Indira Gandhi Zoological Park

Last updated

Indira Gandhi Zoological Park
Indira Gandhi Zoological Park
17°46′09″N83°21′00″E / 17.7691°N 83.3500°E / 17.7691; 83.3500
Date opened1977
Location Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India
Land area625 acres (253 ha)
No. of animals850
No. of species75
Annual visitors10 million
Memberships CZA, [1] WAZA [2]
Website vizagzoo.com
Egyptian vulture Neophron percnopterus -Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, Visakhapatnam, India-8.jpg
Egyptian vulture
Blue-and-yellow macaw Ara glaucogularis macaw IGZoopark Visakhapatnam (1).JPG
Blue-and-yellow macaw
Painted stork Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala) at IG Zoological park in Visakhapatnam 01.jpg
Painted stork
Sambar deer Cervus unicolor (Sambar deer) at IGZoo Visakhapatnam 02.JPG
Sambar deer
Gharial Gavialis gangeticus -Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, Visakhapatnam, India-8.jpg
Gharial

Indira Gandhi Zoological Park is located amidst Kambalakonda Reserve Forest in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is the third largest zoo in the country. [3] [4]

Contents

The zoological park is named after the former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. It was declared open to the public on 19 May 1977. [5] It covers an area of 625 acres (253 ha). It is situated in Visakhapatnam amidst the scenic Eastern Ghats of India. It is surrounded by the Eastern Ghats on three sides and Bay of Bengal on the fourth side. Nearly eighty species of animals numbering to about eight hundred are present in the zoo.

In collaboration with Stardust Ventures, Vizag zoo launched a web portal for animal adoption, to engage the community with latest events. It also allows general public to adopt an animal for certain time period. IGZP conducts various events regularly, like E-Webinars and Quizzes and also provides E-Certificates for the participants. The webinars are interactive sessions organized with various experts, and are streamed live over YouTube.

The zoo is about 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) from the Visakhapatnam railway station on the National Highway 5 near Yendada. It has entrance and exit gates situated oppositely, with one towards National Highway 5 and the other towards Beach Road at Sagar Nagar. It is open to public daily except Monday.

In February 2022, the zoo was received accreditation from the World Association or Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) for coordinating a successful dhole breeding programme.

Exhibits

In an area of 625 acres (253 ha) the zoo located among the Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary of the Eastern Ghats, the zoo has enclosures for many different types of animals, a jungle along a water body inside the zoo park. The zoo has several native mammals such as Indian elephants, greater one-horned rhinos, Bengal tigers, Asiatic lions, Indian leopards, striped hyenas, dholes, sloth bears, gaur, sambar deer and rhesus macaques, as well as exotic mammals like hippos, giraffes, Grant's zebras and chimpanzees. It also has a variety of birds including ostriches, rosy pelicans, grey herons, Indian peafowl and black swans. All three native species of crocodilian, the mugger crocodile, gharial and saltwater crocodile are housed in the zoo, along with several other species of reptiles.

Death of animal keeper

In November 2023, an animal keeper B. Nagesh Babu, 23, died after he was attacked by a Himalayan black bear. While on duty, he seems to have kept the doors open while feeding the animals in the night. [6] An ex-gratia of Rs.10 lakhs was announced for the family.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mysore Zoo</span> Zoo in Mysore, India

Mysore Zoo, officially known as Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, is a composite of zoological gardens and animal park located in the southern Indian city of Mysore, Karnataka. Stretching across a 157-acre (64 ha)-expanse and situated at about 700 metres from Mysore Palace, it is the oldest zoo in India and one of the oldest in the world. One of the most popular zoos in India and one of the city's most popular attractions, it is home to a wide range of over 168 species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anamalai Tiger Reserve</span> Wildlife sanctuary and national park in Tamil Nadu, India

