PNHZ Park Animals to be on film

Snow leopards and Red Pandas can soon be viewed at the click of a button.

The antics of animals at the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park will be available on film.

The authorities of the Darjeeling zoo are making a documentary to capture the scenes that normally elude the eye of the visitor.

“The film primarily deals with two aspects,” A.K. Jha, the zoo director, told The Telegraph. “First, it will show the behaviour of animals outside the scheduled display time. While some animals are nocturnal, others like the red panda are active only in the evenings and early mornings, remaining sluggish during the visiting hours. The documentary will also show the young ones of animals that are being captive-bred under various conservation schemes. These parts of the zoo are not open to the public.”

Second, the film will highlight the relationship of zoo employees with animals and the ways in which it serves the community, Jha said. This will include stories of how a zookeeper once lost his hand while feeding a bear and the care with which the animals are tranquilised, operated upon and treated for ailments, he added.

“Our zoo is one of the best in the country and we would like to show visitors all that goes into maintaining a zoo of such importance,” the director said. “It is the only zoo in the world to breed the Tibetan wolf in captivity and the first in South Asia to breed the snow leopard and the Siberian tiger.”

Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, situated at 2133.5m, is internationally recognised for its conservation breeding programmes for the red panda, the snow leopard and the Tibetan wolf. Seven more animals, including Himalayan tahr, blue sheep and salamander, are slated to be included in programme soon.

“We have taken shots of the food and care given to the animals,” said filmmaker Suryakamal Banik. “I have tried to capture the animals at play and their relationship with the zookeepers.”

However, it is the romance of snow leopards Nita and Karan that would steal the show, Banik said.

“The male leopard tries hard to woo the female. The latter pretends to ignore it at first but finally gives in to persuasion,” he added.

According to Jha, the film would be shown in an auditorium that will be constructed within the zoo premises.

Source: The Telegraph

Darjeeling PNHZ park plan on 7 more endangered species

Darjeeling: Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park (PNHZ Park) here is set to expand its conservation and breeding programme to cover seven more endangered species.

The zoo currently conserves and breeds red pandas, snow leopards and Tibetan wolves. The animals and birds selected for the second phase of the programme, which has got the nod of the Bengal forest department, are blue sheep, Himalayan tahr, Himalayan salamander, Himalayan monal, grey peacock pheasant, Himalayan blood pheasant and Satyr Tragopan.

“We do not have any blue sheep at the zoo at the moment, but we expect to get a few from Japan by the end of this year,” said A.K. Jha, the director of the zoo. Jha and his team must also bring Satyr Tragopans from elsewhere.

From now on, the Darjeeling zoo will act as a coordinating zoo for red panda, Tibetan wolf, Satyr Tragopan, grey peacock pheasant, snow leopard and Himalayan salamander. This means it will breed and exchange these animals and birds with other zoos. The exchange programme ensures a bigger gene pool for the species and creates alternative dwelling places for them, which may be required if an epidemic breaks out in any of the participating zoos.

State forest minister Ananta Roy, who visited the zoo today, named two snow leopard cubs born at the breeding centre there. Prakriti and Atithi were born on May 1 this year, and are among the 13 snow leopards currently living in the zoo.

Before his visit to the zoo, the minister attended a programme at Sukhiapokhari to mark the end of the Aranya Saptaha (Forest Week) in the hills. He also gave away the “Green School” trophy to Loreto Convent for being the most environment-friendly school in the Darjeeling hills.

Roy spoke of a new museum at the Darjeeling zoo. Sources said the Bengal Natural History Museum may be shifted there from the office of the divisional forest officer, Wildlife I.

Source: The Telegraph