Zoo Toy Train

 

The Toy Train running in the Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad has been redesigned with a new refreshing look to it. The fresh new tiger print design has been developed by a private firm PDM Infotainment. The visitors to the zoo have appreciated the new look which has also been a bit hit with the young children.

Hyderabad Zoo Corps

In an innovative exercise aimed at strengthening its educational activities, the Nehru Zoological Park has come out with Hyderabad Zoo Corps roping in the services of young students.

So far, around 55 students have joined the corps started on the lines of National Green Corps (NGC) which has been active in spreading messages pertaining to environment. Each Sunday and also on public holidays, when the number of visitors is high, these students drop in at the zoo and spend the day engaged in a wide ranging activities assisting the staff in the upkeep.

“Members of the Hyderabad Zoo Corps work on voluntary basis and help us in offering guidance to the visitors, zoo policing and also in security,” says Zoo Director P.Mallikarjuna Rao. Fanning out into various sectors of the vast zoo premises, they also keep an eye on practices that visitors are prohibited from here such as straying too close to the enclosures or feeding to animals.

The newly formed corps is primarily composed of students of Guru Nanak Engineering College and more have been evincing interest to join the group. “We are working out schedules to be able to accommodate more youngsters and rotate it,” he informs. The corps has been given basic training and equipped with special identity cards and a uniform to make them conspicuous.

The other recent initiatives from the zoo authorities on making the facility more interactive and educative include regular shows such as ‘snake show' where experts give detailed presentations for the visitors at regular intervals.

For last few years, the zoo has also been toying with various options to check the pollution from vehicles inside the premises. Towards this end, the entry fee of the cars has been hiked a couple of years which did yield some positive result.

Source: The Hindu

Shifting of animals

The zoo has shifted a pair of lions to the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park in Visakhapatnam and as part of an exchange program, is looking forward to acquire some animals.

Prominent among those set to shortly join the zoo here in the city from Sepahijala Zoo are Spectacled Langur and Pig-tailed Macaque. However, the arrival of much awaited Zebra from South Africa has been delayed by certain procedural matters and could take some more time before they are brought in. The zoo has entered into a deal for a dozen Zebras and planned to house four here and send rest to the zoos at Tirupati and Visakhapatnam.

According to officials, the issue has got delayed due to certain queries from the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) and the same were being sorted out.

Zoo officials mull friendship club

Apart from improving visitor amenities including setting up helpdesks at the Nehru Zoological Park, the authorities are planning to constitute Zoo Friends Clubs.

According to zoo officials, the proposed clubs are aimed at disseminating information on the wildlife and also help propagating the do's and don'ts for visitors at the zoo. “The idea is to be able to involve visitors, mainly the students and educate them about importance of wildlife and the present status and need to preserve the wildlife,” said the zoo assistant curator Vasanth Mohan.

These clubs will also be used to prevent visitors from either teasing animals or trying to feed them. “Some visitors have the habit of offering feed to the animals which is not a right practice since it could lead to infections and other problems,” he said.