VISIT TO NATIONAL

ZOOLOGICAL PARK

SUBMITTED BY:

Himanshi Mangla (01114188816)

Kartik Dutt Sharma (40414188816)

Kashif Isa (35214188816)

Kunal Wadhwa (01814188816)

Siddharth Aggarwal (61014188816)

CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
 Flora
 Fauna
 Relevance of Flora and Fauna
 Biodiversity
 Endangered Species
 Extinct Species
2. HISTORY
3. RULES AND REGULATIONS
4. FLAURA AND FAUNA PRESENT IN NATIONAL
ZOOLOGICCAK PARK
 MAMMALS
 BIRDS
 REPTILES
5. OBSERVATION
6. RECOMMENDATIONS
7. CONCLUSION
 INTRODUCTION
Relevance of Flora and Fauna
The physical world is composed of living and non-living things. They are
generally referred to as the biotic and the abiotic. The abiotic is the physical
objects like rivers, mountains, volcanoes and water-bodies. The biotic is the
world of flora and fauna.

Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the
naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life.

Fauna
Fauna is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. It is a typical
collection of animals found in a specific time or place

Relevance of Flora and Fauna

Flora and fauna keep the ecological balance on planet Earth and without them
the human civilization would not have existed.

Flora is responsible for consuming carbon dioxide and generating oxygen, while
fauna is consuming the oxygen and releases carbon dioxide that is used by flora
in the photosynthesis process.

Humans consume the oxygen produced in the photosynthesis process and

release carbon dioxide exactly like fauna does, but flora and fauna represent a
natural resource of food and medicine for the human civilization here on planet
Earth.
This is why is so important to keep flora and fauna in very good conditions
because our life on the planet depends pretty much on them.

Flora and fauna have a functional role on the planet, but also an aesthetic role
because with its natural beauty, the environment is helping us to get rid of stress
and charge our bodies with healthy energy provided by the forest.

Biodiversity
Biodiversity is defined as “the variability among living organisms from all
sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other
aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this
includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.

Biodiversity is essentially everywhere, ubiquitous on Earth’s surface and in

every drop of its bodies of water. The virtual omnipresence of life on Earth is
seldom appreciated because most organisms are small; their presence is sparse,
ephemeral, or cryptic, or, in the case of microbes, they are invisible to the
unaided human eye.

Endangered Species
An endangered species is a species which has been categorized as very likely to
become extinct. Endangered (EN), as categorized by the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, is the second most
severe conservation status for wild populations in the IUCN's schema
after Critically Endangered (CR).

Many nations have laws that protect conservation-reliant species: for example,
forbidding hunting, restricting land development or creating preserves.
Population numbers, trends and species' conservation status can be found in
the lists of organisms by population.
Extinct Species
A species is extinct when the last existing member dies. Extinction therefore
becomes a certainty when there are no surviving individuals that can reproduce
and create a new generation. A species may become functionally extinct when
only a handful of individuals survive, which cannot reproduce due to poor
health, age, sparse distribution over a large range, a lack of individuals of both
sexes (in sexually reproducing species), or other reasons.
HISTORY
The Delhi zoo came decades later after New Delhi was built. Although the idea
to have a zoo at the national capital was mooted in 1951, the park was
inaugurated in November 1959.

In 1952 the Indian Board for Wildlife created a committee to look into creating
a zoo for Delhi. The government of India was to develop the zoo and then turn
it over to Delhi as a working enterprise. In 1953 the committee approved the
location of the zoo, and in October 1955 it assigned N. D. Bachkheti of the
Indian Forest Service to oversee the creation of the zoo.

Initially Major Aubrey Weinman of the Ceylon Zoological Garden (now

the National Zoological Gardens of Sri Lanka) was asked to help draw the plans
for the zoo, but because he was not available for the long term, Carl
Hagenbeck of the Zoological Garden of Hamburg was hired. In March 1956,
Hagenbeck presented a preliminary plan, which included the recommendation
to use moated enclosures for the new zoo. The plan was modified as needed to
account for local conditions, and approved by the Indian government in
December 1956.

