Sanjay Gandhi Jaivik Udyan (also known as Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park) or Patna Zoo is located off Bailey Road in

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The park was opened to the public as a zoo in 1973. The park is Patna's most frequented picnic spot, with more than 36,000 visitors on New Year's Day alone in 2022.

History

The park was first established as a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

in 1969. The then Governor of Bihar, Sri

Nityanand Kanungo Nityanand Kanungo was one of India's prominent politicians from the state of Odisha, who held successive high-profile portfolios in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet. Nityanand Kanungo was born in Cuttack on 4 May 1900 and was educated ...

, provided almost of land from the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

House campus for the garden. In 1972, Public Works added to this, and the

Revenue Department In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive revenue ...

transferred to the Forest Department to help expand the park. Since 1973, this park has been a biological park, combining a

with a

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for Conservation biology, conservation purposes. The term ''zoological g ...

. The land acquired from the Public Works Department and the Revenue Department was declared

protected forest A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

by the state government on 8 March 1983.

Animals and exhibits

The zoo is currently home to over 800 animals of about 110 species, including

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

clouded leopard The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called the mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China. In the early 19th century, a cl ...

hippopotamus The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extan ...

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...

elephants Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae and ...

, Himalayan black bear, jackal, black bucks, spotted deer, peafowl,

hill myna ''Gracula'' is a genus of mynas, tropical members of the starling family of birds found in southern Asia and introduced to Florida in the United States. Taxonomy The genus ''Gracula'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnae ...

gharial The gharial (''Gavialis gangeticus''), also known as gavial or fish-eating crocodile, is a crocodilian in the family Gavialidae and among the longest of all living crocodilians. Mature females are long, and males . Adult males have a distinct b ...

python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (pro ...

, Indian rhinoceros,

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative th ...

giraffe The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, ''Giraffa camelopardalis ...

, zebra,

emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus ''Dromaius''. The emu' ...

, and white peacock. Having started as a botanical garden, the park currently houses more than 300 species of trees, herbs and shrubs. Plant exhibits include a nursery for medicinal plants, an orchid house, a fern house, a glass house, and a rose garden. The park also includes an aquarium which is the largest revenue generator after the general admission fee. The aquarium has about 35 species of fish, and the snake house has 32 snakes belonging to 5 species.

Conservation and births

The Patna Zoo makes considerable effort to conserve and propagate endangered species from around the world. Breeding captive wild animals is a difficult challenge that the zoo has met with some notable success.

Success

* The great one-horned rhinoceros has been bred successfully several times in the past. In 2008, Patna Zoo earned acclaim for its breeding techniques. * A

has given birth for the first time at the zoo to a male hippo on 19 April 2001. There have been several other hippo births since, including in 2007. * A leopard gave birth to two cubs on 18 June 2001, after a gap of 16 years since the last birth. * An

alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...

has bred for the first time in the zoo on 29 June 2001 and after that several time in past. The number of gharials or alligators here have gone up from 13 to 129 in the last five years. * A

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...

bred for the first time in the zoo on 12 June 2001 and gave birth to two baby porcupines. Rhino at rest

Initiative

* The zoo received a white tiger in the first week of March from Nandan Kanan Zoo, Bhubaneshwar. This has improved the chances of breeding the tiger in the zoo. * There is a single male zebra in the zoo. It is expected that a female zebra will arrive in the zoo if the Central Zoo Authority approves the proposal.

Birds

This place provides a good sighting for birders. File:Jungle Babbler (Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park).jpg File:Black drongo (Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park).jpg File:Black hooded oriole (Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park).jpg File:White throated kingfisher (Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park).jpg File:Oriental magpie robin (Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park).jpg File:Taiga flycatcher (Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park).jpg File:Rufous treepie (Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park).jpg File:Golden flameback woodpecker (Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park).jpg

Gallery

File:Sambar, Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park.jpg File:An Elephant Family at Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, Patna, Bihar, India.jpg File:Rhino at rest.jpg File:Leopard Patna Zoo.JPG File:Swan Patna Zoo.JPG File:Lion Patna Zoo.JPG File:Central Lake at Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, Patna (Bihar, India).jpg File:Monkey patna zoo.JPG

References

External links

* * {{authority control 1973 establishments in Bihar Zoos in India Tourist attractions in Patna Buildings and structures in Patna Gardens in India Zoos established in 1973