Executive Director of Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens (Mysuru zoo) Ajith Kulkarni expressed happiness over the top ranking of the menagerie in the lists released by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) recently, as part of the zoo directors’ conference held in Bhubaneswar.
Speaking to DH, Kulkarni said that the Mysuru zoo had secured third rank in the overall category and second rank in large zoo category in the MEE-Zoo report of 2022, where MEE stands for Management Effectiveness Evaluation.
In the overall category, the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park (PNHZP) in Darjeeling, West Bengal, has been adjudged the best zoo in India, followed by Arignar Anna Zoological Park (Vandalur zoo) in Chennai, Mysuru zoo and Alipore Zoological Garden in Kolkata. In the large zoos category, the Vandalur zoo tops the list, followed by the Mysuru zoo and the Sakkarbaug Zoological Park in Gujarat.
There are just four guidelines, issued in the MEE-Zoo report, for action to be taken for the Mysuru zoo. They are: to systematically formulate and document identified mission, vision, objectives and strategy, as per the National Zoo Policy; to make efforts to pair single animals; to manage conservation breeding with improved scientific rigour, with development of detailed plans, and to pursue development of an interpretation centre.
The century-old Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens was established in 1892 by Tenth Chamaraja Wadiyar. It is home to 1,400-plus animals and birds of 152 species, from over 25 nations. With 80 acres of land, Mysuru Zoo includes Karanji Lake and is spread over a total of 157 acres.