A Visit to the Zoo – Animal Feeding Program - by Shuvanjali

 

A Visit to the Zoo – Animal Feeding Program

Introduction

A zoo is a place where different animals are collected from different places and exhibited for all to see and enjoy. In Nepal’s Kathmandu, the Rana Prime Minister Juddha Sumsher Rana established the Central zoo in 1932, at Jawalakhel, Lalitpur. Presently the zoo is managed by NTNC ( National Trust for Nature Conservation ). The zoo has a large area with a large central pond, believed to be constructed by King Siddhi Narsingh Malla.

Currently the zoo has different sections for different types of animals. They are :

1.      Ruminant Animal Section : (Spotted Deer, Krishnasar, Swamp Deer, Samber Deer, Goral, Barking Deer, Blue Sheep, Blue Bull )

2.      Cats and Feline Animal Section : (Royal Bengal Tiger, Common Leopard)

3.      Rino and Hippo Section : (One-horned Rhinoceros, Hippopotamus )

4.      Primates Animal Section : (Assamese Macaque, Siamung, Common Langur, Chimpanzee)

5.      Birds Section : (Emu, White Storck, Pelican, Parrots, Cacatuwa, Love Birds, Dhaphe, Munal, Peacock)

6.      Reptile Section : (Crocodile, Alligator, Snakes, King Cobra, Python)

7.      Fish Section : (Piranha, White Tiger Shark, Aquarium fish)

8.      Other Animals : Elephant, Buffulo/Arna, Sloth Bear, Gunnia Pig, Porcupine, Jackel, Hyena

In front of the animal cages, the zoo has provided an Information Board to inform the visitors about the nature of the animals. The following information are provided by the board:

1.      Common Name in English and Nepali

2.      Scientific Names (World-wide names given by scientists)

3.      Habitat ( What kind of land the animals prefer to live in )

4.      Weight (Average weight of an adult animal )

5.      Diet ( What they generally prefer to eat )

6.      Gestation ( How many days pregnant to give birth and how many kids are born at one time)

7.      Life span ( Average life of an animal)

I learnt a lot of things about the animals, from the given information.

 

Feeding the Animals

It was a cloudy day on September 7, 2022, Wednesday. We hoped it would not rain and program to visit the zoo would not be cancelled. We the students of St. Mary’s School’s “Friends of Zoo (FOZ)” were going for an “Animal Feeding Program”, organized by the zoo.

All the students of the “Fiends of Zoo” were gathered in the assembly ground at 9.45 am. All of us were carrying our aprons, gloves, mask, sanitizer and our lunch and were ready to go to the zoo. Since our school was very near to the Central zoo, we went there by walking, with our friends.

When we reached the zoo, we were warmly welcomed by the zoo’s staff. Then, we were led to a small hall were we learned about the animal’s diet, weight, age etc. We also learned about the dos and don’ts about the zoo. After that, we wore our aprons and groves. We were divided into four groups. All four groups were led to the zoo’s kitchen. In the kitchen, we saw different food being washed, chopped and weighed and kept in buckets. A pelican was also being hand-fed. I had a chance to feed a fish to the pelican. Each group had to transport the food bucket to the animals’ cages.

Our group was feeding the deers. We learned about their habitats, diet, weight and lifespan. We also observed other animals like the hippo, rhino, tiger and jackal and many birds like parrots, peacock, cacatuwa and emu. We enjoyed and had a good time to see all the animals.

At 12.30 pm, we gathered by the pond to have our lunch. We say a lot of people boating also. After our lunch, we played some games with our friends. We also say some other students from different schools. We also saw the zoo’s elephant – ‘Pawankali’ – walking around the pond.

We also went to see the Chimpanzees. I heard that the two chimps were smuggled into Nepal from Nigeria in 2017. They were then kept in the zoo and Mr. Ramkaji was responsible in taking care of them. The two chimps were named “Champa and Chimpu”.

After finished our lunch, we were called to the hall again. The group leaders had to tell what they saw and did to all other students. We thanks Ms. Rachana Shah, the Incharge of the zoo, for giving us this opportunity to visit and feed the animals.

Ms. Rachana also informed about the various programs that are held by the zoo. “Adopt an Animal” Program was very impressive and I was excited about this idea of adopting an animal. I hope that one day, I will be able to adopt an animal when I get my own salary.

Thank you once again to the zoon family and SMS FOZ family.

 

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Shuvanjali Manandhar

St. Mary’s High School, Grade 6 B