Arignar Anna Zoological Park - Exhibits

Exhibits

The park has 81 enclosures and more than 170 species of mammals, birds and reptiles, such as the barking deer, blackbuck, sambar, sangai, nilgai, wolf, tiger, jaguar, panther, hog deer, jackal, hyena, lion, giraffe, camel, otter, llama, elephant, and a number of monkey species such as Nilgiri langur, lion-tailed macaque, baboon, Hanuman langur and leaf-capped langur. There are about 46 endangered animals of the Western Ghats, the Eastern Ghats and the Indian subcontinent such as the Nilgiri macaques, as well as other rare species including monitor lizard, chimpanzees, European brown bear, Muscovy duck, giraffe, Bengal tiger, white tiger, lemur, macaque, vulture, and star tortoises. The park is also home to exotic species such as the Australian flightless bird species of emu and cassowary. The park contains about 138 plant species, including cashew and eucalyptus. The dense vegetation of the park supports about 56 species of butterfly.

Animals at the park as of 30 June 2005 include:

Group	Number of species	Number of animals
Mammals	46	430
Birds	62	534
Reptiles	29	351
Amphibians	5	72
Fish	21	265
Total	163	1,657

List of animals

Mammals

• Asiatic wild ass
• Savanna baboon
• European brown bear
• Himalayan black bear
• Sloth bear
• Binturong (Bear cat)
• Blackbuck
• Indian wild boar
• Brown capuchin
• Common palm civet cat (Toddy Cat)
• Jungle cat
• Chimpanzee
• Hog deer
• Spotted deer (Chital)
• Dhole (Indian wild dog)
• Asian elephant
• Gaur
• Nile hippopotamus
• Pygmy hippopotamus
• Striped hyena
• Jackal
• Jaguar
• Common langur
• Nilgiri langur
• Leopard (Panther)
• Asiatic lion
• Bonnet macaque
• Lion-tailed macaque
• Rhesus macaque
• Muntjac (Barking deer)
• Nilgai
• Common otter
• Indian porcupine
• Sambar
• Sangai
• Indian giant squirrel
• Tiger
• Grant's zebra

Birds

• Cockatiel
• White-crested cockatoo
• Little cormorant
• Demoiselle crane
• Sarus crane
• Darter (Snake-bird)
• Cattle egret
• Little egret
• Grey heron
• Night heron
• Pond heron
• White ibis
• Macaw
• Grey partridge
• Indian peafowl
• Rosy pelican
• Spoonbill
• Adjutant stork
• Painted stork
• Whitebacked vulture (Bengal vulture)

Reptiles

• Indian cobra
• King cobra
• Estuarine crocodile (Saltwater crocodile)
• Mugger (Marsh crocodile)
• Gharial
• Checkered keelback
• Common Indian krait
• Common monitor lizard
• Indian rock python
• Reticulated python
• Common rat snake
• Starred tortoise
• Russell's viper
• Saw-scaled viper

Safaris

As part of the park's development plan, safari parks for lion, gaur and deer have been created on a hilly terrain covering an area of 70 hectares (170 acres), enabling the visitors to see the animals in their natural habitats.

The lion park has been developed in an area of 30 hectares (74 acres) at a cost of about ₹ 2.358 million and is operational since October 1990 providing the visitors a 15-min drive into the safari. The safari contains 15 animals and these are involved in captive breeding. As the lions started forming groups according to their instincts and compatibility, the zoo authorities apportioned two small areas within the existing safari area in 2012, work on which started in January 2012 at a cost of ₹ 600,000, enabling the visitors to see one pride in the open forest area and the other two in the newly created fenced yards. These enclosures had been created on a 160-sq m area, with facilities such as rest shed and water trough. Each pride consists of three to four animals.

The deer park was opened in 2008. It covers 35 hectares (86 acres) and is home to more than 100 animals including sambar and spotted deer.

Elephant safari was introduced in the zoo in the summer of 2008, providing a ride on elephants for a tour around the zoo. The park is the only place after Mudumalai in the Nilgiris that organises elephant safari rides in the state. There are 3 elephants in the park and 2 more have been brought from Mudumalai to start the safari.

The park authorities plan to create a new Indian Gaur safari in 2011 in part of the current lion safari area. The lion safari has two geographical regions—hilly and plains. At present, the lions move around in the plains region (about 12 hectares (30 acres) of the 30-hectare (74-acre) total area) and are not allowed into the hilly region. The proposed gaur safari would be created on the 18 hectares (44 acres) of the hilly terrain. In 2007, a night safari project in the park was promoted with two components, namely, an animal exhibit area and an entertainment area. The night safari was being established for providing opportunity to observe the natural wildlife behaviour and activities in the night hours. Initially, it was expected to be implemented during 2010–11 at a cost of ₹ 40.2 million. With the initially allocated sum, the zoo authorities completed construction of enclosures for tiger, elephant, Indian bison, sloth bear, spotted deer and sambar and a large number of saplings was raised to be planted around the night safari area. Nearly ₹ 78.7 million was spent on construction of the enclosures, surveying the lands, perimeter wall and laying circular roads for the night safari. With delay in getting funds from the Union Ministry, the project was put on hold and the zoo prepared another proposal for ₹ 820 million for night safari in July 2011. However, this too was deferred by the state government.

