Monday, 30, November

Animal Planet of Chennai

Chennai: Arignar Anna Zoological Park  also known as the Vandalur Zoo, is a zoological garden located in Vandalur, a suburb in the southwestern part of Chennai.  It previous location was set up in 1855 and was the first public zoo in India. It is affiliated with the Central Zoo Authority of India. Spread over an area of 602 hectares,  the park is the largest zoological garden in India. The zoo houses 2,553 species of flora and fauna. As of 2012 the park houses around 1,500 wild species, including 46 endangered species, in its 160 enclosures. As of 2010, there were about 47 species of mammals, 63 species of birds, 31 species of reptiles, 5 species of amphibians, 25 species of fishes, and 10 species of insects in the park. The park, with an objective to be a repository of the state's fauna, is credited with being the second wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu after Mudumalai National Park.

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.