When Lisbon Zoo Suddenly Has No Visitors

Photo illustration of a child feeding animals at a zoo (Daiga Ellaby / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The lockdown policy in Portugal has forced a number of public areas to close. Lisbon Zoo, for one.

The zoo, which is crowded with visitors on normal days, suddenly became empty due to the lockdown. The zookeepers do their best to care for the physical and mental health of the collected animals by maintaining interaction and entertaining the animals.

Reported by Reuters, zookeepers still came as usual. However, they have equipped themselves with masks and other protective gear to carry out the rituals of grooming and feeding the animals which are located in Portugal's largest zoo.

To reduce the risk, the zoo has carried out sterilization by spraying disinfectants. Then, the zoo keepers were divided into two teams, where each team was required to use protective equipment in the form of masks and gloves when approaching the animals.

Lisbon Zoo curator Jose Dias Ferreira says nothing is different from the work that is carried out when the place is closed or open. "The work we're doing now that the zoo is closed, is exactly what we did when the zoo opened."

"Even though we have closed the door for visitors. But in terms of animal care, cleaning and feeding the animals remains the same, ”added Ferreira while seeing a group of gorillas playing behind him.

Ferreira also revealed that even though the supply of animal food is still abundant at this time, his party has begun to maintain and increase the supply of animal food so that it is sufficient for all zoo residents during this emergency period.

"At the moment we have no problems, but I can't guess the future. The only thing missing now are the visitors, but the animals can quickly adapt to the situation," he said.

The zoo, which was actually closed in conjunction with the lockdown policy on March 18, had to rack my brains again because there were no visitors, which meant there were no ticket sales.

On the other hand, zoo operations still incur high costs. Luckily, they are in the stage of thinking about options to keep the animals safe and comfortable in the zoo.

"Our top priority is to keep zoo residents and the people who work in them safe," concluded Ferreira.