The Rosy Pelican in Thiruvananthapuram Zoo is very old. Zoo visitors would have noticed the huge, white bird, with her light pink bill, getting annoyed at those who tease her. She would show that she would bite, as if saying in Pelican vernacular, “Isn’t an old lady allowed some peace and quiet in her final years?” She was the only Rosy Pelican in Thiruvananthapuram until Wednesday.
Two male and two female Rosy Pelicans have been brought from Lucknow zoo to give the Rosy Pelican in the City Zoo some company.
Two Khaleej pheasants and two golden pheasants were also part of the consignment that arrived from Lucknow.
The arrival of the new birds bring the necessity of a larger aviary back into focus.
All bird enclosures in the zoo are cramped. A Rosy Pelican has an elegant wing span and is known to travel hundreds of kilometres in search of food. Now there will be five of them sharing space with a crowd of other birds. Some of them like Painted Storks and Oriental Darters are large like the Rosy Pelican. The pheasant enclosures are not very large either.
The birds have arrived at the City Zoo as part of an exchange deal between the zoo and Lucknow zoological park. Department of Museums and Zoos Director B Joseph said, “We are sending two ostriches and six bonnet macaques to Lucknow. A swamp deer is to arrive from Lucknow. The Lucknow zoo wishes to acquire three king cobras. The Central Zoo Authority has not yet given a nod on that.”
It was in March that the zoos got permission from Central Zoo Authority to initiate the exchange programme. Thiruvananthapuram Zoo needed Rosy Pelican and Khaleej Pheasant as there was only one of each. The average age of a Rosy Pelican is 35, while the one in the zoo is 45. The arrival of the new birds will ensure nesting. Even though the paperwork for the exchange was completed in March itself, the zoo authorities hesitated as the mercury in both the cities was high. The director said that this could be dangerous to the birds and animals, as the distance is covered by road.
The swamp deer, also part of the exchange, is still to arrive from Lucknow.