Lucknow Zoo
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Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Prani Udyan, earlier known as Prince of Wales Zoological Gardens or popularly known as Lucknow Zoological Garden (
Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
: ''Lakhnaū Chiṛiyāghara''), and Banaarsi Baag, is a
zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility where animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoology, ...
located in the heart of the capital city of
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
named after
Wajid Ali Shah Mirza Wajid Ali Shah () (30 July 1822 – 1 September 1887) was the eleventh and last King of Awadh, holding the position for 9 years, from 13 February 1847 to 11 February 1856. Wajid Ali Shah's first wife was Alam Ara who was better known a ...
- the last
Nawab of Awadh The Nawab of Awadh or Nawab of Oudh was the title of the rulers of Kingdom of Awadh (anglicised as Oudh) in northern India during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Nawabs of Awadh belonged to an Iranian dynasty''Encyclopædia Iranica'', R. B. B ...
. According to the Central Zoo Authority of India, it is a large zoo. The Prince of Wales Zoological Gardens, was established in the year 1921 to commemorate the visit of the
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...
to Lucknow. The idea of establishing Zoological gardens at Lucknow emanated from
Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...
Harcourt Butler, the Governor of the State.


History

The Uttar Pradesh Govt, vide letter No. 1552/14-4-2001-30/90, Van Anubhag-4, dated 4 June 2001, changed the name of "Prince of Wales Zoological Gardens.Trust, Lucknow" to "Lucknow Prani Udyan".


Management

The zoo is being managed as a trust by the Zoo Advisory Committee, with Forest Secretary to the Govt. of
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
as Chairman, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Uttar Pradesh as Vice Chairman and Chief Wildlife Warden, Uttar Pradesh as Administrator. An officer of the rank of Deputy Conservator of Forests is posted as Director for over all day-to-day management of the zoo. In 2012, there was a proposition to start a cell-bank or a 'frozen zoo' for the conservation of endangered species. The proposal is still under consideration.


Attractions


Species

The zoo receives about 1,100,000–1,200,000 visitors annually. The zoo is home to 463 mammals, 298 birds, and 72 reptiles representing 97 species, including the royal Bengal tiger, white Bengal tiger,
Asiatic lion The Asiatic lion is a lion population of the subspecies ''Panthera leo leo''. Until the 19th century, it occurred in Saudi Arabia, eastern Turkey, Iran, Mesopotamia, and from east of the Indus River in Pakistan to the Bengal region and the Narm ...
,
gray wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...
,
hoolock gibbon The hoolock gibbons are three primate species of genus ''Hoolock'' in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae, native to eastern Bangladesh, Northeast India, Myanmar, and Southwest China. Description Hoolocks are the second-largest of the gibbons, after ...
,
Himalayan black bear The Himalayan black bear (''Ursus thibetanus laniger'') is a subspecies of the Asian black bear. It is distinguished from '' U. t. thibetanus'' by its longer, thicker fur and smaller, whiter chest mark. The species is considered an ecological ind ...
,
Indian rhinoceros The Indian rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis''), also known as the greater one-horned rhinoceros, great Indian rhinoceros or Indian rhino, is a species of rhinoceros found in the Indian subcontinent. It is the second largest living rhinocer ...
,
blackbuck The blackbuck (''Antilope cervicapra''), also known as the Indian antelope, is a medium-sized 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 sh ...
, swamp deer, barking deer,
hog deer ''Axis'' is a genus of deer occurring in South and Southeast Asia. As presently defined by most authorities, four species are placed in the genus. Three of the four species are called hog deer. The genus name is a word mentioned in Pliny the Elde ...
, Asiatic elephant,
giraffe The giraffe is a large Fauna of Africa, African even-toed ungulate, hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the Largest mammals#Even-toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on ...
,
zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. ...
,
European otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, European river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia and the Maghreb. The most widely distributed member o ...
s, hill mynahs, giant squirrels, great pied hornbill,
golden pheasant The golden pheasant (''Chrysolophus pictus''), also known as the Chinese pheasant, and rainbow pheasant, is a gamebird of the order Galliformes (gallinaceous birds) and the family Phasianidae (pheasants). The genus name is from Ancient Greek ' ...
,
silver pheasant The silver pheasant (''Lophura nycthemera'') is a species of pheasant found in forests, mainly in mountains, of mainland Southeast Asia and eastern and southern China. It is introduced on Victoria Island in Nahuel Huapi Lake, Neuquén, Argenti ...
etc. The zoo is successfully breeding swamp deer, blackbuck, hog deer and barking deer, white tiger,
Indian wolf The Indian wolf (''Canis lupus pallipes'') is a subspecies of gray wolf that ranges from Southwest Asia to the Indian subcontinent. It is intermediate in size between the Himalayan wolf and the Arabian wolf, and lacks the former's luxuriant wint ...
and several pheasants. It is one of the only two zoos in India to exhibit an orangutan (the other being the Kanpur Zoo).


