Mogilev Zoo has repaired enclosures for winter and harvested more than 200 tons of grain

November 11, Mogilev. The Mogilev Zoo is actively preparing for the coming cold weather: enclosures and shelters are being repaired, food and hay are being prepared, and veterinarians are examining the animals daily. This was told to a BelTA correspondent by the director of the Mogilev Agroforestry College named after K.P. Orlovsky Mikhail Sosonko.

According to the director, everything is prepared for keeping animals in the zoo in winter. “The number of herbivores has increased, predators have increased. A lion, a puma, lynxes appeared. For a comfortable wintering of all animals, sheds and shelters were repaired, feeders and aviaries were put in order where necessary. We carried out the necessary repairs to the stall, where we keep eight one-year-old horses "All conditions have been created for heat-loving individuals. For example, in the lion's house there is an ultraviolet heater. It will maintain a comfortable temperature - about 12 degrees," said the director of the college.

Animal feed is also prepared in the required volume and sent for storage in special facilities. “There is enough food. About 205 tons of hay has been harvested, about 216 tons of grain. Hay has also been sent for storage. All this will ensure a calm and well-fed winter for herbivores. Predators are also provided with everything they need. brooms for feeding, - said Mikhail Sosonko. - In the autumn we increase the amount of food for animals. This helps them to build up the necessary fat layer. Our new ward, a lion, eats about 10 kg of meat per day. He recently moved to us, so now he is fattening When this period ends, the predator will eat about 7 kg of meat per day. "

In winter, the amount of food for animals will be adjusted depending on the temperature outside: when the frost is more than 15 degrees, the amount of feeding is increased by 20%. If necessary, the diet of the wards is adjusted. “A tiger Artyom lives in the zoo, who will celebrate his 25th birthday next year. He is a respectable age, the animal has health problems: part of his teeth have fallen out, his paws hurt. He cannot eat meat in pieces, we prepare special minced meat for him. milk, honey, eggs. We have a large herd of bison. On the day, only one bison eats 3 kg of concentrate (grain with flour), plenty of hay and succulent feed - these are carrots, cabbage, beets. The average weight of one animal is about 400 kg, males can weigh up to 1 ton, - said Ivan Nizhnikov, head of the Zoo training laboratory of the college. - All animals are regularly examined by veterinarians. It is important for us that they are healthy and feel good."

Not only animals and their enclosures are being prepared for the winter: the territory of the zoo will be decorated for the New Year holidays. Options are being developed. They are already preparing a script, sewing costumes for traditional matinees at the zoo. "During the season, we are visited by almost a million people. We try to make their vacation interesting and informative. This year we decided to extend the operation of the train so that visitors could see the bison up close. We are also thinking up new forms of work. Now we are working on a variant of night tours of the zoo during the New Year and Christmas holidays. Most of the animals are nocturnal. Therefore, when using warm light and accompanied by a guide, you can see a completely different life of our wards," director of the college Mikhail Sosonko shared his plans.

More than 380 pets live in the Mogilev Zoo, including deer, fallow deer, moufflons, yaks, wolves, tigers, bears, rabbits, martens, peacocks, guinea fowls and bison. The territory is about 170 hectares.

The zoo in Mogilev has existed for about 15 years. This is not only a place of useful recreation for citizens and guests of Mogilev - students of the Agroforestry College named after K.P. Orlovsky do their work practice here.