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I do not remember when I had last visited the Delhi Zoo. Always had this fixation that animals are best left in the wild and to see them inside the cages is an upfront assault on animal rights. However this time I had to give in to the demands- a combination of family and work to make it through.
This Saturday, braving long traffic snarls and smog covered Delhi skyline we managed to reach the Zoo somehow around 2 pm. On inquiring, the parking lot Guard enlightened us that we can be inside till 6 and the last ticket is issued at 4 pm. Heaving a sigh of relief we went inside. The ticket was Rs 10 for adults and Rs 5 for kids.
A good and sign of assurance was the special emphasis on security and on taking eatables inside. There was thorough frisking. Plastic, eatables (the notorious biscuits which many overzealous visitors had often used to get friendly with the Chimpanzees or Deer) were strict no no. In my opinion even Mobiles need to be banned inside as I found some workaholics giving frenzied instruction from their mobile sets very close to the railing that separates us from Animals. This looked quite vulgar.
The Zoo is well kept with lots of greenery, though the constant sound of trains passing through the Pragati Maidan station was quite disturbing. The first to greet us were the water birds on the left hand side. A few paces ahead there was the first signage in stones which said if we follow the signage the visit could be wrapped up in 2 hours. Enticed we decided to stick to it.
Soon, we encountered our prized moment of the day the best find- Painted Storks. It seemed that these amazing birds have established a kind of Colony inside the wetlands of the zoo. Perhaps it was their nesting time and the zoo authorities equal to the task have barricaded the entire area with dried tree branches to protect their privacy. The Painted storks known in Latin as Mycteria leucocephala are about 3 feet tall and with orange bills they looked heavenly. Their flapping of wings, standing on the treetops and feeding the young ones were no less amusing to a lay visitor like me than to any ornithologist or zoologist. I bet just looking at their activities can tranquil the most fretted nerves. After spending some good 35 to 40 minutes did the thought came that we were running short of time.
Passing through enclosures for Neelgai the signboard there gave an interesting piece of Information. That Neelgai, an antelope was saved from extinction due to mindless hunting was for the sake of its name. Neelgai’s “Gai”, Hindi for Cows thus sacred in India is the saviour. A brilliant idea came to my mind, why not go on a naming spree and somehow put the “Gai “to all those animals endangered thus. Tigers, Elephants, Ghrarial( in the Ganges)- just anything and everything. The Wildlife authorities can take cognizance of this if they read this blog.
Along the designated route we passed by the enclosures of Lion Tailed Macaque, Rhinoceros (none was spotted), a number of antelopes-Cheetal, blackbucks et al, Chimpanzees (unmindful of the public gaze seemed enjoying the early winters).
Next to catch my attention was the enclosure for the Sambars Although most animals were in tolerable enclosures, the Sambars seemed huddled together and there was genuine lack of space or was it too many of them. By a rough headcount I found atleast 40 jostling for space, can the Zoo officials take note of this?
The cages for birds were another attraction Eagles, Parakeets looked majestic. A vociferous crowd of young school children passing by theses cages were imitating the shrill sounds made by the Parakeets much to their discomfiture. One of the young boys perhaps summed up their plight in right earnest when he started counting the numbers written on the cages as “Quaidi Nambar Ek, Quaidi Nambar Do……”
After seeing the Crocodiles lying as if dead near the moat we decided to call it a day and made an about turn from the "guided tour" offered by the stone signages( infact we also got deviated from them).
One last word, the Camera was missed squarely and taking it inside invited no extra amount either (video camera does). This was due to my inhibition of not to look like a ‘Camera lugging tourist’.