Toy Train

A Toy Train was started in 1969. The rolling stock consisting of engine and two coaches is the gift of Railway Board. The train was inaugurated on the Children's Day 14 November 1969 by the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Chandra Bhanu Gupta. The track is long and has crossings and signals. Rides start from Chandrapuri station and travel to almost every section of the zoo. The glorious chapter in Lucknow’s history came to an end on Wednesday, 21 November 2013 as the journey of the ‘toy train’ that chugged in the city zoo for the last four decades, came to a halt. The 44-year–old toy train, that carried lakhs on it, was pulled out of service owing to plans of a revamp. The toy train has been parked in front of the state museum in the zoo premises. A new ‘Shatabdi–look–alike’ four–bogey toy train made by a Noida-based company started operating in the zoo premises on 28 February, 2014. The new track alignment laid from 22 November 2013 onwards ensured that the new train could cover maximum sightseeing areas of the zoo.


Vintage train

A British-era train will be an added attraction for visitors to the city zoo. The train was shifted to the zoo from Maharajganj, where it was lying almost discarded. The train belongs to 1924-period and was mainly used for transportation of timber between Ikma and Chauraha over a track of . In 1978 it was brought over to the forest department for use but being an uneconomical option, it was decided in 1981 that it would be phased out.


State Museum, Lucknow

Source: The Uttar Pradesh State Museum in Lucknow ,earlier situated in the Chattar Manzil and the Lal Baradari, was shifted to a new building in the Lucknow Zoo in 1963. The initial collection centered around the arts of Avadh and objects related to the customs, habits, mythology and contemporary objects of Awadh, but later on, it was expanded to more interesting, excavated antiquities from nearby places of Lucknow, particularly from Kapilavastu where Buddha grew up. Today, the Museum has become a centre of Lucknow's (Awadh's) sculpture, bronzes, paintings, natural history & anthropological specimens, coins, textiles and decorative arts. The (1000 BC)
Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...
Mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and Organ (biology), organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to Chemical substance, chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the ...
and wooden sarcophagus in the Prince of Wales Zoological Garden (Lucknow Zoo) are a centre of attraction. From the vast number of displayed objects, some hundred are rare and of great value. These include an inscribed wine jar bearing the name of Aurangzeb Alamgir (17th century), a jade chamakali with the name Jahangir and the date 1036 AD, a 16th-century painting of a scene from the Kalpasutra, a 16th-century copy of the Harivansha in Persian with nine illustrations, rare silver and gold coins.


See also

* 1971 Flood in Lucknow * Etawah Safari Park * Kanpur Zoological Park * Shaheed Ashfaq Ullah Khan Prani Udyan *
Wajid Ali Shah Mirza Wajid Ali Shah () (30 July 1822 – 1 September 1887) was the eleventh and last King of Awadh, holding the position for 9 years, from 13 February 1847 to 11 February 1856. Wajid Ali Shah's first wife was Alam Ara who was better known a ...


References


External links

*
Official website of: "Central Zoo Authority of India" (CZA), Government of India
{{authority control Zoos in Uttar Pradesh Tourist attractions in Lucknow Educational organizations established in 1921 Zoos established in the 1920s 1921 establishments in British India