By the end of 1959, the Northern part of the zoo was complete, and animals
which had been arriving for some time and which had been housed in temporary
pens were moved into their permanent homes. The park was opened on 1
November 1959 as the Delhi Zoo. In 1982 it was officially renamed to National
Zoological Park, with hopes that it could become a model for other zoos in the
country.
RULES AND REGULATIONS
In exercise of the powers conferred by clauses (f) and (g) of sub-section (i) of
Section 63 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972 (53 of 1972), the Central
Government hereby makes the following rules, namely:

1. Application for recognition:

An application under section 38H of the Act for recognition of a zoo shall be
made to the Central Zoo Authority in Form A.

2. Standards and norms subject to which recognition under section 38H of

the Act shall be granted:

The Central Zoo Authority shall grant recognition with due regard to the
interests of protection and conservation of wild life, and such standards, norms
and other matters as are specified below :

General:

(1) The primary objective of operating any zoo shall be the conservation of
wildlife and no zoo shall take up any activity that is inconsistent with the
objective.

(2) No zoo shall acquire any animal in violation of the Act or rules made
thereunder.

(3) No zoo shall allow any animal to be subjected to the cruelties as defined
under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 (59 of 1960) or permit
any activity that exposes the animals to unnecessary pain, stress or provocation,
including use of animals for performing purposes.
(4) No zoo shall use any animal, other than the elephant in plains and yak in
hilly areas for riding purposes or draughting any vehicle.

(5) No zoo shall keep any animal chained or tethered unless doing so is essential
for its own wellbeing.

(6) No zoo shall exhibit any animal that is seriously sick, injured or infirm.

(7) Each zoo shall be closed to visitors at least once a week.

(8) Each zoo shall be encompassed by a perimeter wall at least two metres high
from the ground level. The existing zoos in the nature of safaris and deer parks
will continue to have chain link fence of appropriate design and dimensions.

(9) The zoo operators shall provide a clean and healthy environment in the zoo
by planting trees, creating green belts and providing lawns and flower beds etc.

(10) The built up area in any zoo shall not exceed twenty five per cent of the
total area of the zoo. The built up area includes administrative buildings, stores,
hospitals, restaurants, kiosks and visitor rest sheds etc., animal houses and
pucca roads.

(11) No-zoo shall have the residential complexes for the staff within the main
campus of the zoo. Such complex, if any, shall be separated from the main
campus of the zoo by a boundary wall with a minimum height of two metres
from the ground level.
 FLORA AND FAUNA
PRESESNT IN THE
NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL
PARK
 MAMMALS

