Wildlife Week celebrated at Nehru Zoo Park

• Chief Secretary Dr S K Joshi,

R Shoba, PCCF (HoFF) & CWW, others attend

• A pair of Lion Tailed Macaques released into enclosure for public display

Bahadurpura: As part of the 65th Vanya Prani Saptah (Wildlife Week) and Zoo Day, a pair of Lion Tailed Macaques was released into the enclosure for public display. Besides this a renovated Butterfly Park was inaugurated, which is first of its kind in India, housing more than 35 species of butterflies in Nehru Zoological Park.

The chief guest of the programme, Dr S K Joshi, the Chief Secretary, and Rajeshwar Tiwari, Special Chief Secretary, EFS & T Department, along with R Shoba, PCCF (HoFF) & CWW, Munindra, PCCF( Admin) and A V Joseph, Rtd PCCF, took part in the activities.

Dr Sidanand Kukrety, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, and N Kshitija, Curator, Nehru Park, welcomed the dignitaries, who felicitated the Major donors to the zoo. O P Mishra, Chief General Manager, SBI and Veramachineni Sricharan, MD, Varsity Educational Institutes and A V Joseph received the recognition for their contribution and services.

Royal Admin, Roaring Lions, Green Warriors and Zoo Corps were the four teams in the zoo, which participated in the various sports events like cricket, kabaddi, tennikoit, chess, carroms, badminton, tug of war, musical chairs, etc. The higher officials present on the occasion distributed the prizes to the winners.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Secretary said that he was happy to be a part of the 56th Zoo day celebrations of the Nehru Zoological Park, which was established in the year 1963. "This zoo is considered as pioneer among all other zoos in the country in introducing Safari Park, Nocturnal Animal House, Open Enclosures and several other initiatives.

Successful breeding of indigenous species Asiatic Lion, Royal Bengal Tiger, Herbivores, Antelopes, Gaur, Reptiles and almost all species of Birds including Exotic species, has placed Nehru Zoological Park as one among the top three zoos of the country. The animal diversity in the zoo and sprawling gardens and pleasant climate of zoo is attracting approximately 29 lakh visitors every year.

Rajeshwar Tiwari, said that Hyderabad's zoo has been a forerunner in many of the initiatives for meeting the objectives of zoos i.e., Conservation, Education, Research and Recreation. "The natural habitat simulated enclosures support successful breeding of all indigenous and exotic species. The zoo is a home to around 1800 animals of 173 species. The well-maintained enclosures, healthy animals and greenery make it one of the most visited tourist destinations of the country.

During the celebrations, 380 school children from 20 schools participated in various events conducted as a part of the zoo day celebrations. Raghuveer, PCCF (VC & MD), TSFDC, Swargam Srinivas, PCCF-Wildlife, TS Anil Epuri, Chairman of WWF, A Shankaran, Deputy C F (Retd), OSD, K Buchi Rami Reddy, IFS (Retd), K Shekar Reddy, ACF (Retd), Dr M Navin Kumar, Deputy Director (Vet) (Retd), and Dr M A Hakeem, Deputy Director (Vet), were present.