Member-Secretary of Central Zoo Authority Sanjay Kumar Shukla at Zoo Directors Conference valedictory

Mysore/Mysuru: The two-day National Conference for Zoo Directors that began at Hotel Radisson Blu Plaza on Jan. 18 concluded on Thursday evening. Over 57 delegates including directors and representatives from 25 States, experts and resource persons and senior officials attended the conference that was organised by Central Zoo Authority (CZA) and Zoo Authority of Karnataka (ZAK)

In his valedictory address, Member-Secretary of Central Zoo Authority Dr. Sanjay Kumar Shukla said that it is important to disseminate information at all Zoos in the local language that can be easily understood by the local population.

“Zoos play a keyrole in nature education and spreading the message of how important it is to save wildlife. The idea of a Zoo in a particular region is to disseminate information and if the information is in an alien language, the purpose is not served. For example, the Zoos in Karnataka must have information in Kannada so that people can understand and be a part of conservation efforts,” he said.

He called upon all Zoo Directors to reach out to the people on the conservation and animal rescue initiatives. “Unless the information reaches the public in the language they understand, we cannot involve people in conservation efforts. “What the Zoos are doing on biodiversity conservation must be told to the society for greater involvement and participation,” he opined

Best practices to be shared

Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Chief Wildlife Warden Rajiv Ranjan said that Karnataka could share the best practices that are being implemented across all its Zoos and the success story can be replicated in the Zoos of other States. “We will be happy to share the best practices if you think some initiatives in our State Zoos are worth adopting towards improving the management of Zoos,” he said.

At the same time, the Karnataka Zoos are ready to incorporate suggestions or feedback that have been expressed at the conference, he said. Complimenting Mysuru Zoo for its many initiatives, Ranjan said that the Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens (Mysuru Zoo) is one of the best and oldest Zoos in India that is very well managed.

“I am amazed by the way the Mysuru Zoo is spreading the message of conservation and educating visitors on wildlife. Its summer camps are much in demand and people stand in a beeline to glean information from animal handlers and officers,” he said.

Revenue sharing

Ranjan recalled how funds poured into the Mysuru Zoo when the COVID pandemic was at its peak and at a time when the gate collection was zero.

“At a time when many Zoos were struggling to manage their day-to-day affairs, the Mysuru Zoo comfortably handled the crisis and the ZAK was able to distribute funds to other Zoos in Karnataka,” he revealed.

On the revenue generation part, Rajiv Ranjan noted that the surplus revenue from large Zoos like Bannerghatta Biological Park in Bengaluru and Mysuru Zoo were used to support small and mini Zoos.

“In Karnataka, the large Zoos handheld the smaller ones and supported them during financial crisis and other aspects of development. This is a best practice and can be replicated in all States,” he suggested.

Zoo Authority of Karnataka Chairman M. Shivakumar, ZAK Member-Secretary B.P. Ravi, Mysuru Zoo Executive Director Ajit Kulkarni, ZAK Member Jyothi Rechanna and others officials were present.