Talk about being pampered! Suzi the Chimp is all of 28 years old and seems to carry her star status with easy panache ever since she arrived at Hyderabad’s Nehru Zoological Park in 2011.
Earlier the prized pet of business tycoon and Sahara chairman Subrata Roy, Suzi is indeed lucky that the authorities have no qualms about catering to the lifestyle that she is used to, as they consider her the star attraction of their zoo.
Shivani Dogra –the zoo curator- while speaking to The News Minute admitted that Suzi’s lifestyle was indeed lavish but then she felt that was what made Suzi unique: “As is done for every other animal, we take care of Suzi too. It is not all that difficult to fulfill her demands, but yes…Suzi does have a lavish life which actually makes her unique. We are in fact proud that we have a celebrity at our zoo.”
Suzi thus begins each day around 9 - 9.30 in the morning with a brand new tooth brush…yeah, you heard us right…one for each day…so now you know the secret behind her pearly whites!
Ah yes, Pepsodent is her favourite toothpaste, in case we forgot to mention.
Fresh blankets too need to be provided every day and don’t think you can fool her with used ones. She can sniff out the old from afar and tends to get irritated, says Prasad – Suzi’s caretaker. For breakfast, it’s coffee and bread while other meals of the day include fruits, corn-flakes, dry fruits, nuts etc.
“When she moved in here from Pune, a team had come and trained us in her daily routine. Do you know she partakes of only mineral water and that too from her very own water bottle!” Prasad chuckles.
When it comes to coffee or Complan, it has to be served to her in a cup
Twice a week, she gets a coconut oil massage. Once in three days, it’s bath-time with ‘Pears’ –her favourite soap!
And if that was not enough, a cooler and a fan to beat the summer heat, with a mosquito repellant to boot!