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Karataka vanam
The fox enclosure in the zoo has been named 'Karataka vanam'.
Karataka and Damanaka are two foxes which play an important part in the Panchatantra stories. They are the advisors of the Lion - the king of the forest.

Vishnusharma who wrote the Panchatantra uses these foxes to bring out the moral aspects of life .

Karataka vanam - Jackal enclosure
Jackal

Scientific name : Canis aureus linnaeus .
Common names : Hindi : gidhar ; Tamil : nuree ; Telugu : nakka.
Characters : The jackal's long- drawn , eerie howling at dusk or just before dawn is more familiar . It's nearest wild relative is the wolf but the jackal is smaller in build and meaner in aspect . It lacks the arching brows and elevated forehead which gives the wolf its nobler profile . Coat , variable with season and locality , typically a mixture of black and white washed with buff about the shoulders , ears and legs
Habitat : southeastern Europe , southwestern Asia , throughout India and Sri Lanka .
Habits : They live in almost any environment . Many of them live in the low lands close to towns , villages and cultivated lands . Jackals are usually night hunters . They live in holes , ruins , or in dense grass and scrub . Sometimes they form packs but usually go alone , or two or more may hunt together . They are good at clearing the carcasses . Cubs are born at any time in the year . The duration of life is around 12 years .
Size : 38 - 43 cm. Height , 60 - 75 cm length , 8 - 11 kg in weight .
 
Shunaka vanam

The wild-dog enclosure in the zoo has been called the 'Shunaka vanam' . 'Shunaka' is the Sanskrit term for the dog. Wild dogs often shown as cruel hunters in many stories . They are a symbol of loyalty and family bonding. Though they may have scuffles and fights among themselves, when it comes to hunting or while facing an external threat , they always unite to form a formidable group .

In the Jungle book , Kipling has depicted the pack of wild dogs as one of the main villains. They often range through the forest and kill many a helpless creature .


Shunakavanam - Wild dog enclosure
Dhole

Scientific name : Cuon alpinus .
Common names : Hindi : dhole ; Telugu : resu kukka ; Tamil : chen nai ;
Size : 43-55 cm height (at the shoulder) , length 90 cm ., weight 20 kg .

Characters : Much like a domestic dog in general appearance , with the long , lank body of the wolf but relatively shorter in leg and muzzle , the ears are more rounded at the tip and the tail quite bushy . Essentially it differs from wolves , domestic dogs or jackals in having six molar teeth in the lower jaw , whereas the others have seven . The distinctive red coat varies with season and locality .
Habitat : Central and eastern Asia and throughout the forest regions of India .

Habits : Dholes or wild dogs are social animals like wolves . They hunt in packs by the day and rarely by the nights . Their prey is trailed by scent and pursued at sight , with no violent outburst of speed but in a steady tireless canter finally outrunning the quarry . Their breeding season in the peninsula is between November and December , the majority of cubs usually four to six are born in January and February . wild dogs inhabit the caves .
Damanaka vanam

Damanakavanam - Fox enclosure
 The fox enclosure is called the 'Damanaka vanam'. As described earlier , Karataka and Damanaka are two characters depicted in the Panchatantra. They are the advisors of the king of the forest the Lion and they explain the various principles of life , politics and other moral stories to the Lion king.
Indian fox

Scientific name : Vulpes bengalensis .
Common names : Hindi : lomri ; Tamil : kulla nuree ; Telugu : konka nakka ;
Size : 45-60 cm length , and weight 1.8-3.2 kg .
Characters : This species is common in Indian plains , a pretty , slender-limbed animal , smaller and slimmer in build than the red fox . Distinctive in the black tip to its tail , the backs of its ears are generally of the same tone as the head and nape , never jet-black and strongly contrasted as in red fox .

Habitat : The whole of India from the foothills of the Himalayas to kanyakumari .

Habits : The Indian fox digs a borrow by itself in open ground or in scrub and lives in it . The borrow has several openings some blind , others leading to a central chamber 60 to 90 cm below the ground . It sleeps by the day , and seeks food at the dusk . The fox eats small mammals , reptiles and insects rather than birds . They work as pest controllers by gobbling up termites and other insects . Their main breeding season is the cold weather . The cubs are raised in the burrow which are usually four in number .