The Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park, commonly known as the Rajiv Gandhi Zoo or Katraj Zoo, is located in

Katraj Katraj is suburb of Pune in the Indian state of Maharashtra, and within the jurisdiction of Pune Municipal Corporation. Katraj is famous for its Peshwa-era (18th century) lake that supplied water to the city during that period. The village li ...

Pune district Pune district (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, uɳeː is the most populous district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The district's population was 9,429,408 in the 2011 census, making it the fourth most populous district amongst I ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

State,

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 ...

. It is managed by the

Pune Municipal Corporation The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC, IAST: Puṇe Mahānagarpālikā) is the civic body that governs the inner limits of Pune, India. It is in charge of the civic needs and infrastructure of the metropolis, which is spread over an area of 484 ...

. The zoo is divided into three parts: an animal orphanage, a snake park, and a zoo, and includes the Katraj Lake.

History

Peacock at The Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park, Pune, India

In 1953 the Pune Municipal Corporation created

Peshwe Park The Peshwe Park, is located near Saras Baug in Pune, India. It is managed by the Pune Municipal Corporation. It is spread over an area of 7 acres. Now it is an energy park that stresses the importance of renewable energy in today’s times. The ...

on about where Madhavrao Peshwe had established a private menagerie in 1770. Located in the heart of the city at the base of

Parvati Hill Parvati Hill is a hillock in Pune, India. The hillock rises to above sea level. Atop the hillock is the Parvati Temple, one of the most scenic locations in Pune. The temple is the oldest heritage structure in Pune and was built during the rule ...

, this zoo exhibited animals in traditional cages. In 2004, Mr. Neelam Kumar Khaire (the first director of the park), with assistance from the Pune Municipal Corporation, created the Katraj Snake Park on land that was to become the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park. In 1997, in order to create a more modern zoo in accordance with the guidelines of the

Central Zoo Authority of India The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) is the body of the government of India responsible for oversight of zoos. It is an affiliate member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). The CZA was formed to bring Indian zoos up to internation ...

, the municipality selected a site in Katraj and started developing a new zoo. The zoo opened in 1999 as the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park & Wildlife Research Centre, and initially included only the reptile park, sambars,

spotted deer The chital or cheetal (''Axis axis''; ), also known as the spotted deer, chital deer, and axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. It was first described and given a binomial name by German naturalist Johann Christian Po ...

, and

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

s. Although it took until 2005, all of the animals from Peshwe Park were eventually moved to the new site, and Peshwe Park was closed. The park also incorporates a rescue centre for injured and orphaned animals. It has run an animal adoption scheme since October 2010.

Animals

The zoo has a collection of

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

s, and

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s. Among mammals, the zoo had a

white tiger The white tiger or bleached tiger is a leucistic pigmentation variant of the Mainland tiger. It is reported in the wild from time to time in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, in the Sunderbans region and ...

and has a male

Bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. The tiger is estimated to have been present in ...

named Tanaji. Other mammals at the zoo include

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 ...

sloth bear The sloth bear (''Melursus ursinus'') is a myrmecophagous bear species native to the Indian subcontinent. It feeds on fruits, ants and termites. It is listed as Vulnerable species, vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, mainly because of habitat loss ...

s, sambhars,

barking deer Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

blackbuck The blackbuck (''Antilope cervicapra''), also known as the Indian antelope, is an antelope native to India and Nepal. It inhabits grassy plains and lightly forested areas with perennial water sources. It stands up to high at the shoulder. Mal ...

s, and

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 ...

. Reptiles include

Indian rock python The Indian python (''Python molurus'') is a large python species native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is also known by the common names black-tailed python, Indian rock python, and Asian ...

, cobra,

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

vipers The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs tha ...

