Zoo finding a mate for chimp Suzi, giraffe Tsunami won't be lonely too

HYDERABAD: For Suzi, finding a mate is not as simple as logging on to a

matrimonial site.

But hen, the lonely female chimpanzee has authorities at Nehru Zoological Park (NZP) on her side, trying to find her a suitable mate. They are trying to get a male chimp either from the

Nandankanan Zoo in Odisha

or he

Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens

in Mysore.

Playing

match-makers

, the NZP officials have met some success in the past few months n bringing home much-needed partners for lonely animals at he zoo. Or, as in the case of

Vasant Tsunami

,

the quirkily-named giraffe

, some companions o form a small herd.

“We could not find a mate of acompatible age. But we are get ting a young pair of giraffes to keep him company. We may have them in a month or so,“ said Shivani Dogra, curator of NZP.

Vasant Tsunami, now 13, was born at the National Zoological Park in New Delhi in Dec 2004, the day a deadly tsunami hit Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The name stuck to the just-born giraffe and since then, he has been a great attraction at the zoo.

The two young giraffes, a male and female, who will soon be in Vasant's company, are being brought from the Kolkata Zoo in Alipore. The pair are set to take a road trip of a lifetime, travelling 1,500km to Hyderabad in specially manufactured crates on trucks. “The transfer has been approved by the Central Zoo Authority ,“ zoo veterinarian, Dr MA Hakeem, said.

Asked how it feels to be a matchmaker for animals, Dogra said: “Loneliness stresses out animals and it feels wonderful to bring some companionship in their lives.“ But the process can be tricky. “We don't know how one animal reacts to another, so we take all precautions,“ said Dogra. This includes finding a companion of suitable age -a younger animal may end up getting dominated.

“Other aspects are the animal's health and pedigree. We do not want a relative of the animal ending up as its mate to prevent inbreeding,“ she said.“And after all this, the two animals may just hate each other.“