November 23, 2007
By Ndaba Dlamini
SCUBA divers will take the plunge at Johannesburg Zoo, where they will clean up the moats in the lion and polar bear enclosures.
And the public is invited to witness this rare event, on Sunday, 25 November. It promises to be as exciting as viewing the animals themselves, says Senzo Ngcobo, the zoo's brand and communications manager.
"There will be 45 scuba divers from Aquaventure who will be diving in the moats situated between the lion islands and in the polar bear enclosure. The diving will start at 8am and end at approximately 11am."
There are quite a number of moats at the zoo, with the big ones in the lion, polar bear, hippo and elephant enclosures. This operation will concentrate on the deepest – those in the lion and polar bear enclosures, according to Ngcobo.
Removing coins
It will not just be a sporting activity, he says. The main aim is to clean out the moats. The divers will remove all the waterweeds and grass growing in the moats as well as the coins thrown into the water by members of the public.
"It is important that all the coins are removed as they oxidise the water if they rust. If the water is contaminated it won't be safe for the animals because they use the moats to drink."
Scuba divers will clear out the moat around the lion enclosure at the Joburg Zoo
A similar exercise was undertaken three years ago, with the same group of divers doing the "spring-clean". It was a "resounding success", Ngcobo says.
"The divers managed to remove all the weeds and just over R2 000 from the water. The money was used to install the mist system into the polar bear enclosure. We hope to make more money from the clean-up this year."
However, Ngcobo says the public is neither encouraged nor discouraged from throwing coins into the moats. Reasons people throw them in are possibly religious or as a gesture of goodwill.
Enclosure maintenance
"We cannot publicly declare that people should throw coins into the water, but the money that we make helps a lot in the maintenance of the enclosures. But we have to make sure we remove the coins when we notice that the water is getting dirty."
Safety of the public and the divers during the operation is guaranteed, according to Ngcobo. It will be carried out in a "synchronised" manner.
"The operation will be quite safe for the divers because the lions will be locked away in one section while cleaning is taking place in another section. The same procedure will take place at the bear enclosure."
On the day, the scuba divers will be joined by the zoo's chief executive, Jennifer Gray. For more information about the event, contact Dominic Moss on 011 646 2000 extension 211.
Permission to use web site material
Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as:
- Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website
(www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency
(www.joburg.org.za)";
- If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original
article on this website;
- The name of the article's author is acknowledged;
-
The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill
in this brief online form).
Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 |
