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The Zoological Garden, Mysore |
The Zoological Garden was
established by Maharaja Chamaraja Wodeyar, one of the architects of modern
Mysore. He was a lover of nature and was responsible for creating many parks and
gardens. The famous Bandipur Game Sanctuary was established during his time for
entertaining important guests who visited his State and also for providing an
opportunity for them to see the wild animals in their natural habitat. The Zoo
Garden was created in a portion of the Summer Palace or Pleasure Palace in the
eastern part of Mysore City. Then called the Palace Zoo, it was opened in 1892.
Initially, the Zoo covered an area of 10 acres of the Summer Palace. The
Maharaja engaged the services of Mr. G.H. Krumbeigal, German landscaper and
horticulturist, who had created the beautiful and the famous Brindavan Gardens
in Krishnarajasagar and the Cubbon Park in Bangalore. A lover of animals, the
Maharaja took care to see that spacious and aesthetic enclosures are provided to
the wild animals, which continue to be useful even today. Mr. Huge, an
Australian, who was selected for the purpose and appointed as the Zoo
Superintendent, a few years later supervised the expansion of the zoo to 45
acres. On realising the popularity of the Zoo after 10 years of its beginning,
the Maharaja felt it would be appropriate to open the institution to the public
considering its importance as a recreational and educational value. It was
carved out from the adjoining Summer Palace and became a separate part. Over the
years, it became popular as the Mysore Zoo.
During those days, there were only a few zoos established by the Maharajas,
Nawabs and British rulers in only a few provinces. Besides Mysore, only Madras
(Chennai), Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram), Calcutta (Kolkota), Lucknow and
Victoria Garden in Bombay (Mumbai) had similar zoos. But, the Mysore Zoo came to
be recognised as one of the best zoos in the country. Besides an excellent
collection of animals, the Mysore Zoo could boast of a beautiful bandstand
having in the backdrop the Chamundi Hills and also artificial lakes. After its
expansion, the Mysore Zoo was renamed as Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens,
after its illustrious founder, in 1909.
Whenever the Maharajas visited Africa and European countries, they selected rare
and interesting animals such as chimpanzees, giraffe, antelopes, primates, birds
and bears and added to their collection. The task of crating and transporting
the animals was entrusted to animal dealers. One such important dealer was Mr.
Herman Ruhe, a German who owned different zoos in Germany. Animals available in
the Mysore forests were exchanged for the animals procured from other countries
and as a result acquisition of a large number of animals of different species
was possible. Mr. Ruhe was a close associate of the Mysore Zoo for more than
eight decades. During his association with the Mysore Zoo for over five decades,
Mr. Albert Meems, a colleague of Mr. Ruhe, travelled a number of times along
with animals procured for the Zoo. These dealers had excellent knowledge in
exchanging and transporting the wild animals. They not only accompanied the
animals taking good care of them but also guided the Zoo authorities on rearing
the animals in the local conditions. The Maharajas, besides adding rare and
exotic collection of wild animals, also converted the Mysore Zoo into an
'orphanage' for rearing abandoned animals, such as calves of elephants, gaur,
tigers and leopards. The elephant calves caught in the famous Khedda operations
were reared here, before being sent abroad. Breeding of many exotic animals such
as zebra, eland/antelope, barbery sheep, emus, giraffe and kangaroos was done
successfully in the zoo and given away to other zoos in India and abroad.
Superintendents like Mr. Huge, Mr. Siddaraje Urs and Mr. S. Anantharamaiah
nourished and administered the Zoo bringing it a place of pride among the zoos
in the country.
After Independence, the Zoo was gifted from the Palace to the Department of
Parks and Gardens of the Mysore State Government in 1948. When Dr. M.H.
Marigowda, who had been educated at Harvard and worked in Kew Gardens became the
Director of Parks and Gardens, the Zoo was expanded with the acquisition of 50
acres of the adjoining Kensington Garden with its famous 'Thandi Sadak' (Cool
Avenue) or 'Daly Avenue', from the Palace. Later the 150-acre Karanji Tank area
was also added to the Zoo, expanding it to the present 250 acres. Programmes for
breeding rare animals were taken up.
New enclosures on modern lines with fences and moats were built and a face-lift
was given. Man-made islands were created and trees were planted in the Karanji
Tank water body, converting it into a miniature sanctuary of birds like painted
storks, grey pelicans, Cormorants, Darters, spoonbills, Ibis, Jacana, Coots,
various ducks and other species of birds. Boating facility for visitors was
arranged. In 1972, the Government handed over the Zoo management to the Forest
Department and subsequently it was entrusted to an autonomous body in 1979. The
Zoo Authority of Karnataka became the first of its kind in India to manage a
zoo. By then, the Zoo had become a successful captive breeding centre for
several rare and endangered species such as chimpanzee, hippopotamus, great
Indian one-horned rhino, African black rhino, Asian elephant, giraffe, tigers,
lions and other animals. Besides becoming first in producing some of these rare
animals in captivity, it became famous as one of the first zoos in the world
where a successful caesarian surgery was done on an elephant. Dr. Bird, an
Australian gynecologist, carried this out. By 1986-87, it could boast of an
excellent collection of 885 wild animals and birds, apart from many firsts to
its credit. It was successful in breeding 87 species of both exotic and
indigenous animals in captivity.
Even now the over a century old Mysore Zoo has its own distinctive exhibits with
modern and spacious enclosures, walk-throughs, a veterinary hospital with
accommodation for quarantine, operation theatre, medicine rooms and wards for
animals. It also carries out educational activities relating to animals. The
Mysore Zoo has become an important tourist attraction in the city.
Location: About 3 kms from the City Bus Stand and 2 kms from the Palace.
Timings: 8-30 a.m. to 5-30 p.m.
Weekly Off: Tuesday
Annual Feast: August 11, every year.
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