Vandalur zoo boasts of rare species, but reeks of poor maintenance

D Madhavan, TNN Feb 6, 2009, 04.36am IST

CHENNAI: To remove eight-year-old S Girinandanan's fear of animals, his father V Satish Kumar took him to the Vandalur zoo on Wednesday. He is no longer scared of animals, but he fears to go into a toilet. Girinandanan had come shrieking out of the toilet in the zoo. Kumar later explained the condition of the toilet thus: horrible.

"It is ironic to see a place known globally for hosting rare species of animals but lacking in such basic amenities as clean toilets. It would give a bad impression to foreign tourists about our country in maintaining its tourist spots, especially wildlife sanctuaries," said Satish Kumar, a Bangalore-based businessman. Vandalur zoo, officially known as the Arignar Anna Zoological Park, is South Asia's biggest zoological park.

Located 31 km south of Chennai, the zoo houses 2,553 species of flora and fauna across 1,265 acres. There are 46 endangered animals such as the Nilgris macaques and other rare species like monitor lizard, chimpanzees, European brown bear, muscovy duck, giraffe, white tiger, lemur, macaque, vulture, and star tortoises housed in the zoo. In fact, the Vandalur zoo is credited with being the one with the highest rate of success in captive breeding of lion-tailed macaques. Currently, the zoo has 22 lion-tailed macaques, up from two, brought in 1983.

Established as the first zoo in the country in 1855 as Madras Zoo near Park Town, it was shifted to the Vandalur reserve forest in 1979. Even as the zoo procured rare species from across the world, civic amenities had remained black spots in the zoo's map. Leaky pipes and overflowing slush are a common sight here. According to zoo authorities, an average of 5,000 tourists visit the zoo on weekdays and the number goes up to nearly 10,000 on holidays. On Kannum Pongal' on January 16, the zoo registered an all-time record of 57,000 visitors and collected a revenue of Rs 10.15 lakh.

With all the 16 toilets remaining in a pathetic condition, visitors prefer to relieve themselves behind the shrubs. Paan spits are all over the walls. Empty bottles of beer and other alcoholic beverages strewn around the grass and behind the bushes speak volumes of the activities that happen in the zoo. The authorities throw their hands up, saying it is virtually impossible to monitor such a huge space with its 170 staff, against a sanctioned strength of 300. Of the existing ones, twenty are recruited on a temporary basis. There are 60 vacancies of wild life keepers and sweepers.

There are several drinking water points but only a few taps give potable water. Some of the points don't have cups or tumblers and children are often seen wasting precious water. Otteri lake inside the zoo serves as the main source of water for all the needs of the zoo.

Food is another problem. With no eateries other than a few soft drink shops and a TTDC-run hotel at the entranace of the zoo, hungry tourists sometimes return half-way through the tour. Visitors are charged Rs 20 per adult and Rs 10 for children aged between 6 & 12.