Locked Siliguri zoo unleashes delights virtually -Authorities shoot videos of the wild inmates and upload it on the official website, Facebook page

Binita Paul   |   TT   |   Siliguri   |  31.07.20  :  If you can’t go to the zoo amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the zoo can come to you on your screens. 

Authorities at the Bengal Safari Park, on the outskirts of Siliguri off NH31, have thought of an innovative way to cheer animal lovers during the lockdown. 

The six-year-old animal safari park is closed like since March like other zoos of the state and the country because of the raging pandemic. But authorities have shot videos of the wild inmates of the zoo and uploaded them on www.northbengalwildanimalspark.in, the official website, and also on its official Facebook page.

Dharmadeo Rai, director of the park, said they knew many people, children in particular, missed the animals. “We were exploring options on to how to reach out to people stuck at home during the lockdown,” Rai said. “Then, we thought of engaging our staff to shoot videos of animals in their enclosures.”

The results, Rai said, were very encouraging. 

“While some of our staff managed to shoot a video of tiger cubs in a playful mood, others caught on camera leopards relaxing in the enclosure or deer roaming around,” Rai said. “People, especially kids, can enjoy videos at home. We plan to upload more videos soon as there is no option for visitors to physically visit the park.”

As of now, the park has cubs Kika and Rika among the Royal Bengal Tigers, a number of leopards, a one-horned rhino, a Himalayan black bear, deer of a few species, gharials, birds in an aviary, and pet elephants.

Though the park is only six years old, it is immensely popular across north Bengal as the only facility in the state with safaris, said a forester. “It is only here that people can board a vehicle to go to an open enclosure where animals move around freely. In other zoos of the state, visitors can only walk up to an enclosure to see animals. The safari on pet elephants is another attraction,” he said. “But the pandemic changed everything.”

(Courtesy & source- https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/coronavirus-lockdown-locked-siliguri-zoo-unleashes-delights-virtually/cid/1787792)