Another cock-and-roo story

Yes, the gods who govern our public 'attractions' are at it again. This time, and we must reiterate with extreme disappointment, plans are afloat to bring down all kinds of exotic species to the Byculla zoo. This decision came in the wake of the most recent development where additional land (seven acres) has just been acquired adjacent to its current premises.

The zoo, set up way back in 1862, is clearly entering into new terrain as part of this ambitious 'makeover' plan. Instead of the recent death of the infant Humboldt penguin acting as an eye-opener to avoid such misadventures, the authorities, on the contrary, seem to have turned a blind eye to the loss of the little inhabitant. According to this new plan, the plot will be divided into African, Australian and South American zones for animals from those continents. Imagine a kangaroo, a cheetah and a common marmoset having to adjust to this new landscape.

Zoo officials have confidently claimed in news reports that not all of these animals will be sourced from overseas as most species are found in domestic zoos. Wow. Even as we read these words in fine print, it makes us shudder over the amount of stress and shock that these speechless creatures would have to endure, whenever this harebrained idea begins to take shape and form.

Instead of getting back to the drawing board to figure out what went wrong, and how to improve things, authorities here seem to be set for a bullet train ride (sorry, we had to add that bit).

We have just one question to ask - taking off from senior environmentalist Bittu Sahgal's comment to this newspaper when we had reached out to him following the death of the little penguin in the enclosure - why not celebrate the fauna of our home state? How many kids in the city are even aware of the state's animal and bird? Well, it's the Giant Malabar Squirrel and the Green Imperial Pigeon.

So, unless you've been lucky enough to have spotted them in the forests of Maharashtra or as taxidermy displays at the Natural History section of CSMVS, chances are you're pretty clueless about these two species.

That's the state of our education awareness programmes. And, what better place than the zoo to offer this to young, impressionable minds? Cities and nations across the globe are doing this with success, thought and vision. Singapore, a comparatively young country is a case in point where all its public attractions (including its zoo and bird park) are a salute to how learning can be made fun.

Why must we look overseas to draw crowds to zoos? As a very senior cultural decision maker in the city had once remarked to us, "Foreign tourists do not come to India to gaze at its modern bridges and highways; but to admire our culture, heritage and natural wonders." Well said, sir.

It is this critical observation that reminds us of how very dreadfully off target such ideas are. From zoos vying for exotic species to metro lines breaking down an
already overburdened infrastructure, the optimist in us is hoping that the odd wise mind stands up and brings some method to the madness.

mid-day's Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the city's sights, sounds, smells and stones...wherever the ink and the inclination takes her. She tweets @bombayana Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com

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