No comparison should be drawn with death of fish at Taraporevala aquarium: Zoo

“In that case, the fishes depended solely on water but here it is only for swimming and hunting for the penguins in their pond,” Tripathi added. With Byculla zoo set for an upgrade and introduction of more exotic species, Tripathi believes there is a difference between the aquarium’s revamp and the zoo’s.

Tripathi added that all procedures related to the penguins were being “matched” as per the manual provided by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums along with AZA Animal Welfare Committee. “We are referring to those guidelines and there has hardly been any deviation,” Tripathi said. The report states all the optimum requirements for the survival of a penguin and covers all aspects, including the permissible bacteria level that can be present in the water to the quality that needs to be maintained in the quarantine area.

“The quarantine facility for penguins should be a separate facility for accommodating newly acquired birds or birds that should be separated from the group for health-related reasons. It should provide separate air and water systems from the main exhibit,” the manual for the quarantine area reads. However, when Dory, the deceased one-and-year-old penguin, got sick, she was not treated separately.

“… by separating her (Dory) we could have created stress. We took a decision not to separate them. The deceased penguin was probably carrying a bacteria, which aggravated and worsened its condition. We are looking for the reasons that could have aggravated her condition,” Tripathi said, adding that there were three doctors round-the-clock to look after the penguins since their arrival to India.

According to Tripathi, in her last few days, Dory was looking dull and sluggish but was still swimming in the quarantine area. Last year, the exotic fish that died at the Taraporevala aquarium were bought from Bangkok and Malaysia and were reportedly kept in quarantine of 24 TDS as opposed to optimal 1.8 TDS (total dissolved salts).