Home for nocturnal animals
Four wild dogs and two female lion cubs put into newly inaugurated enclosure at zoo;
Kolkata: State Forest minister Rajib Banerjee unveiled a separate enclosure for nocturnal animals at Alipore Zoological Gardens on Sunday.
Four wild dogs and two female lion cubs were put into the enclosure.
"On one hand there is Christmas and on the other hand New Year. Under the instructions of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, we have added three new attractions in the zoo. Four wild dogs and two female lion cubs named Isha and Nisha have been put into the enclosure. The Nocturnal House was inaugurated at Alipore Zoological Gardens today," Banerjee said.
State Fire and Emergency Services minister Sujit Bose and Alipore Zoological Gardens director Asis Kumar Samanta were present on the occasion.
The Nocturnal House, situated in the western flank of the zoo, has big a statute of owl at its entrance. It was home to monkeys in Gubbay House, named after 19th-century Jewish merchant Elia Shalom Gubbay, who had funded it.
The architecture and lighting of the Nocturnal House have been created in such a way that it would give a
feel of night time during the day. Banerjee said a plastic bottle dismantling machine was installed on the zoo premises. On July 29, which is the International Tiger Day, authorities of Alipore Zoological Garden had put many animals into the enclosures for public viewing. These animals including a white tiger, hyenas, leopards and yellow anacondas brought to the zoo earlier. Rishi, the white tiger, was brought from the Patna zoo in exchange for a zebra, four yellow anacondas were brought from the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Centre for Herpetology in Mallapuram.
The Alipore Zoological Garden, also known as Alipore Zoo or Calcutta Zoo, is India's oldest zoological park.
It is also one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city. With Christmas a few days away, people throng Alipore Zoo, Eco Park, Victoria Memorial, Science City and Nicco Park to rejoice the festive spirit.
Children clad in colourful attire visit the zoo with their family members during winter.
The zoo has always been one of the major centres of attraction in the city, especially for children.