Sanctuary aviaries

Two aviaries at the zoo were designed to imitate specific bird sanctuaries in Tamil Nadu. The Point Calimere Aviary represents a sanctuary on a bay on the Coromandel Coast of the District of Nagapattinam, where migratory birds including flamingos, seagulls, teals, storks and herons can be seen between October and February every year. These species can be seen year-round in this aviary, where flamingos can feed in the shallows while seagulls swim in deeper water. The aviary has a small island (about 30 square metres (320 sq ft)) with bushy vegetation, and water covering about 110 square metres (1,200 sq ft). The Vedanthangal Sanctuary Aviary represents a sanctuary located in the district of Kanchipuram. It is planted with gum arabic tree, bamboo and other tree species which offer convenient places for birds to rest. Birds such as white ibis, painted stork, night heron and grey heron are found here, and baskets have been provided to facilitate breeding.

Walk-through aviary

The terrestrial aviary was opened in 1992, but was closed within a few years due to maintenance issues. It was renovated and reopened in 2010 as the Bio Centre. This 1.5-acre (0.61 ha) walk-through aviary cost about ₹ 2 million and is located on a slope behind the tiger house (12°52′56″N 80°05′29″E / 12.8823035°N 80.0913191°E / 12.8823035; 80.0913191). The aviary is home to about 150 birds of 13 different species including kingfisher, rose-ringed parakeet, red-whiskered bulbul, white-browed bulbul, Alexandrine parakeet, common myna, koel, crow, pheasants, peacocks, partridges, quails and blue rock pigeon, as well as reptiles, amphibians and butterflies. The birds are grouped into three categories—lower, middle and upper nesting varieties. The height of the aviary ranges from 5 metres (16 ft) at the top of the slope to 12 metres (39 ft) at the bottom, with the chain link 'roof' sloping downward from west to east. The aviary is surrounded by a 1-metre (3 ft 3 in) wall, and the four sides above this are covered with steel and blue-coloured nylon net in order to provide an open-sky effect. The ground is floored by tiled footpath lawned with Korean grass to maintain the humidity level. The moist deciduous habitat supports 22 tree and shrub species.

Walkthrough aviary at the zoo, located on a slope behind the tiger enclosure

Butterfly house

The butterfly house, constructed at a cost of ₹ 6 million, has more than 25 host plants and landscaped habitats, such as bushes, lianas, streams, waterfall and rock-gardens, that attract many species of butterflies such as the common Mormon, crimson rose, mottled emigrant, blue tiger, evening brown and lime butterfly. A network of ponds interconnected by streams maintains humidity in the area. The park covers an area of 5 acres. The butterfly garden with an insect museum at the entrance is set up by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore. The insect museum has been planned with an exhibit area comprising insect exhibits representing the most common Indian species of all orders of insects both in the form of preserved specimens and in the form of photographs.

Reptile house/serpentarium

The reptile house or the serpentarium is built, at the cost of ₹ 0.4 million, in a twining snake-like model with entrance and exit points in the snake's mouth and tail, respectively. The house was opened to public in the year 1989 and has 24 enclosures exhibiting 4 species of poisonous and 10 species of non-poisonous snakes. It contains a total of 104 snakes, including 41 Indian pythons, 21 Burmese pythons and four cobras. The park has initiated controlled breeding programme for Indian rock python. Each vivarium has been renovated by changing substratum and providing perch and hide outs. The top of the opening in RCC roof is closed with transparent acrylic sheet to avoid rain and the walled enclosure enables the snake to exhibit all natural behaviours. The king cobra is scientifically kept and maintained in constant temperature by providing air conditioning and hot spot.

Amphibian house

The park stands first in the country for establishing an amphibian captive facility, and it is the only zoo in the country to have amphibians on display. Locally available species such as Indian tree frog (Polypedates maculatus), common Indian toad (Bufo melanasticus), Indian bull frog (Rana tigirina), Indian cricket frog (Limnonectus limnocharis) and Indian pond frog (Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis) are exhibited at the Amphibian Centre. A water-recycling system has been introduced to keep the house clean, and plants have been planted inside each tank to add lushness.

Crocodile enclosure

The park houses many species of crocodiles such as the gharial, the marsh crocodile, the salt water crocodile and the American spectacled caiman. Except the Cuban crocodile, the park has all other six major varieties, namely, Indo-Pacific or the salt water crocodile, swamp crocodile, Nile crocodile of Africa, Orinoco crocodile, Morelet's crocodile and American crocodile. The eight enclaves for crocodiles comprise about 220 individuals, including 125 adult specimens belonging to the six varieties. This includes two pairs of adult fresh water crocodiles. Many of the species also breed here.

Primate house

The primate house includes some unique endangered primate species like the lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri langur, capped langur and chimpanzee. The park is also the National Studbook Keeper for the endangered lion-tailed macaque, nominated by the CZA. With the successful execution of the Co-ordinated Captive Breeding Programme (CCBP), the park accounts for around 36 percent of lion-tailed macaques in the country's zoos as of 2011.

World of nocturnal animals

The nocturnal animals section houses six species. The biological rhythm and cycle of the animals has been modified so that they are active during the day time and sleep during the night time.

Small mammals house

The newly constructed Small Mammals House has animals such as the grizzled giant squirrel and the Malayan giant squirrel. The zoo also houses many small carnivores and animals of the Western Ghats.

Aquarium

The shark-modelled aquarium, with its entrance and exit points in the form of gills of the shark, is set amidst a pond and houses 31 species of fresh-water fishes. The pond surrounding the aquarium too has different varieties of fishes.

Other sections

Other sections in the zoo include the prey–predator concept enclosures (tiger–sambar), Prehistoric Animal Park with life-size models of prehistoric animals and insectarium complex, apart from an interpretation centre, zoo school and children's park. The zoo school, opened in 2000, has formulated conservation, education and awareness programmes for academics and general public that includes teacher training, zoo outreach and volunteers programmes, such as Zoo Club Volunteer Programme and Animal Keepers Training Programme. The zoo also has a library with a collection of wildlife-related books. The library functions twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays.