West Bengal zoos to reopen from Friday after more than 6 months

While the wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in West Bengal have already opened their gates for tourists, zoos in the state, including the Alipore zoo in Kolkata, are scheduled to open from Friday.

There are 12 zoos in West Bengal which attract around 50 lakh visitors round the year. The Alipore zoo and the Darjeeling zoo together attract more than 40 lakh visitors.

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“All zoos in the state will open from today. They had to be closed down on March 17 and had been shut since then because of the pandemic,” said a senior forest department official.

While the Alipore Zoo – the oldest in the country – has many endangered and exotic species such as the tiger, elephant, lion, kangaroos, giraffes, anaconda and chimpanzee among others, the Darjeeling zoo in north Bengal, which specializes in conservation of Himalayan species, has some of the most elusive animals such as the red panda, snow leopard, blue sheep, Tibetan wolf and the salamander as its major attractions.

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The two zoos had recently started live streaming videos of some of its animals, at least for two hours every day during the pandemic, allowing people to watch the animals live, from the comfort of their homes.

A senior official said that the beginning of the festive season with Durga Puja being less than a month away and the approaching winter, prompted the forest department to reopen zoos, sanctuaries and national parks for tourists.

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