The famous Alipore Zoological Gardens attracts tourists from all over the nation. It is home to the unique species found, some of which exist no more. For instance, the place was home to the Aldabra giant tortoise Adwaita, who lived for a vast 250 years and took its last breath in the year 2006. Besides, there are so many more species that people from all over the world come here to witness the thriving wildlife. Furthermore, it was the first Zoo in the whole world to breed tigers.
Fauna
Here, reside 108 species which are taken care of by around 1226 individuals. Besides, the species mostly contained are animals, birds and a wide variety of reptiles and not to forget the primates.
There is end number of animals to which the Alipore Zoo provides shelter are The Royal Bengal Tiger, the Indian Elephant, the Great Indian One-horned Rhinoceros, Antelope Deer, Grants Zebra, the White Tiger axis deer, leopard, golden jackal, stripped hyena swamp deer. Moreover, many more exotic animals, as well as colorful and flamboyant birds like Swinhoe’s Pheasant, Lady Amherst Peasant and Golden Pheasant, are also present in Alipore Zoo. Also, one can witness large birds like ostrich, hornbill, emu etc. along with some attractive birds like Lorikeet and Macaws. Primates like Chimpanzees, Slender loris, slow loris, olive baboon and some others are also available to witness. Furthermore, a few other found animals are like the sloth bear, Himalayan black bear, jungle cat, jaguar hog deer, barking deer, etc.
The popularity of the Zoo
The Zoo is very popular in the whole nation. Mostly in winter’s flocks of tourists come together to visit this place and crowd it. The renovation and modernization of the Zoo have further led to an increase in the number of visitors. For instance, the addition of glass-walled enclosures and building of aviaries. The highest number of visitors recorded till date is 110,000, which is indeed a considerable attendance. Total estimated annual attendance of the visitors is around 3 million.
Location
The plan to set up the Zoo was initially cancelled because of lack of space later the Zoo was decided to set up on the Alipore road that connects Zerrut Bridge with Belvedere. The nearest station to catch a metro is Netaji Bhavan while the nearest bus stop is Ekbalpur. Moreover, the Zoo is accessible via well-maintained roads and an efficient transport system. The Zoo stands in its full glory at a vast stretch of land that is 46.5 acres.
Attractions
The Alipore Zoo has many attractions which include a Primates house, a panther house, a reptile house as well as an elephant house and also open-air enclosures for lion and tigers. A separate children’s Zoo is also present, and the central water body present inside the Zoo in its ground attracts the migratory birds.
Zoo timings
The Alipore Zoological Gardens remain open from 9 am to 5 pm every day. Ticketing counter of the Zoo stays open from 9 am to 4.30 pm. Aquarium stays open from 10.30 am to 5 pm.
Thursday is typically a weekly off, but if any public holiday falls on Thursday, then the Zoo remains open on that day too but is closed on the next working day. During the period from the 15th of December to the 31st of January, the Zoo remains open all the seven days.
Trivia
• The Zoo started in the year 1800 by the then Governor-General Richard Wellesley as a part of the Indian Natural History Project.
• Zoo was inaugurated on the 1st of January 1876 and opened on the 6th of May same year.
• Besides, it is home to a wide variety of 108 species.
• Also, it attracts tourist from all over the world
• Thursday is weekly off
• Moreover, it remains open all the seven days between the 15th of December to the 31st of January.