It also has a crawl area. Captive sloth bears can live for 35 to 40 years and these steps are expected to increase their life span by two to three years. Visitors to the zoo will also like the animals better when they are more playful.
Incidentally, the 10-year-old male sloth bear was rescued from Chaibasa in 2008. Its female counterparts, both aged 25, were freed from madaris in New Delhi in 1997. Their breakfast consists of almonds, honey and carrots. The lunch menu is milk and rice and they have chapattis for dinner.
The sloth bear is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN - this is attributed to loss of habitat and poaching.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Jubilee Park in Jamshedpur suspends its spectacular musical fountain show

Jubilee Park in Jamshedpur is a sprawling 200-acre green lung of the steel city and it has suspended its spectacular musical fountain show since last week because 24 out of the 100 jet nozzles of the fountains had gone missing over the past week.
These had been installed by a Bangalore firm and the nozzles are not available locally. Hence, the fountain show has been suspended and is not likely to resume before another fortnight. The nozzles appear to have been stolen.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 16 November 2016.

The musical show in Jubilee Park is held thrice a week Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The sprawling park is a golden jubilee gift from Tata Steel to the industrial city and is inspired by the Vrindavan Gardens of Mysore. It was inaugurated by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Incidentally, the fountains were revamped and redesigned near the Rose Garden, Moghul Garden and JN Tata statue in 2012 and more than 2,000 people visit the park every day while the number swells to over 5,000 on weekends.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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How to take care of roses and rose plants

A group of around 200 people attended a daylong workshop organized by the Horticultural Society, Jamshedpur, at Tata Steel Zoological Society. Expert tips were given by one of the leading rose producers of eastern India who is managing director of Jakpur-based Puspanjali Nursery in Bengal.
The nursery was established in 1978 and boasts of over 3,000 varieties of roses, grown over 18 acres. The firm is one among the largest suppliers of the flower in eastern India.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 11 September 2016.

Some of the salient points that emerged in the course of the workshop are - (i) roses should be planted in well-drained and fertile soil during spring at a spot that gets at least six hours of sunlight (ii) rose plants should be protected from high temperature and humidity, which damage them, especially in August-September and (iii) this can be done by hardening the plants with chemicals like super phosphate of potash besides fungicides and insecticides.
General secretary of the Tata Steel Zoological Society has assured to conduct similar workshops on other household plants like jasmine, gloxinia, lily, begonia, maple and anthurium. In order to do this, they would invite experts from across India who would provide insights into new methods of cultivation and care.


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