Bahawalpur Zoo established in 1942, is a 25 acres (10.1 ha) zoological garden in Bahawalpur

Bahawalpur

Bahawalpur , located in the province of Punjab, is the twelfth largest city in Pakistan. The city was once the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur. The city was home to various Nawabs and counted as part of the Rajputana states...

, Punjab, Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

. It is managed by the Government of Pakistan

Government of Pakistan

The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...

.

The zoo has occasionally bred and supplied wild cats, such as lion

Lion

The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...

s and Bengal tigers, to other zoos in the country. It also has an aquarium and zoological museum with stuffed birds, reptiles and mammals.

History

Bahawalpur zoo was set up in 1942 by the former Aamir of Bahawalpur, Sir Nawab Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi. It was then named "Sher Bagh" (meaning Lion Garden). In 1955, the administration of the zoo was transferred to the Department of Agriculture. From 1977 to 1982, the zoo remained under the control of the Department of the Live Stock Punjab.

Exhibits

The exhibits are a mix between old style cages and newer moated enclosures. One older exhibit houses a pair of domestic cats, jackal

Jackal

Although the word jackal has been historically used to refer to many small- to medium-sized species of the wolf genus of mammals, Canis, today it most properly and commonly refers to three species: the black-backed jackal and the side-striped jackal of sub-Saharan Africa, and the golden jackal of...

s, Indian wolves

Indian Wolf

Indian wolf and Iranian Wolf are two common names for Canis lupus pallipes, a subspecies of grey wolf which inhabits western India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and southern Israel. Some experts have suggested at least some C. lupus pallipes populations be re-classified a canid species...

, and an Indian civet cat. Crocodile

Crocodile

A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...

s are kept in a large outdoor enclosure. Other wolves, lion

Lion

The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...

s, tiger

Tiger

The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...

s, and 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...

s are housed in more modern moated enclosures. A large pond in the zoo is home to pelican

Pelican

A pelican, derived from the Greek word πελεκυς pelekys is a large water bird with a large throat pouch, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae....

s, cranes

Crane (bird)

Cranes are a family, Gruidae, of large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the order Gruiformes. There are fifteen species of crane in four genera. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back...

, and geese

Goose

The word goose is the English name for a group of waterfowl, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller....

. Blackbuck

Blackbuck

Blackbuck is a species of antelope native to the Indian subcontinent. Their range decreased sharply during the 20th century. Since 2003, the IUCN lists the species as near threatened....

, hog deer

Hog Deer

The Hog Deer is a small deer whose habitat ranges from Pakistan, through northern India, to mainland southeast Asia...

, nilgai

Nilgai

The nilgai , sometimes called nilgau, is an antelope, and is one of the most commonly seen wild animals of central and northern India and eastern Pakistan; it is also present in parts of southern Nepal. The mature males appear ox-like and are also known as blue bulls...

, European red deer

Red Deer

The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...

, chinkara

Chinkara

The Chinkara is a species of gazelle found in south Asia.-Habitat and Distribution:It lives in grasslands and desert areas in India, Bangladesh and parts of Iran and Pakistan...

, and European mouflon

Mouflon

The mouflon is a subspecies group of the wild sheep Ovis aries. Populations of Ovis aries can be partitioned into the mouflons and urials or arkars...

 are all housed in large paddocks.

The zoo also includes a museum with stuffed animals, including what is claimed to be the last lion shot in the Punjab.

Animals

Aves

• Budgerigar
  Budgerigar
  The Budgerigar , also known as Common Pet Parakeet or Shell Parakeet informally nicknamed the budgie, is a small, long-tailed, seed-eating parrot, and the only species in the Australian genus Melopsittacus...
  
  
• Chukar Partridge
• Common Pheasant
  Common Pheasant
  The Common Pheasant , is a bird in the pheasant family . It is native to Georgia and has been widely introduced elsewhere as a game bird. In parts of its range, namely in places where none of its relatives occur such as in Europe , it is simply known as the "pheasant"...
  
  
• Demoiselle Crane
  Demoiselle Crane
  The Demoiselle Crane, Anthropoides virgo, is a species of crane that breeds in Central Asia and winters in India, with a few found in Cyprus and eastern Turkey as well. The crane annually migrates to Africa and South Asia in winter...
  
  
• Emu
  Emu
  The Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the largest bird native to Australia and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius. It is the second-largest extant bird in the world by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich. There are three subspecies of Emus in Australia...
  
  
• Great White Pelican
• Greylag Goose
  Greylag Goose
  The Greylag Goose , Anser anser, is a bird with a wide range in the Old World. It is the type species of the genus Anser....
  
  
• Indian Peafowl
  Indian Peafowl
  The Indian Peafowl or Blue Peafowl is a large and brightly coloured bird of the pheasant family native to South Asia, but introduced and semi-feral in many other parts of the world...
  
  
• Ostrich
  Ostrich
  The Ostrich is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a...
  
  
• Rock Pigeon
  Rock Pigeon
  The Rock Dove or Rock Pigeon, is a member of the bird family Columbidae . In common usage, this bird is often simply referred to as the "pigeon"....
  
  
• Rose-ringed Parakeet
  Rose-ringed Parakeet
  The Rose-ringed Parakeet , also known as the Ringnecked Parakeet, is a gregarious tropical parakeet species that has an extremely large range. Since the trend of the population appears to be increasing, the species has been evaluated as Least Concern by IUCN in 2009.Rose-ringed parakeets are...
  
