‘Nocturnal house’ – New Year gift for Alipore Zoo visitors

Come 2019 and the admirers of nocturnal animals are in for a treat at Alipore Zoo. Owls, rodents, porcupines, slow loris, hyena and several other kinds of nocturnal animals will be getting a new ‘nocturnal house’ of their own in January 2019.

As there are no separate enclosures for the nocturnal animals now, the varied collection of these animals have rarely been witnessed by visitors. Hence the decision to create the exclusive enclosure as a gift to the people of the state in the New Year. The State Forest Minister made this announcement recently.

Gubbay House, in the western flank of the zoo, which was till recently home to the monkey collection, is being redeveloped into the nocturnal house. The architecture and lighting is being crafted in a manner to create a night-like atmosphere during the day, so that the creatures remain perfectly at ease and at the same time, the people are also being able to see them properly.

According to a senior zoo official, some of the monkeys that were inside Gubbay House have been moved to zoos in Jhargram and Purulia while some have been moved to another shelter.

Source: Millennium Post

Kangaroos, jaguars, mouse deer – new attractions at Alipore Zoo

After a gap of two years, visitors at Alipore zoo will get a glimpse of kangaroos. Four grey kangaroos, known to be the fastest kangaroo in the world, will arrive from Japan’s Yokohama Zoo soon as a gift from the zoo.

Other recent arrivals include a pair of jaguars, Asiatic lions and six mouse deer, all from Hyderabad zoo. These animals are being brought under an exchange programme.

The director of Alipore Zoo said that grey kangaroos are hardier than the previous ones. The new enclosure developed for them is also bigger compared to the previous one. The animals will keep them in quarantine for a month before being put on public display.

Visitors will also get to see jaguars in the zoo after a gap of four years. After a long time, the zoo will also be getting a pair of pure Asiatic lions.

Source: The Times of India

শীতের আগেই আলিপুর চিড়িয়াখানায় নতুন অতিথি

শীতের আগেই আলিপুর চিড়িয়াখানার নতুন আকর্ষণ।নতুন অতিথি হিসেবে এল চারটে ইস্টার্ন গ্রে ক্যাঙারু। জাপান এই চারটে ক্যাঙারু উপহার হিসেবেই দিয়েছে আলিপুর চিড়িয়াখানাকে।

আরও একঝাঁক নতুন সদস্যের অপেক্ষায় চিড়িয়াখানা। আসতে চলেছে দুটি জাগুয়ার, দুটি সিংহ, ছটা মাউস ডিয়ার। স্বাভাবিকভাবেই এবারে শীতে দর্শকদের ভিড়ও বাড়বে বলে আশাবাদী চিড়িয়াখানা কর্তৃপক্ষ।

তবে এখনই দর্শকরা চাইলেও দেখতে পাবেন না এই ক্যাঙারুদের। নতুন পরিবেশের সঙ্গে খাপ খাইয়ে নিতে আপাতত তাদের বিশেষ পরিবেশে রাখা হয়েছে। ডিসেম্বরের শুরুতেই দর্শকদের সামনে আসবে এই চার নতুন সদস্য।

ক্যাঙারু এসেছে।এবার আসবে জাগুয়ার। হায়দরাবাদ থেকে নিয়ে আসা হচ্ছে তাদের। সঙ্গে আসছে দুটি সিংহ ও ছটি মাউস ডিয়ার।

Alipore Zoo set to have a nature interpretation centre

The Alipore zoo, in order to enrich its visitors with information on different reptiles, birds and mammals, is all set to come up with a Nature Interpretation Centre (NIC) at the end of July 2015.

The NIC will be located in a hall at the building which is known as the old reptile house. The hall is 70 feet long and 20 feet wide and the NIC will be housed there.

Visitors to the zoo, especially children, will be able to learn about the history of Alipore zoo. In addition, the visitors will also be able to learn a brief life history about various reptiles, birds and mammals in captivity. The information will also be accompanied by pictures of the animals.

Initially, the kiosks will provide information and visuals only. There are plans to add audio later.

The NIC will have five touchscreen kiosks which will provide all the information and life history about the captive animals in the zoo. It is hoped that this will be of use to children since generally kids take a lot of interest in animals and birds.

The zoo has 105 species of animals (reptiles, birds and mammals) and the total number of animals is 1,400. Out of the total 105 species, about 60 different species of animals will be featured in the kiosks to start with.

In addition, the zoo authorities plan to hang around 24 photos of different animals on the walls of the NIC. The pictures of these animals will basically be paintings of the animals. All paintings will have track light focussed on them for enabling visitors to have a good look at the pictures. The projected cost of setting up the NIC is around R1 crore.

Kolkata zoo is India’s oldest zoological park and at present houses around 106 species of animals. Recently, the zoo got a pair of giant Aldabra tortoises from the government of Seychelles as a gift from there. The Seychelles government had decided to gift the zoo a pair of Aldabra tortoises after the death Adwaita, the tortoise, which was brought to India by the East India Company as a gift for Lord Robert Clive. It was brought to the zoo in 1875.