CHENNAI: The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has selected the Arignar Anna Zoological Park, popularly known as Vandalur Zoo, in Chennai among the top 10 zoos in the country to be upgraded to 'global standards'.
Last year, the CZA had set up a 13-member committee headed by Rajesh Gopal, secretary-general of the Global Tiger Forum, which submitted a report recently after which the selection was made with the help of a private consultant. The committee had experts from the CZA, former chief wildlife wardens of some states, landscape architects who specialize in zoo designing and veterinarians, among others. The committee had held a couple of meetings and is now preparing a 10 year "vision plan".
Confirming the development, Vandalur Zoo director Debasis Jana told The New Indian Express that a team had visited the zoo before the lockdown and preliminary meetings were conducted to discuss the areas of improvement. "Vandalur Zoo is already a renowned facility being home to 171 different species, the highest among any zoological garden in India. We have very good captive breeding and education programmes, but still there is always scope for improvement."
As part of the upgrade process, the CZA has scheduled a meeting between the directors of Vandalur Zoo and Wellington Zoo in New Zealand on December 14. Jana said Wellington Zoo is known for best sustainability practices and won several awards. They have some interesting modules like "Zoo Sleepovers" and "Close Encounters", where the public actually comes in very close proximity with the animals. In India, it is still not an acceptable practice.
"We also feel that wild animals should not be taken for granted and a safe distance should be maintained. We never know when their wild instincts kick in, which would endanger the safety of the visitor and the animal. However, Wellington Zoo has been running these modules successfully. So, out of interest and curiosity I would like to explore, not necessarily replicate. We can understand the process behind it and take a clue perhaps. We have expressed our willingness to collaborate with them," he said.
Jana said animal exchange programmes are another area where collaboration is possible. "Years back, Vandalur had kangaroos and they can be brought back through a mutually agreed animal exchange programme with Wellington Zoo. Lots of things were in fact planned, but the coronavirus pandemic was a real dampener."
He said plans are afoot to engage corporate houses in animal adoption programmes and CSR activities. Augmented reality and a medicinal plants section are some of the new attractions in the pipeline.
Fresh report being prepared for night safari project
The director said the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund Management Corporation is currently preparing a detailed project report (DPR) and feasibility report for the ambitious night safari project.
It involves an estimated cost of Rs 860 crore. Sources said efforts are on to rope in a private investor and execute the project in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. "It is not a very easy
proposition," Jana said. In March this year, forest department officials had held discussions with Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Chief Secretary K Shanmugam on the issue, rekindling hopes.
The night safari plan was first mooted in 2007 inside a 92.45 hectare rescue and rehabilitation centre, but was later deferred after audit objections. The objective is to introduce the nocturnal life of animals to visitors. "It's during the night time that many of these animals are active. It would be a great learning experience for tourists to see the world of nocturnal creatures and their dimly-lit habitats," officials said.