Zoological Parks And Museums :
The projects and programs started by the Indian Government like the Project Tiger, Nature Camps and Jungle Lodges have been started to promote wild life awareness among the people. The projects besides preserving our natural heritage, also encourage eco-tourism.
A. Zoological Parks :
Zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie or zoo is a facility in which wild animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public and they may also be bred in zoo.
A place where a collection of wild animals are kept in captivity for breeding and display is called zoo or zoological park.
These are the places where wild animals are kept in protected environments under human care and which enable us to learn about their food habits and behaviour. All the animals in zoo are provided the conditions similar to their natural habitats.
Zoos or Zoological parks in India :
Central Zoo Authority of India (CZA) is the Governing Authority of all Zoos in India.
1. Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park, Pune, Maharashtra.
2. Jijamata Uddyan, Mumbai, Maharashtra.
3. Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad.
4. National Zoological Park, Delhi.
5.Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, Vishakhapattanam, Andhra Pradesh.
6. Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Darjeeling.
7. Mysore Zoo, Karnataka.
8. Allen Forest Zoo, Kanpur.
9. Lucknow Zoo, Lucknow.
10. Chatt Bir Zoo, Zirakpur, Punjab.
11. Arignar Anna Zoological Park (Vandalur Zoo), Chennai.
12. Alipore Zoological Gardens, Kolkata.
13. Sakkarbaug Zoological Garden, Junagadh, Gujrat.
14. Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, Chennai.
15. Parassinikkadavu Snake Park, Kannur.
16. Nandankanan Zoo, Orissa.
17. Guwahati Zoo, Assam.
18. Marble Palace Zoo, Kolkata.
19. Sanjay Gandhi Jaivik Udyan, Patna.
20. Trivendrum Zoom Trivendrum.
֎ Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park, Pune, Maharashtra :
The Rajiv Gandhi Zoological park is, commonly known as the Rajiv Gandhi Zoo. It is located at Katraj near the city of Pune in India. It is spread over 165 acres, which is divided into three parts- animal orphanage, snake park and zoo. This zoo has good collection of reptiles, mammals and some birds.
֎ Jijamata Uddyan, Mumbai, Maharashtra :
It is a zoo and a garden located at Byculla, Mumbai. The garden is spread over 48 acres, on the central side of Mumbai. It houses many of the rare and endangered species of animals and birds.
֎ Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad :
It is one of the largest zoos in India, located near Mir Alam Tank in Hydrabad. It is spread over 380 acres and has a wide collection of animals-about 3500 species of birds, animals and reptiles are housed here. Several animals bred in the Zoo are rehabilitated in various Deer Parks and Sancturies to restock the depleted natural population.
֎ Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, vishakhapattanam :
It is located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It covers an area of 625 acres. The zoo park has different sections for primates, carnivores, small mammals, reptiles and birds caged in their natural ambiance.
֎Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park Darjeeling :
It is located at Darjeeling, in West Bengal. The zoo is spread over an area of 44 hectares. The zoo now contains endangered animals like snow leopards, red pandas, gorals (mountain goat), Siberian tigers and a variety of endangered birds.
֎ Allen Forest Zoo, Kanpur :
The zoo park has white Asiatic Tiger, Asiatic Lions, Cheetah, Leopard, Hyaena, Bear Rhinoceros, Hippopotamus, Langoor, Musk deer. The Aviary section includes many birds from many different parts of the World. e.g., Ostrich, Emu, Crane etc.
֎ Lucknow Zoo, Lucknow :
This zoo has an area of 17.6 acres. The zoo has various mammals, birds and reptiles. Some prime possessions are the Royal Bengal Tiger, White Tiger, Gibbon, Black Bear, Asiatic Elephant, Great Pied, Horn Bill.
֎ Alipore Zoological Gardens, Kolkata :
The zoo displays a large number of crowd pulling megafauna including the Royal Bengal Tiger, African Lion, Hippopotamus, Great Indian One-horned Rhinoceros.
֎ Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, Chennai :
MCBT is a reptile zoo and herpetology research station located at Chennai in Tamil Nadu. It houses Crocodiles and many species of turtles, snakes and lizards which are displayed for the public.
֎ Parassinikkadavu Snake Park, Kannur :
It is located at Kannur, in Kerala. The park houses a large variety of snakes including the spectacled Cobra, King Cobra, Russell's viper, Krait and pit viper.
B. Zoological Museums :
A museum of natural history is a museum with exhibits about natural history, including such topics as animals, plants, ecosystems, geology, palaeontology and climatology.
Zoological museums have collections of preserved animal for the study and reference. Animal specimens are preserved in the containers in a preservative solutions. Larger animals like birds and mammals are usually stuffed and preserved.
The sole objective behind the formation of zoological museums is to import knowledge about various types of animals to the students as well as to the tourists.
Zoological Museums in India :
1. The zoological museum, Chennai.
2. Indian museum, Kolkata.
3. Zoology museum, Muzaffarnagar.
4. Zoological garden, Thiruvananthapuram.
5. Museum of zoology, Meerut.
6. Shree Bhavani museum, Aundh, Satara, Maharashtra.
7. Zoological Museum, Jaunpur.
֎ The Zoological Museum, Chennai :
The zoological galleries of Government Museum, Chennai extend over eleven halls. In the ground floor galleries, exhibits pertaining to skeletons, dentitions, integumentary structures, reptiles, birds, mammals and some foreign animals are on display, while in the first floor galleries, invertebrates and fishes are on display.
֎ Zoological Museum, Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh :
This museum was established by the T.D. College. In this museum all the specimens of animals are well preserved and displayed along with labelled information.
֎ Zoology Museum, Muzaffarnagar :
The museum exhibits presented animals from different invertebrate phyla and vertebrate classes.
֎ Zoological garden, Thiruvananthapuram :
The museum has separate galleries for mammals, birds, lower vertebrates, invertebrates and skeleton gallery.
֎ Museum of Zoology Meerut, Uttar Pradesh :
Museum of pathology at Meerut is located inside the campus of L.L.R.M. Medical College. The museum mainly displays dissected organs of human body obtained after postmortem and surgery.