 BLACK BUCK
WHITE BUCK
 LEOPARD CAT
 CHINKARA
 CHOWSINGHA
 DEER BROW
 SWAMP DEER
 ASIATIC ELEPHANT
 HOOLOCK GIBBON
 LEOPARD
 ASIATIC LION
 LION TAILED MACAQUE
 GREATER ONE HORNED RHINOCEROS
 ROYAL BENGAL TIGER
 ROYEAL BENGAL TIGER (WHITE)
 WOLF
 GAUR
 HIMALAYAN BLACK BEAR
 SLOTH BEAR
 SMALL INDIAN CIVET
 COMMON PALM CIVET
 JACKAL
 COMMON LANGUR
 BONNET MACAQUE
 RHESUS MACAQUE
 STUMP TAILED MACAQUE
 INDIAN PORCUPINE
 FOX COMMON
 HAMADRYAS BABOON
 AFRICAN CAPE BUFFALO
 CHIMPANZEE
 BARKING DEER ( KAKAR )
 HOG DEER
 SAMBAR DEER
 SIKKA DEER
 SPOTTED DEER
 AFRICAN ELEPHANT
 GIRAFFE
 GORAL
 HIPPOPOTAMUS
 STRIPPED HYAENA
 JAGUAR
 RED LECHWE
 NILGAI
 WILD BOAR
 ZEBRA
BIRDS
HORNBILL GREY
PEAFOWL (WHITE)
SPOONBILL WHITE
EAGLE CRESTED SERPENT
EAGLE STAPPEE
EGRET LITTLE
IBIS WHITE
FOWL JUNGLE RED
HERON GREY
KITE
MUNIA BLACK HEADED
MUNIA GREEN
MUNIA SPOTTED
MYNA HILL
OWL BARN
OWL SCREECH
OWL GREAT HORNED
PARAKEET LARGE INDIAN
PARAKEET ROSE RINGED
PARAKEET RED BREASTED
PARAKEET BLOSSOM HEADED
PARTRIDGE GREY
PELICAN ROSY / WHITE
PHEASANT KALIJ INDIAN
SHIKRA
STORK BLACK NECKED
STORK LESSER ADJUTANT
STORK PAINTED
VULTURE WHITE
REPTILES
INDIAN STAR TORTOISE
INDIAN ROCK PYTHON
DHAMAN / COMMON RAT SNAKE
INDIAN COBRA
DIADEM SNAKE
INDIAN SAND BOA
DOG-FACED WATER SNAKE
MONITOR LIZARD
AMERICAN ALLIGATOR
SPECTACLED CAIMAN
GHARIAL
MARSH CROCODILE
OBSERVATIONS
Delhi Zoo is a mixture of modernity and antiquity. Some of Delhi Zoo’s
enclosures (e.g., herbivores) are very large and acceptable, while others (e.g.,
small carnivore cages) are inadequate and fail to satisfy even the basic
biological and behavioural needs of the animals they contain. A number of
animals are kept singly. The single chained African elephant presents a very
distressing picture. Being India’s national Zoo, it seems extremely odd that
single animals like the Hoolock Gibbon have been living in isolation for years
without the Central Zoo Authority intervening. The caged birds are hiding under
shade with their utensils of water empty most of the time. In the elephant
enclosure water is must but here it is least. The tiger and lion are supposed to
have huge water cooler to keep them cool but when I peeped in the feeding
enclosure from a window saw that the cooler were on with the hay pads, and no
water. Educational efforts are nominal with signboards predominating. There
was no indication of any organized keeper talks or audio-visual shows. While
the conservation value of the Zoo is questionable, it should be commended for
cooperating with animal welfare organizations and taking in rescued animals.

Size: Large enclosures for herbivores. Some carnivore cages and bird cages too
small. Substrate: Mainly earth, but cement substrates do exist.

Furnishings/Enrichment: Nominal. Educational Graphics: The general Zoo

kind, nothing exceptional or noteworthy.

Safety: Adequate in most cases but people observed feeding animals and
climbing the boundary of the American Alligator enclosure. Such actions could
result in deaths.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. The Zoo should stop breeding all animals, especially some of the herbivores
that are already in a surplus situation.

2. The Fishing cat and Leopard cat cages should be removed and more
appropriate enclosures built for those species.

3. An institution wide program of environmental enrichment should be

developed and implemented. 4. The elephants should be allowed free movement
throughout their paddock and should not be kept on chains.

5. All animals should be provided appropriate social environments. Social

animals should not be kept alone.The single African elephant should be moved
to Mysore Zoo (the only other Zoo in India housing African elephants) or
another facility abroad housing this species. Reportedly, Delhi Zoo was trying
to procure another African elephant as a companion.The Zoo should abandon
this plan as the elephants would still be in an abnormal social situation.

6. Signboards should be improved and other kinds of educational programming

developed.
CONCLUSION
Delhi Zoo appears to have a reasonably good standard of animal housing and
husbandry. There are however, some problematic areas. They include some
exhibits that are in need of improvement and single animals kept isolated from
others of their own kind. For example, the Hoolock Gibbon is kept alone in a
very cramped enclosure and the single African elephant is inappropriately
chained. As well, the small carnivore cages seem to be in a state of disrepair.
The Great Horned Owl cage is pitifully small and there is an overpopulation of
herbivores, such as Blackbuck. There are surplus birds of many common
species.