Mangaluru: In spite of Pilikula Biological Park being one of the 14 largest zoos in our country, with over 1,200 animals of 150 different species, it has not been able to procure zebras and giraffes.
There are a total of 280 zoos across India, and Pilikula zoo one of the 14 largest zoos in the country. Though there are 11 tigers, 7 lions, 11 leopards and 15 king cobras, among others at the zoo, two of the important animals – the zebra and giraffe – are not here. Now, however, attempts are made to procure these two animals from Israel and South Africa.
While it may look like things will move smoothly from here onwards, it should be known that, even though there is no need to pay to bring these animals from abroad, the cost of transporting them can go up to Rs 2 crores, says Pilikula Biological Park Director Jayaprakash Bhandary. This is mainly because these animals will have to be brought by a charter cargo as it is a difficult task to ferry them on an ordinary plane. There is also a lot of paper work that needs to be done before importing any wild animals from abroad. Guidelines need to be followed and several procedures need to be completed before importing the animals.
The Pilikula Biological Park does not receive any grants from the government and is funded mainly by a registered society. Hence, it depends on the collections made at the entrance gate, corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds and contributions from donors. “It is not an easy task to gather a huge amount of Rs 2 crore to bring a giraffe and zebra,” says Bhandary adding that they are looking to collect funds by approaching industries for their CSR funds and searching for donors.
There are some zebras and giraffes in Bengaluru’s Bannerghatta National Park and the Myuru zoo, but they don’t have a sufficient number of these animals to send to other zoos. Hence, the Pilikula zoo has no other option but to import the animals from abroad, he explained. He also informed that the Zoo is attempting to bring hyenas and bisons from Madras in a bid to attract more tourists. “All formalities have been completed and the hyenas and bisons will be arriving soon,” Bhandary added.
Innovation Hub to start functioning from November
As the Union government has asked to start an ‘innovation hub’ at the Pilikula Science Centre to inculcate basic knowledge of science in the students, the Science Centre has already sent a proposal of Rs 1.8 crore to the Central government, which has been approved. If everything goes according to plan, the `innovation hub` will start functioning from November. Pilikula Regional Science Centre Director K V Rao has informed that basic information about science and some tips on research will be provided by resource persons to the students. “Our primary target is to provide information to the high school students. However, we are ready to share information with college students too,” he added.
