They tease animals for kicks.

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They tease animals for kicks.

By Our Staff Reporter.

 

11/13/2002

The Hindu

© 2002 Katsuri & Sons Ltd

 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM The worst tormentors of animals in the City Zoo belong to

the 10-20 age group and most of them indulge in the activity for the heck of

it, according to an informal study on the behaviour of visitors to the zoo.

 

The study, conducted by the Zoo Superintendent, Harikumar, also found that

roughly one-third of those who tease, throw stones at the animals or disturb

them in other ways are males and belong to the middle income group.

The most common types of animal teasing are shouting, running in front of

the

cage, feeding and throwing stones. As much as 25 per cent teased the animals

for pleasure and 22 per cent wanted to see the animals move inside the

cages,

while 11 per cent did it to entertain children.

 

Other reasons given by the animal teasers were that they wanted to hear the

animals cry or roar, that they wished to take photographs, get a full view

of

the animals and to see how they eat.

 

It was found that when one person in a group starts teasing an animal, the

rest of the persons in the group also followed suit. " Most of the visitors

questioned did not know that teasing poses a hazard to the animals, " says

Mr.

Harikumar.

 

The study found that teasing was the highest at the cages of the carnivores,

the Spectacled Caiman cage and the erstwhile monkey cages. Lions and tigers

take long naps after a heavy meal and visitors who do not know this

behavioural trait, try to provoke a roar by teasing the Big Cats.

 

The Spectacled Caiman, a species of crocodile, is targeted because its habit

is to lie very still in the water. Teasers seem to resent this fact and

throw

stones at the creature to " find out if it is alive or not " .

 

Recently, the zoo authorities had to hand over to the Museum Police a youth

who kept banging on the Small Mammal cage where the Toddy Cat, Jungle Cat

and

Civet Cat are kept. The youth, who was under the influence of alcohol, had

abused the zoo staff when they asked him to desist from disturbing the

animals.

 

Under stress, caged animals exhibit markedly stereotyped behaviour, says Mr.

Harikumar. Bears, for instance, swing their heads and go round and round the

cage, while Lion Tailed Macaques bite the cage bars or their own hands.

Stressed animals are also unable to eat their usual quota of food.

 

The shifting of the hippopotamus, bears, monkeys and elephant to modern

enclosures which are out of the reach of animal teasers, has brought about a

marked change in the behaviour of these animals, the Superintendent says.

 

 

 

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