, Indian crocodiles and

Indian star tortoise The Indian star tortoise (''Geochelone elegans'') is a threatened tortoise species native to India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka where it inhabits dry areas and scrub forest. It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2016, as the pop ...

and birds such as

peafowl Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are refe ...

also feature. The snake park has a large collection of snakes, reptiles, birds and turtles. There are over 22 species of snakes with 10 species of reptiles comprising more than 150 individuals. This includes a 13-foot-long king cobra. Information about the snakes is provided in

Braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are Blindness, blind, Deafblindness, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on Paper embossing, embossed paper ...

, as well as more conventional formats, and the park includes a library. The snake park has organized many snake festivals and snake awareness programs to clarify doubts and destroy fears about snakes. During

Nag Panchami Naga Panchami is a day of traditional worship of Nag (or Naja or Naga) or snakes (which are associated with the mythical Nāga beings) observed by Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists throughout India, Nepal, and other countries where Hindu, Jain, and ...

, the park arranges programs to discourage ill-treatment of snakes. In April 2017, the zoo replaced the white tiger with a pair of

Asiatic lion The Asiatic lion is a population of ''Panthera leo leo'' that today survives in the wild only in India. Since the turn of the 20th century, its range has been restricted to Gir National Park and the surrounding areas in the Indian state of Gujarat ...

s. These lions appear to have been one reason why visits to the zoo increased significantly, since the previous year.

Future plans

This zoo has plans to house

hyena Hyenas, or hyaenas (from Ancient Greek , ), are feliform carnivoran mammals of the family Hyaenidae . With only four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the Carnivora and one of the smallest in the clas ...

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

es,

nilgai The nilgai (''Boselaphus tragocamelus'') (, literally meaning "blue cow") is the largest Asian antelope and is ubiquitous across the northern Indian subcontinent. It is the sole member of the genus ''Boselaphus'' and was described by Peter Sim ...

s, lesser

cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

jungle cat The jungle cat (''Felis chaus''), also called reed cat, swamp cat and jungle lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to the Middle East, the Caucasus, South and Southeast Asia and southern China. It inhabits foremost wetlands like swamps, littora ...

s, rusty spotted cats,

mouse deer Chevrotains, or mouse-deer, are small even-toed ungulates that make up the family Tragulidae, the only extant members of the infraorder Tragulina. The 10 extant species are placed in three genera, but several species also are known only f ...

and Indian giant squirrels (shekru). An ''ex-situ'' breeding centre is also planned by the zoo.

Gallery

Russell's viper sk.jpg,

Russell's viper Russell's viper (''Daboia russelii''), is a venomous snake in the family Viperidae native to the Indian subcontinent and one of the big four snakes in India. It was described in 1797 by George Shaw and Frederick Polydore Nodder, and named afte ...

Leopard at The Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park, Pune, India (1).JPG,

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 ...

Water Duck at The Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park, Pune, India.JPG,

Duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

Indian-Rock-Python.JPG,

Location

Slightly outside the city proper, the park is located along the

NH-48 National Highway 48 (NH 48) is a National Highway of India that starts at Delhi and terminates at Chennai traversing through seven states of India. It has a total length of 2807 km (1744 miles). NH 48 passes through the states of Delhi ...

on the banks of the Peshwa era Katraj lake, and close to

Bharati Vidyapeeth Bharati Vidyapeeth is a 58 year old private deemed to be university established in Pune, India. It was established in 1964 by Indian politician and educationist Patangrao Kadam. Bharati Vidyapeeth has campuses across the country at New Delhi, ...

University. The park is from the main city of

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

, close to the Katraj Bus Depot. PMPML buses may be obtained from

Swargate Swargate is an area of Pune, Maharashtra, India. This is one of the busiest areas in Pune. The Swargate connects Pune to various areas like Hadapsar, Fursungi, Dhankawadi, Bibwewadi, etc. The areas under Swargate include Guru Nanak Nagar, Mu ...

. The Katraj dairy is also close by.

References

External links

* {{Pune topics Zoos in Maharashtra Tourist attractions in Pune Parks in Pune 1999 establishments in Maharashtra Zoos established in 1999