Winter woes: Forest dept adopts extra precautions

Winter has settled across North Bengal, bringing nighttime temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius. The Forest department is expressing concern about the well-being of Zimba, a leopard cub and the new guest in Khairbari of Jaldapara National Park. Extra precautions have been taken to ensure the comfort and safety of the new guest.

Continuous day and night monitoring is in place to ensure that the motherless leopard cub does not suffer from severe cold. In Zimba’s cage in Khairbari, cotton is placed first, followed by a tarpaulin sheet covering to keep the cold air out. During the chilly nights in Jaldapara, a 200-watt electric bulb is lit in Zimba’s cage, and blowers are used at specific times to maintain a warm environment.

Utpal Sharma, the veterinarian of Jaldapara National Park, reassures: “Since Zimba is not breastfed naturally, there are concerns about him. We’ve taken several measures, including blowers and bulbs, to prevent him from suffering in extreme cold. He is a little over 5 months old, and we are providing him with calcium, multivitamin medicine, and a daily intake of 300 grams of chicken meat. We monitor him daily.” Navjeet De, the Assistant Wildlife Warden of Jaldapara National Park, states: “In the last 10 years, leopard cubs have been rescued one after another at Khairbari. Zimba was a challenge for us, but for now, it seems we have succeeded in saving him. Given the extreme cold, we are taking every precaution to keep Zimba’s house warm from all sides.”

Zimba was rescued just 10 days after birth from the Nilpara area of the National Park. Despite being motherless, wildlife doctors and foresters are successfully raising Zimba. At Khairbari, Partha Sarathi Sinha and other forest workers take turns keeping an eye on Zimba, who eats and sleeps round-the-clock. In 5 months, his weight has increased to close to 2 kg.