Trivandrum Zoo
Encyclopedia
The Thiruvananthapuram Zoo (also known as Trivandrum Zoo) is located in the city of Thiruvananthapuram
, the capital of Kerala
, India
. It occupies 55 acres (22.3 ha) of woodland, lakes, and lawns.
The Thiruvananthapuram Zoo was established by the Maharaja of Travancore
in 1857 as an annex to the Napier Museum
. The zoo was originally built with the typical iron-barred cages prevalent at the time, and was designed for recreational purposes, but with increased loss of forest and wildlife due to human development, the goal of the Zoo
has changed from recreation to conservation.
A modernization project started in 1995 aims to gradually replace the old enclosures with spacious naturalistic enclosures. The state government of Kerala is undertaking this renovation with financial and technical help from the Central Zoo Authority.
, Nilgiri langur
, Indian rhinoceros
, Asiatic lion
, royal Bengal tiger
, and leopard
, as well a nine Asian elephants
(as of March 31 2009). Animals from Africa include giraffe
s, hippos
, zebra
s, and Cape buffalo
s.
The zoo also includes a snake farm which exhibits both poisonous and non-poisonous snakes.
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
, the capital of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, 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 occupies 55 acres (22.3 ha) of woodland, lakes, and lawns.
History
Maharaja of Travancore
Maharaja of Travancore was the principal title of the ruler of the Kingdom of Travancore in India.-Venad Kulasekhara Dynasty:#Anizham Tirunal Marthanda Varma 1729–1758#Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma 1758–1798#Balarama Varma 1798–1810...
in 1857 as an annex to the Napier Museum
Napier Museum
The Napier Museum is an art and natural history museum situated in Thiruvananthapuram , the capital city of Kerala, India.-History:...
. The zoo was originally built with the typical iron-barred cages prevalent at the time, and was designed for recreational purposes, but with increased loss of forest and wildlife due to human development, the goal of the Zoo
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....
has changed from recreation to conservation.
A modernization project started in 1995 aims to gradually replace the old enclosures with spacious naturalistic enclosures. The state government of Kerala is undertaking this renovation with financial and technical help from the Central Zoo Authority.
Animals
The Thiruvananthapuram Zoo is home to 82 species from around the world. Indigenous species at the zoo include lion-tailed macaqueLion-tailed Macaque
The lion-tailed macaque is an Old World monkey that is endemic to the Western Ghats of South India.-Physical Characteristics:...
, Nilgiri langur
Nilgiri Langur
The Nilgiri langur is a lutung found in the Nilgiri Hills of the Western Ghats in South India. Its range also includes Kodagu in Karnataka,Kodayar Hills in Tamil Nadu and many other hilly areas in Kerala and Tamil nadu. This primate has glossy black fur on its body and golden brown fur on its head...
, Indian rhinoceros
Indian Rhinoceros
The Indian Rhinoceros is also called Greater One-horned Rhinoceros and Asian One-horned Rhinoceros and belongs to the Rhinocerotidae family...
, Asiatic lion
Asiatic Lion
The Asiatic lion also known as the Indian lion, Persian lion and Eurasian Lion is a subspecies of lion. The only place in the wild where the lion is found is in the Gir Forest of Gujarat, India...
, royal 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...
, and 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...
, as well a nine Asian elephants
Asian Elephant
The Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....
(as of March 31 2009). Animals from Africa include giraffe
Giraffe
The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...
s, hippos
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...
, zebra
Zebra
Zebras are several species of African equids united by their distinctive black and white stripes. Their stripes come in different patterns unique to each individual. They are generally social animals that live in small harems to large herds...
s, and Cape buffalo
African Buffalo
The African buffalo, affalo, nyati, Mbogo or Cape buffalo is a large African bovine. It is not closely related to the slightly larger wild Asian water buffalo, but its ancestry remains unclear...
s.
The zoo also includes a snake farm which exhibits both poisonous and non-poisonous snakes.