One of the eight Humboldt Penguin- 3 male and 5 female, breathed her last minutes and met a sad demise on the wee hours of 23rd October in Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan zoo ( commonly known as Byculla zoo).

          Eight Humboldt Penguins were brought from Coex  Aquarium at Seoul, South Korea at a cost of around 2 crore and another allocation of 45 crores for creating temperature controlled atmosphere,  a humongous amount indeed considering the ineptnes of zoo authority to even provide enclosures of required standards for already existing animals.

          Humboldt Penguin are native to coastal Peru and Chile. Peruvian or Humboldt current  that flows along western coast of South America and phenomenon of ocean upwelling ensures the richness & survival of myriad of marine life. And our authorities here in Mumbai where the climate is characterised by scorching heat and humid climate want to house an exotic bird,  a preposterous thing in the first place.

         Well, on the insistence of Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray & Yuva Sena Chief Aditya Thackeray, the Penguins were brought in Byculla Zoo. The leaders who claim to represent us , implicitly underlining that they are better informed and sensical in making decisions, have time again proved it wrong by their absurd and ludicrous demands.

        Second, Byculla zoo has a poor track record of care of exotic species- three Kangaroos from Japan met a similar fate after being contracted with a viral disease. This precedence should have immediately prompted zoo authorities of making available the required expertise for the care of Penguins. A zoo which wants to earn it's name as a world class zoo should also pay attention in maintaining a world class standards for housing animals. And an additional facility for the exotic species.

             Further things like minimal healthy standard of zoo, filthy and turbid water bodies, rats running haywire in enclosures of other animals, injured animals like hippopotamus and deer kept for open display in past, unregulated visitors movement raises serious questions of the management of zoo which boasts of having provided sound conditions for Humboldt Penguins. 
Also poorly trained animal caretakers having lack of experience,  scientific knowledge, dearth of expertise, wildlife experts adds to the woes and miserable condition of zoo authority. All this is a gross violation of Recognition of Zoo Rules 2009.

            Fourth, the immediate treatment accorded to the Penguin diagnosed with illness also poses some graver question of the veterinary facilities of zoo in addressing crisis situation. A vet who had experience handling Humboldt Penguins examined the bird and appropriate treatment was started. Then bird did not respond to treatment. Hence, treatment was modified by consulting exotic bird specialist.  Again after taking X-ray and ultrasonography test treatment was modified on 22nd October. This only indicates the lack of coherence in treatment of bird. Had the highly specialist doctors available in the first place, the life of the bird could have been saved.  
This also lead us to the question of the availability of Vets and we'll equipped facilities in carrying post mortem of an exotic bird. Will it be authentic,  veritable? Further did not the concerned authorities before permitting the Penguins in Byculla Zoo,  conduct a check about the conditions, facilities and about management of the zoo administration? All these things raises doubts and serious concerns of the plight of animals in various Zoo across the country.

             When we work with exotics, we have to create climatic and ecologically sound enclosures for them and need to ascertain if the zoo is capable of creating such conditions. We should examine if we have the expertise and resources for such a facility.
              However, there's a larger picture which need to be addressed. “Even under the best of circumstances in zoos, captivity itself is cruel for animals meant to roam free. The Mumbai zoo’s manufactured habitats typically preclude many natural behaviours like flying, swimming, running, climbing, and partner selection. The physical and mental frustrations of such captivity lead to abnormal, neurotic and even self-destructive behaviour such as self-mutilation,” says PETA India’s director of veterinary affairs Dr Manilal Valliyate. “Warehousing animals is not the answer to saving them from extinction; their ultimate salvation lies in the protection of their habitats, not in a life sentence in a zoo.”

So there is a immediate need to return the remaining Penguins in safer habitat to ensure their survival. And for to avoid future incidences,  periodic auditing of zoo management,  availability of wildlife experts, imparting of training to animal caretakers and revamping of zoo should be urgent on priority list.