  
• Silver Pheasant
  Silver Pheasant
  The Silver Pheasant is a species of pheasant found in forests, mainly in mountains, of mainland Southeast Asia, and eastern and southern China, with introduced populations in Hawaii and various locations in the US mainland. The male is black and white, while the female is mainly brown...
  
  
• Western Crowned Pigeon
  Western Crowned Pigeon
  The Western Crowned Pigeon, also known as the Common Crowned Pigeon or Blue Crowned Pigeon, Goura cristata, is a large, blue-grey pigeon with blue lacy crests over the head and dark blue mask feathers around its eyes. Both sexes are almost similar but males are often larger than females...
  
  
• Wild Turkey
  Wild Turkey
  The Wild Turkey is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which derives from the South Mexican subspecies of wild turkey .Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green...
  
  

Mammals

• Asian Black Bear
• Bengal Tiger
  Bengal Tiger
  The Bengal tiger is a tiger subspecies native to the Indian subcontinent that in 2010 has been classified as endangered by IUCN...
  
  
• Black Buck
  Black Buck
  For the mammal, see Blackbuck. For the RAF operation, see Operation Black Buck.In post-Reconstruction United States, Black Buck was a racial slur used to describe a certain type of African American men...
  
  
• Chinkara
  Chinkara
  The Chinkara is a species of gazelle found in south Asia.-Habitat and Distribution:It lives in grasslands and desert areas in India, Bangladesh and parts of Iran and Pakistan...
  
   (Indian Gazelle)
• Chital
  Chital
  The chital or cheetal , also known as chital deer, spotted deer or axis deer is a deer which commonly inhabits wooded regions of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and in small numbers in Pakistan...
  
   (Spotted Deer)
• Hog Deer
  Hog Deer
  The Hog Deer is a small deer whose habitat ranges from Pakistan, through northern India, to mainland southeast Asia...
  
  
• Himalayan Brown Bear
  Himalayan Brown Bear
  The Himalayan Brown Bear , also known as the Himalayan Red Bear, Isabelline Bear or Dzu-Teh, is a subspecies of the Brown Bear. The bear is thought to be the source of the legend of the Yeti....
  
  
• Indian Wolf
  Indian Wolf
  Indian wolf and Iranian Wolf are two common names for Canis lupus pallipes, a subspecies of grey wolf which inhabits western India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and southern Israel. Some experts have suggested at least some C. lupus pallipes populations be re-classified a canid species...
  
  
• 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...
  
  
• Lion
  Lion
  The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
  
  
• Llama
  Llama
  The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....
  
  
• Mouflon
  Mouflon
  The mouflon is a subspecies group of the wild sheep Ovis aries. Populations of Ovis aries can be partitioned into the mouflons and urials or arkars...
  
  
• Nilgai
  Nilgai
  The nilgai , sometimes called nilgau, is an antelope, and is one of the most commonly seen wild animals of central and northern India and eastern Pakistan; it is also present in parts of southern Nepal. The mature males appear ox-like and are also known as blue bulls...
  
   (Blue Bull)
• Plains Zebra
  Plains Zebra
  The plains zebra , also known as the common zebra or Burchell's zebra, is the most common and geographically widespread species of zebra. It ranges from the south of Ethiopia through East Africa to as far south as Angola and eastern South Africa...
  
  
• Red Deer
  Red Deer
  The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
  
  
• Red-necked Wallaby
  Red-necked Wallaby
  The Red-necked Wallaby is a medium-sized marsupial macropod, common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania.- Description :...
  
  
• Rhesus Macaque
  Rhesus Macaque
  The Rhesus macaque , also called the Rhesus monkey, is one of the best-known species of Old World monkeys. It is listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, and its tolerance of a broad range of habitats...
  
  
• Sambar
• Small Indian Civet
  Small Indian Civet
  The Small Indian Civet or Rasse is a species of civet found across south and South-east Asia as well as in the Indonesian archipelago. The Assamese name Johamaal refers to its glandular odour similar to a scented rice variety called Joha...
  
  

Reptiles

• Mugger Crocodile
  Mugger Crocodile
  The mugger crocodile , also called the Indian, Indus, Persian, or marsh crocodile, is found throughout the Indian subcontinent and the surrounding countries...
  
  
• Spur-thighed Tortoise

Conservation

This zoo has bred various threatened species of Asian black bear, Bengal tiger

Bengal Tiger

The Bengal tiger is a tiger subspecies native to the Indian subcontinent that in 2010 has been classified as endangered by IUCN...

, blackbuck

Blackbuck

Blackbuck is a species of antelope native to the Indian subcontinent. Their range decreased sharply during the 20th century. Since 2003, the IUCN lists the species as near threatened....

, hog deer

Hog Deer

The Hog Deer is a small deer whose habitat ranges from Pakistan, through northern India, to mainland southeast Asia...

, 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...

 and lion

Lion

The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...

. Others like chinkara

Chinkara

The Chinkara is a species of gazelle found in south Asia.-Habitat and Distribution:It lives in grasslands and desert areas in India, Bangladesh and parts of Iran and Pakistan...

 (Indian gazelle), chital

Chital

The chital or cheetal , also known as chital deer, spotted deer or axis deer is a deer which commonly inhabits wooded regions of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and in small numbers in Pakistan...

 (spotted deer), and nilgai

Nilgai

The nilgai , sometimes called nilgau, is an antelope, and is one of the most commonly seen wild animals of central and northern India and eastern Pakistan; it is also present in parts of southern Nepal. The mature males appear ox-like and are also known as blue bulls...

(blue bull) are also breeding successfully in the zoo.