Ability Enhancement Compulsory Course - 2 B.A. / B.Sc. / B.Com Semester 2 Project Prototype - 2 Report on a Visit to Zoological Garden Dr. Malabika Bhattacharyya Assistant Professor and Head Department of Zoology, Vivekananda College AECC-2 VIVEKANANDA VEKANANDA COLLEGE 2019 A. Zoo at a Glance Date opened Location Coordinates 1 May 1876 No. 2, Alipore Road, Alipore, Kolkata-27, West Bengal,, India 22.535913°N 88.332053°E Coordinates: Land area 18.81 ha (46.5 acres)[2] No. of animals 1266 No. of species 108 B. Visit DetailsVenue Date of Visit Duration of the visit Name and Class of student 22.535913°N 88.332053°E : Alipore Zoological Garden : Attach the ticket slip in your project : 9.15.am : C. Attractions of the Zoological garden The zoo remains one of the most popular winter tourist attractions in Kolkata. The footfall figures in 2016 showed an annual visitation of almost 3 million — more than any other tourist attraction in Kolkata, and a peak of over 81,000 on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Day The zoo displays a large number of crowd-pulling crowd megafauna,, including the royal Bengal tiger, African lion, Asiatic lion, jaguar, hippopotamus, hippopotamus great Indian one-horned horned rhinoceros, rhinoceros reticulated giraffe, Grant's zebra, emu, and Indian elephant.. Previously, other megafauna like the Panthera hybrids and the giant eland were present. The zoo sports a large collection of attractive birds, including some threatened species - large parrots including a number of macaw species, conures, lories and lorikeets; lorikeets other large birds like touracos and hornbills; colourful game birds like the golden pheasant, Lady Amherst's pheasant and Swinhoe's pheasant heasant and some large flightless birds like the emu, cassowary and ostrich. ostrich AECC-2 VIVEKANANDA COLLEGE 2019 D. History of the Zoological Garden The zoo was formally opened in Alipore - a posh Kolkata suburb, and inaugurated on 1 January 1876 by Edward VII, then Prince of Wales. (Some reports place the inauguration on an alternate date of 27 December 1875). The initial stock consisted of the private menagerie of Carl Louis Schwendler (1838-1882), a German electrician who was posted in India for a feasibility study of electrically lighting Indian Railway stations. Gifts were also accepted from the general public. The initial collection consisted of the following animals: African buffalo, Zanzibar ram, domestic sheep, four-horned sheep, hybrid Kashmiri goat, Indian antelope, Indian gazelle, sambar deer, spotted deer and hog deer. The first Indian superintendent of the zoo was Ram Brahma Sanyal, who did much to improve the standing of the Alipore Zoo and achieved good captive breeding success in an era when such initiatives were rarely heard of. E. Detailed information of the fauna observed at Zoological Garden [chose any one group from Reptiles/mammals/birds and enlist the total number of species observed in the manner given in the table. One example has been done for each category] 1. Reptiles Scientific Distribution Feed Lay Sl. Common Name No. Name Gavialis In many countries ,India, They are almost 30 - 50 eggs 1. Long gangeticus Nepal , Bangladesh, exclusively fish-eaters, (average of 37) Snouted Bhutan, Myanmar, and but the juveniles are deal Gharial Pakistan. with invertebrate prey Crocodile prefer clear, fast rivers, and such as insects, plus stray from the water only smaller vertebrates such to sunbathe on the sandy as frogs, Adults banks. 2. Birds Sl. Common Scientific Distribution Feed Lay No. Name Name Endynamys Found in India, Food consists of fruits as much as 13 1. Koel scolopacea Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri and berries ; also eggs. Lanka and Myanmar. caterpillars & insects. 3. Mammals Sl. Common Scientific Distribution Behavior and Feeding Gestatio IUCN No Name Name habit n period status . Found in Himalaya Leads soliteray life varies Endangered; 1. Himalaya Ursus climber. from 7 to Schedule- I n Black thibetanu from Jammu & ; good s Kashmir to Feeds on wild fruits, 8 of wildlife Bear Arunachal Pradesh berries , apricots,nuts of months. (Protection) and hills of North- various Act, 1972 eastern region of kinds,honey,corn,insect India. s,termites etc. AECC-2 VIVEKANANDA COLLEGE 2019 F. Conclusion • Zoological Garden, Alipore may be considered as a Heritage Zoo. • Since formation of West Bengal Zoo Authority several actions have been taken for upliftment the face of Zoo through renovation and construction of enclosures and night shelters of animals for scientific management and ex-situ conservation of Wildlife. • At present, Zoological Garden, Alipore has 162nos. Mammals, 744 nos. Birds, 86 nos. Reptiles.
