Baby hyena at Bhopal zoo

Baby hyena turns cynosure of all eyes at Bhopal zoo
by Ram Chand Sahu

Bhopal: Officials at the Van Vihar National Park, the zoological gardens in Bhopal are a delighted lot since a little hyena cub has been brought here from the jungles. The little female cub has become a cynosure of all eyes here. Forest rangers overseeing the jungles in Satna region, about 377 kilometres from Bhopal , found this abandoned young hyena, although the hyenas are known to be very possessive, caring and social. Soon the Conservator of Forests at Satna rushed the orphaned hyena to the Van Vihar National Park. Prior to arrival of this young hyena, the park had just one old hyena and now the authorities are delighted on the inclusion of this cub amongst other animals in the park. "We had just one hyena in our national park (zoo), which is very old. Now this baby hyena has come from Satna forest. We are more than willing to accept this hyena in our park. We are taking care of its food and rearing it. We want this baby to grow up into healthy adult hyena so that it can stay in the park for longer period," said S. S. Rajput, Director of the Van Vihar National Park in Bhopal . Veterinarians at the zoo have assessed the hyena cub to be around three months old. The park officials have christened it as “Lusi”. Presently, the cub is on a diet of minced fish and milk, being fed through a feeding bottle. A hallmark of Van Vihar National Park at Bhopal is that all the animals are kept in almost their natural habitat. Most of the animals here are either orphaned ones, usually traced in the state's forests or brought from other zoological gardens under exchange programme. There are different types of hyenas such as brown hyena, striped hyena, spotted hyena or the laughing hyena. Hyenas are regarded as nature's major scavengers. They also feed on small animals, insects and even fruits. Of course there are instances of hyenas collectively targeting a game larger in size such as deer and calves of wild buffaloes, if found alone. A pack of hyenas is usually nomadic, moving from one water hole to another but never straying more than 6 miles (10 km) from one.
-July 12, 2009

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