Anaimalai Tiger Reserve, earlier known as Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park and as Anaimalai Wildlife Sanctuary, is a protected area in the Anaimalai Hills of Pollachi and Valparai taluks of Coimbatore District and Udumalaipettai taluk in Tiruppur District, Tamil Nadu, India. The Tamil Nadu Environment and Forests Department by a notification dated 27 June 2007, declared an extent of 958.59 km2 that encompassed the erstwhile IGWLS&NP or Anaimalai Wildlife Sanctuary, as Anaimalai Tiger Reserve under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the Reserve presently includes a core area of 958.59 km2 and buffer/peripheral area of 521.28 km2 forming a total area of 1479.87 km2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nehru Zoological Park</span> Zoo in Telangana, India

Nehru Zoological Park is a zoo located near Mir Alam Tank in Bahadurpura, Telangana, India. It is one of the most visited destinations in Hyderabad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fauna of India</span> Native animals of India

India is the world's 8th most biodiverse region with a 0.46 BioD score on diversity index, 102,718 species of fauna and 23.39% of the nation's geographical area under forest and tree cover in 2020. India encompasses a wide range of biomes: desert, high mountains, highlands, tropical and temperate forests, swamplands, plains, grasslands, areas surrounding rivers, as well as island archipelago. Officially, three out of the 36 Biodiversity Hotspots in the world are present in India: the Himalayas, the Western Ghats, and the Indo-Burma region. To these may be added the Sundarbans and the Terrai-Duar Savannah grasslands for their unique foliage and animal species. These hotspots have numerous endemic species. Nearly 5% of India's total area is formally classified under protected areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests</span> Ecoregion of India

The Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests, presently known as East Deccan moist deciduous forests, is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in east-central India. The ecoregion covers an area of 341,100 square kilometers (131,700 sq mi), extending across portions of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Telangana states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park</span> Zoological park in Darjeeling

Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park is a 67.56-acre (27.3 ha) zoo in the town of Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal. The zoo was opened in 1958, and an average elevation of 7,000 feet (2,134 m), is the largest high altitude zoo in India. It specializes in breeding animals adapted to alpine conditions, and has successful captive breeding programs for the snow leopard, the endangered Himalayan wolf and the red panda. The zoo attracts about 300,000 visitors every year. The park is named after Padmaja Naidu (1900–1975), daughter of Sarojini Naidu. The zoo serves as the central hub for Central Zoo Authority of India's red panda program and is a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bioparco di Roma</span> Zoo in Rome, Italy

Bioparco di Roma is a 17-hectare (42-acre) zoological garden located on part of the original Villa Borghese estate in Rome, Italy. There are 1,114 animals of 222 species maintained.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nandankanan Zoological Park</span> Zoo and botanical garden in Odisha, India

Nandankanan Zoological Park is a 437-hectare (1,080-acre) zoo and botanical garden in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. Established in 1960, it was opened to the public in 1979 and became the first zoo in India to join World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) in 2009. It also contains a botanical garden and part of it has been declared a sanctuary. Nandankanan, literally meaning The Garden of Heaven, is located near the capital city, Bhubaneswar, in the environs of the Chandaka forest, and includes the 134-acre (54 ha) Kanjia lake.

India is home to a large variety of wildlife. It is a biodiversity hotspot with various ecosystems ranging from the Himalayas in the north to the evergreen rainforests in the south, the sands of the west to the marshy mangroves of the east. India lies within the Indomalayan realm and is home to about 7.6% of mammal, 14.7% of amphibian, 6% of bird, 6.2% of reptilian, and 6.2% of flowering plant species. India's forests contain about 500 species of mammals and more than 1300 bird species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Karnataka</span>

The state of Karnataka in South India has a rich diversity of flora and fauna. It has a recorded forest area of 38,720 km2 which constitutes 55

of the geographical area of the state. These forests support 25% of the elephant population and 20% of the tiger population of India. Many regions of Karnataka are still unexplored and new species of flora and fauna are still found. The mountains of the Western Ghats in the western region of Karnataka are a biodiversity hotspot. Two sub-clusters of the Western Ghats, Talacauvery and Kudremukh, are on a tentative list of sites that could be designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. The Bandipur and Nagarahole national parks which fall outside these subclusters were included in the Nilgiri biosphere reserve in 1986, a UNESCO designation. In the Biligiriranga Hills the Eastern Ghats meet the Western Ghats. The state bird and state animal of Karnataka are Indian roller and the Indian elephant. The state tree and state flower are sandalwood and lotus. Karnataka is home to 524 tigers.
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahendra Chaudhary Zoological Park</span> Zoo in India

