Animals in Kanpur and Lucknow Zoo get special diets and habitats to brace the winter

During the change of season, many things in our lives change. The clothes we wear, the food we eat, the utilities we use all change with the seasons. Nature too has its own set of changes that it goes through- the fog settles in and the trees wither away.

Ever wondered how animals and their eating habits change with the season?

Owing to the low temperatures in UP, some animals in Lucknow Zoo and Kanpur Zoo are getting special winter diets. Just like us humans, many of these animals are more susceptible to the cold.

Monkeys get boiled eggs, carnivores get extra vitamins to thrive in the cold

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The special offerings for our friends from the wilderness include dishes such as jaggery kheer for the bears, warm fruits for chimpanzees and boiled eggs for the ostriches from down under. These animals generate heat endotherms that convert the food they eat into body heat.

While monkeys and carnivores can easily adapt to the cold, they are getting improved diets too. Monkeys will relish extra fruits, eggs and peanuts, while the carnivores will get more portions of vitamins A and D. The Deer will munch on soaked grams along with cabbage leaves and the birds are being given seasonal fruits, vegetables along with bread- a three-course meal for them.

Some animals need special diets, while some need comfortable habitats

The zoo authorities have gone the extra mile to help the zoo inmates out. All the enclosures in Lucknow zoo, especially those housing aviary species, have been covered with tarpaulin and plastic sheets. In Kanpur zoo, many habitual places have been fitted with heaters.