To reinforce actions that guarantee the comprehensive well-being of the fauna found in the zoos run by the Mérida City Council in this hot season, Mayor Alejandro Ruz Castro supervised the animal enrichment activities at the Centenario Zoological Park, reported in a statement.
During the supervision visit he carried out in various areas, the mayor reiterated his commitment to continue promoting actions that guarantee the care of fauna, as well as the safe reintegration of species to their natural habitat.
The latter has allowed us to witness 22 births last year and the realization of three exchanges from 2021 to 2023.
Together with the director of Municipal Public Services, José Collado Soberanis, Ruz Castro supervised the production of ice popsicles prepared in a particular way for each species in the zoo.
Biologist Sandra Bautista Denis explained to the mayor that the ice pops are prepared with seasonal fruits and electrolytes to prevent high temperatures from affecting the animals.
He also added that depending on the species, different palettes are prepared. For example, raccoons and coatis carry fruits and cockroaches, while those felines include blood, meat, or chicken.
Likewise, he highlighted that the preparation of these pallets is one of the various animal enrichment actions carried out by the zoo staff 365 days a year, but that they are reinforced in very hot seasons.
Other actions are also reinforced, he added, such as filling pools, installing shades and constantly filling water troughs with water for animal consumption.
Other activities, he mentioned, are the placement in the enclosures of toys made with feathers, bottles or seeds, or drums for the felines to roll on, which help the animals carry out hunting behaviors that they do when they are outside of captivity.
To verify these actions, the mayor fed the marmosets a diet specially balanced for this species and supervised the installation of a toy made of plastic in the ocelot’s cage.
In addition, Ruz Castro entered the white tiger’s enclosure, where he placed an ice pop enriched with electrolytes, meat, and blood so that the animal could cool off. Likewise, he placed an ice pop and chicken in the jaguars’ enclosure. The mayor recalled that the Centenario Zoological Park, 113 years after its existence, has 612 specimens of 86 different species, as well as 29 biologists, veterinarians, and employees dedicated to animal care. Annually, the zoo receives about 1.5 million people a year.
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