Chhatbir Zoo, is a zoological park situated close to Zirakpur, India. The zoo was constructed in the 1970s and is home to a large variety of birds, mammals and reptiles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park</span> Zoo in Katraj, Pune

The Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park, commonly known as the Rajiv Gandhi Zoo or Katraj Zoo, is located in Katraj, Pune district, Maharashtra State, India. It is managed by the Pune Municipal Corporation. The 130-acre (53 ha) zoo is divided into three parts: an animal orphanage, a snake park, and a zoo, and includes the 42-acre (17 ha) Katraj Lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Zoological Park Delhi</span> National Zoo at Delhi

The National Zoological Park is a 176-acre (71 ha) zoo in New Delhi, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arignar Anna Zoological Park</span> Zoo in Chennai, India

Arignar Anna Zoological Park, also known as the Vandalur Zoo, is a zoological garden located in Vandalur, to southwest of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, about 31 kilometres (19 mi) from the Chennai Central and 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Chennai Airport. Established in 1855, it is the first public zoo in India. It is affiliated with the Central Zoo Authority of India. Spread over an area of 602 hectares, including a 92.45-hectare (228.4-acre) rescue and rehabilitation centre, the park is the largest zoological park in India. The zoo houses 2,553 species of flora and fauna across 1,265 acres (512 ha). As of 2012 the park houses around 1,500 wild species, including 46 endangered species, in its 160 enclosures. As of 2010, there were about 47 species of mammals, 63 species of birds, 31 species of reptiles, 5 species of amphibians, 28 species of fishes, and 10 species of insects in the park. The park, with an objective to be a repository of the state's fauna, is credited with being the second wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu after Mudumalai National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natural vegetation and wildlife of Andhra Pradesh</span>

The state of Andhra Pradesh is considered one of the rich 123 bio-diversified states in India. Natural vegetation (flora) and animal life (fauna) depend mainly on climate, relief, and soil. Krishna and Godavari are the two largest rivers flowing through the state. The Andhra Pradesh Forest Department deals with protection, conservation and management of forests.

The Zoo Taiping is a zoological park located at Bukit Larut, Taiping, Perak, Malaysia. Established in 1961, is the only zoo in northern Malaysia.

Kamla Nehru Prani Sangrahalaya or Indore Zoo is a zoological garden located in Navlakha, Indore is managed by Indore Municipal Corporation. Indore zoo is the only zoo to deploy online booking, animal-health app, and touchless entry system that is tightly integrated with e-Nagarpalika, making it the most advanced zoo of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tata Steel Zoological Park</span> Zoo in Jharkhand, India

Tata Steel Zoological Park (TSZP) is situated in a corner of Jubilee Park, Jamshedpur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peshawar Zoo</span> Zoo in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Peshawar Zoo is one of the largest zoos in Pakistan and the first ever zoo in Peshawar. It opened on 12 February 2018. It is managed by the Forests, Environment and Wildlife department of the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

References

  1. "Search Establishment". cza.nic.in. CZA . Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  2. "WAZA Welcomes New Member – Indira Gandhi Zoological Park". waza.org.
  3. VR, Rohith (25 March 2016). "Top 10 Most Popular Zoos in India 2016".
  4. http://www.top10gallery.com/2012/02/top-10-largest-zoos-in-india-best-zoos.html
  5. "APForest dept". Archived from the original on 11 July 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2007.
  6. Bureau, The Hindu (27 November 2023). "Animal keeper dies after being attacked by Himalayan black bear at Visakhapatnam zoo". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 7 February 2024.