Allen Forest Zoo
Encyclopedia
Allen Forest Zoo is a zoo
in Kanpur, the industrial hub of Uttar Pradesh
in North India
. It is the largest open green space in Kanpur. Originally a natural habitat for fauna, it is one of the few zoos in India which were created in a natural forest.
The Allen Forest Zoo is located about two kilometers from the city’s center. In earlier colonial records it is mentioned as being close to Nawabganj, some distance away from Bithoor. The zoo is an oasis of green, a natural lake, and ancient trees, and encompasses the largest land area of any zoological garden in Asia.
, it was named after him.
, leopard
, jaguar
, hyena
, black bear, grizzly bear
, sloth bear
, rhinoceros
, hippopotamus
, monkey
s, langoor, baboon
s, Musk deer, deer
, and antelope
. Chimpanzee
s (one of them named Chhajju, around 26 years of age) and orangutan
s (named Mangal, aged over 30 years) have their own island. Some monkey
s and deer
are allowed to roam outside the enclosures as natural inhabitants of the zoo.
Amphibian
s at the zoo include Indian gharial.
The Lion at the zoo died of an unknown disease during the month of November 2010. Talks are on to bring a new Lion from another zoo in exchange of an animal.
Recently a new tigress has been brought in the zoo.
The zoo houses a botanical garden with a collection of some of the country’s rare species of plants that is dotted with sylvan lakes. The zoo grounds are also professionally maintained by forest
conservationist
s, and it records large attendance from all age groups and communities in Kanpur. It is a popular destination for picnics, nature walks, and outdoor recreation, as well as teaching school students about natural habitats, environmental issues, and responsible eco-friendly living.
Lake
A rainwater lake is the centre of attraction at Allen Forest, and visitors can see hundreds of deer grazing in open savannah-like land without fear of any predator.
Aviary
The Aviary includes birds from all over the world, including Ostrich from Africa and Emu from Australia and New Zealand, parrots, crane, parakeets, various Indian birds as well as European fowl, and Latin American birds..
Night house
Night creatures are housed in a separate building.
Aquarium
The zoo includes an aquarium.
Dinosaurs
There are life size sculptures of pre-historic dinosaur
s.
Vehicles are allowed inside the zoo, but there is extra charge for this. Plastic water bottles and polythene bags are banned inside the park. Although photography is permitted, the zoo discourages visitors from feeding animals except in designated areas.
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
in Kanpur, the industrial hub of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
in North India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It is the largest open green space in Kanpur. Originally a natural habitat for fauna, it is one of the few zoos in India which were created in a natural forest.
The Allen Forest Zoo is located about two kilometers from the city’s center. In earlier colonial records it is mentioned as being close to Nawabganj, some distance away from Bithoor. The zoo is an oasis of green, a natural lake, and ancient trees, and encompasses the largest land area of any zoological garden in Asia.
History
The Zoological Park in Kanpur, (Cawnpore, Manchester of Asia, in British colonial period) was the brainchild of one Botanist Sir Allen, a member of the British Indian Civil Service. Sir Allen wanted to open the zoo in a natural forest, but his plans were stuck in bureaucratic red-tape and did not materialize. When the zoo was opened in 1971 by the government of independent IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, it was named after him.
Animals
Mammals at the zoo include White Asian tigers, Asiatic lions, cheetahCheetah
The cheetah is a large-sized feline inhabiting most of Africa and parts of the Middle East. The cheetah is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx, most notable for modifications in the species' paws...
, leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
, jaguar
Jaguar
The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...
, hyena
Hyena
Hyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...
, black bear, grizzly bear
Grizzly Bear
The grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America...
, sloth bear
Sloth Bear
The sloth bear , also known as the labiated bear, is a nocturnal insectivorous species of bear found wild within the Indian subcontinent. The sloth bear evolved from ancestral brown bears during the Pleistocene and shares features found in insect-eating mammals through convergent evolution...
, rhinoceros
Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....
, hippopotamus
Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
, monkey
Monkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
s, langoor, baboon
Baboon
Baboons are African and Arabian Old World monkeys belonging to the genus Papio, part of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. There are five species, which are some of the largest non-hominoid members of the primate order; only the mandrill and the drill are larger...
s, Musk deer, deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
, and antelope
Antelope
Antelope is a term referring to many even-toed ungulate species indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelopes comprise a miscellaneous group within the family Bovidae, encompassing those old-world species that are neither cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison, nor goats...
. Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
s (one of them named Chhajju, around 26 years of age) and orangutan
Orangutan
Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...
s (named Mangal, aged over 30 years) have their own island. Some monkey
Monkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
s and deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
are allowed to roam outside the enclosures as natural inhabitants of the zoo.
Amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
s at the zoo include Indian gharial.
The Lion at the zoo died of an unknown disease during the month of November 2010. Talks are on to bring a new Lion from another zoo in exchange of an animal.
Recently a new tigress has been brought in the zoo.
Attractions
Botanical gardenThe zoo houses a botanical garden with a collection of some of the country’s rare species of plants that is dotted with sylvan lakes. The zoo grounds are also professionally maintained by forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
conservationist
Conservationist
Conservationists are proponents or advocates of conservation. They advocate for the protection of all the species in an ecosystem with a strong focus on the natural environment...
s, and it records large attendance from all age groups and communities in Kanpur. It is a popular destination for picnics, nature walks, and outdoor recreation, as well as teaching school students about natural habitats, environmental issues, and responsible eco-friendly living.
Lake
A rainwater lake is the centre of attraction at Allen Forest, and visitors can see hundreds of deer grazing in open savannah-like land without fear of any predator.
Aviary
The Aviary includes birds from all over the world, including Ostrich from Africa and Emu from Australia and New Zealand, parrots, crane, parakeets, various Indian birds as well as European fowl, and Latin American birds..
Night house
Night creatures are housed in a separate building.
Aquarium
The zoo includes an aquarium.
Dinosaurs
There are life size sculptures of pre-historic dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s.
Conservation
The zoo included a veterinary hospital that treats up to 1,400 animals at a time, including hyenas, jaguars, and elephants that are brought into the zoo, usually after bad encounters with humans.Vehicles are allowed inside the zoo, but there is extra charge for this. Plastic water bottles and polythene bags are banned inside the park. Although photography is permitted, the zoo discourages visitors from feeding animals except in designated areas.