Keepers take care of animals at zoo amid lockdown
A giant panda leisurely enjoys bamboo at the zoo.
A zoo keeper feeds a group of penguins.
For most people, working from home during the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown is a distinct possibility. But this is not the case for a group of animal keepers at Shanghai Zoo who are guarding their special "kids."
Ni Jun is the "daddy" of several primate babies at the Changning District zoo.
"On March 28, while busy taking care of these babies, I received a notice about the lockdown from my residential community," he recalled.
Looking at the animal babies and considering the shortage of keepers, Ni said his heart softened immediately.
He called his neighborhood committee, explaining that he had decided to stay at his work post. He took a nucleic acid test and immediately sent the negative report to the committee.
"Even if under 'quarantine,' I want to stay with my 'children'," Ni vowed.
A group of jackass penguins take a stroll around the zoo.
Fresh vegetables prepared for animals.
One of his duties is feeding milk to primates at midnight.
He gets up at 2am and makes his way noiselessly to avoid disturbing his colleagues who are sleeping.
"I am a special 'daddy' as these primate babies are my kids," joked Ni.
"Many of my colleagues made the same decision (of staying at the zoo during the lockdown)," he noted. "Whether it's day or night, we try our best to guard these animals."
Xiong Zhijie is a staffer at the reptiles pavilion. He has slept in tents inside the zoo for more than 10 days.
"I live alone in Shanghai, therefore, I think I am the right person to be here," Xiong remarked matter-of-factly.
He packed instant noodles, biscuits and sugar from home to share with his colleagues during their lockdown zoo stay.
"Although there are no visitors, cleaning and disinfection is necessary," Xiong stated. "We also need to give our Aldabra giant tortoise Sai Na a hot bath every day."
"Living with these animal friends is by no means boring," he insisted.
An animal keeper feeds a chimpanzee.
Black swans born during lockdown at the zoo.
"I was concerned at the beginning that only a few staffers would be staying at the zoo," said Zhang Zhihao, head of the bird keepers' team.
"However, my fears were quickly eased, thanks to my colleagues, as nine of them decided to stay put, with the rest already under lockdown at home," he added.
"Our work schedule during the lockdown is quite routine – cleaning, disinfection, preparing food, feeding and observation – but it is our first collective life since we started work," Zhang noted.
"Spring is the breeding season for many animals, and we need to trim branches and hay for nests and increase their nutrition."
Recently, the zoo welcomed a number of newborns such as black swan, moorhen and red-crested pochard.
"I am happy to be sharing their birth moments," Zhang said.
For relaxation, he and his colleagues observe the night sky with the astronomical telescopes they brought along to the zoo.
"We want to be the wings of these birds as they are like our family members, protecting them well to get through the period," he asserted.
Sun Hao takes charge of the animals' feed.
"My work involves distribution and supply to more than 5,000 animals at the zoo," he pointed out.
"There was once a shortage on some feed supply, particularly fresh vegetables and meat, and I was really worried. But I found a supplier."
Although the delivery time was not fixed, Sun said he heaved a sigh of relief.
"When the supplier called to tell me that fresh vegetables had been sent, my colleagues and I were having lunch. But we could not wait, and dropping our chopsticks we rushed to the unloading site. It was a happy moment for us."
Black-backed jackal cubs at the zoo.
A zoo keeper prepares food for the animals.
Another zoo keeper gets dishes prepared for the animals.
Two giant pandas, He Feng and Xing Guang, are the stars of the zoo.
They are fed 60 kilograms of fresh bamboo shoots daily.
"We have also prepared wotou (a kind of steamed bun) specially made for them, as well as apples and carrots," said Jin Zimin, one of their keepers.
"The wotou is made based on strict proportion of ingredients such as corn powder, bean powder and oatmeal to ensure their nutrition, and they are also fed centrum daily," she affirmed.
"The panda brothers have five meals a day, including afternoon tea," according to another keeper Wu Haili.
"I am happy to see them grow healthily and I would have been worried if I was at home during lockdown, unable to follow their situation," she added.
