18 hours ago
Gorewada herbivores get maize bonanza from its in-house farm
Nagpur: Lush green maize fields sway in the pre-monsoon winds on the land owned by the Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FDCM), part of a unique experiment to provide herbivores at Gorewada Zoo with nutritious and varied food.
Started last year, these in-house farms at Gorewada are meeting part of the herbivores' daily food requirements.
Sarika Khot, an ACF-rank official who is currently posted as assistant manager of Gorewada Zoo, said, "Animals are similar to humans when it comes to food; they love variety. And we wanted to not only add to their already varied food but also introduce new items." To revamp the menu for herbivores, officials at Gorewada Zoo took up planting crops on a patch of land adjacent to the zoo's entrance.
The current crop, maize, is something that herbivores are relishing. Khot said, "Every morning, a vehicle comes here to harvest fresh maize. Immediately afterwards, it's taken to the herbivore enclosure for feeding. The moment the herbivores see this, they chomp down on it. Whatever we put there is consumed instantly."
The current land is being harvested in phases. Khot said, "It's a rotational-based system. You have plantation being done on one patch, then at the next, you will see saplings growing bigger, and finally, the next patch has fully grown crops which are ready for harvest."
The fenced-off farm has been made herbivore-proof. Khot said, "Since we have forests all around, deer move around in this range, and they were jumping over six-foot fences. So we dug up a moat-like hole around the fence so that they don't get the platform to propel their jump."
Similarly, the base of the fence was reinforced with sand/mud/clay-filled bags as wild boars were breaking in. With all systems in place, the crops are in full bloom. After the success of their unique experiment, Gorewada Zoo officials are set to expand the crop base. Khot said, "The adjoining fields are almost ready, and soon we will begin plantation with new crops."
