The crisis-hit zoos of Karnataka are finding new ways of cost-cutting and attaining self–sufficiency in meeting the forage needs of captive animals since their revenue has continued to drop with not much improvement in footfall.
The zoos largely rely on gate collections for their maintenance. They had been closed till June due to the lockdown. It has two months since they reopened but they are yet to recover fully with no progress in footfall.
Mysuru zoo, which was financially backing smaller zoos, is staring at a revenue loss with the footfall continuing to be unenthusiastic. From 8,000-10,000 visitors a day to 150-200 visitors a day, the city’s most popular tourist attraction has been badly hit by the pandemic.
In this grim situation, the zoo management came up with an idea of saving spending on forage crops that were procured for feeding the herbivores. A whopping ₹2 crore was spent annually on fodder, thanks to the mammoth collection of grass-eating animals.
“By cultivating forage crops like Napier grass, we could save about ₹25 lakh a year. This is a lot of money for us considering the situation. This cost-cutting initiative is also being followed by other zoos, including Bannerghatta Biological Park, and the safari in Shivamogga,” said Zoo Executive Director Ajit Kulkarni.
The conical-shaped wasteland measuring nine acres below the high-tension transmission line at the Chamundi Animal Rescue Centre at Koorgalli on the city outskirts was being used to produce fodder. “This is the zoo’s first such foray. A lot of effort has to be put in to make the rock-filled wasteland ready for cultivation. We can harvest the grass for at least two continuous years with one sowing. The grass can be harvested once in three months. We already had one major harvest,” he told The Hindu.
Forage crops costing around ₹60,000 were procured daily from the designated suppliers. “We can largely cut down the procurement henceforth. The cultivation can take care of 25% requirement of fodder for our animals,” he explained. About 300-400 kg of grass was harvested daily at Koorgalli.
Bannerghatta Biological Park can save ₹10-12 lakh a year as the area under forage crops was extensive. “It’s over 100 acres I suppose and the grass grows naturally in the area just by throwing the seeds. Ours is small area yet we are making an effort.
The Tyavarekoppa Tiger and Lion Safari near Shivamogga is saving nearly ₹1.5 lakh by taking up fodder cultivation. The forage crops had been grown in an unused safari area, which was earlier dominated by parthenium and other invasive species and was bereft of tree growth.
