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The Thiruvananthapuram Zoo (also known as Trivandrum Zoo) is located in
the city of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, India. It
occupies 55 acres (22 ha) of woodland, lakes, and lawns. It is the
oldest zoo in Asia.
Thiruvananthapuram Zoo is one of the oldest of its kind in India. Swathi
Thirunal Rama Varma, who ruled Travancore between 1830 and 1847,
established a menagerie where royal tigers, panthers, cheetahs, deer,
boar, and other wild animals were kept.
His
brother Uthram Thirunal and British Resident William Cullen formally
establish the Zoo in 1857 as an annex to the Napier Museum. |
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The zoo
was originally built with the typical iron-barred cages prevalent at the
time, and was designed for recreational purposes, but with increased
loss of forest and wildlife due to human development, the goal of the
Zoo has changed from recreation to conservation.
A modernization project started in 1995 aims to gradually replace the
old enclosures with spacious naturalistic enclosures. The state
government of Kerala is undertaking this renovation with financial and
technical help from the Central Zoo Authority.
The Thiruvananthapuram Zoo is home to 82 species from around the world.
Indigenous species at the zoo include lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri
langur, Indian rhinoceros, Asiatic lion, royal Bengal tiger, White Tiger
and leopard, as well a nine Asian elephants (as of March 31, 2009).
Animals from Africa include giraffes, hippos, zebras, and Cape buffalos.
The zoo also includes a snake farm which exhibits both poisonous and
non-poisonous snakes.
Sources: Wikipedia
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