Visakhapatnam Zoo welcomes new animals from Chattbir Zoo in Punjab

As a part of an exchange programme, the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park (IGZP) has been made home to new animal species from the Chhatbir Zoo in Chattisgarh. The new animals which have arrived at the Visakhapatnam Zoo are two male gharials, one male hyena, two male red jungle fowls, four female red jungle fowls, one male lesser whistling teals, and three barn owls.

Speaking to Yo! Vizag, Visakhapatnam Zoo Curator, Nandini Salaria said that exchange programmes are frequently conducted by the authorities. She informed that one of the main reasons for conducting exchange programmes is for conservative breeding, which is a process of breeding animals in a controlled environment.

Further, she went on to say that these programmes ensure a change in the bloodline and improvement in the genetic lineage of the species. Additionally, she mentioned that exchange programmes primarily facilitate the display of a variety of species to the public. Zoos across the country conduct this activity regularly with an aim to increase the population of existing species.

The new animals from the Chhatbir Zoo have reached Visakhapatnam during the early hours of Sunday. Recently, the Visakhapatnam Zoo has received new animal species from the Delhi Zoo in November 2020. The curator also said that IGZP will soon receive more species from Tirupati, with some of them being bison, wild dogs, and grey general fowls.

TO mark the upcoming Global Conservation Day on 18 March, IGZP authorities have conducted a “Best out of waste” programme. Over 200 NSS volunteers from Bullayya College have taken part in this initiative programme. They were asked to materialise useful items from the plastic waste found in the zoo.