Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The craze to watch exotic animals in the city zoo remains unabated, and over 20,000 people visited the zoo during the weekend. That Saturday was Mahashivratri, and a holiday also helped in pushing up the numbers.
According to zoo authorities, 7,000 to 8,000 visitors came to the zoo on Saturday, and on Sunday, the number swelled to anywhere between 12,000 to 13,000. At one point, there was a minor traffic jam as the long queue in front of the ticket counter reached right up to the road and auto-rickshaws and other vehicles stationed there added to the problem. However, the police were prompt and came to the spot to clear the traffic.
People were more excited and interested in seeing the exotic animals in the zoo. Some species that drew attention were hedgehogs, iguanas, red-winged macaws, blue-gold macaws, sugar gliders, cockatoos, eared slider turtles, and bearded dragons were the attractions of the day.
Zoo officials said that during holidays, usually, 5,000 to 7,000 visitors come to the zoo, but the Sunday crowd was unexpected.
“Along with the employees, volunteers were also deployed in the zoo to take care of the arrangements and facilities at the zoo,” said officials.
And in the future, more is in store for visitors. Zoo authorities said that around 42 animals of 15 different species, including African Black Python and Flying Squirrel were expected to come under a large-scale animal exchange programme. The animal exchange programme has been undertaken along with the Green Zoological Garden of Jamnagar, Gujarat and some other places abroad.
Under the programme, exotic varieties of primates and rare avians will be brought to the Indore zoo from the Jamnagar zoo. Moreover, flying squirrels will be sourced from Australia. Furthermore, lions and alligators were sent to the Jamnagar zoo in exchange for the new varieties of animals.
