For Rs. 1L you can adopt an Asiatic lion; children are top embracers
Around 50 people have adopted various animals at the Nehru Zoological Park during 2021-2022. “Of these, almost half of them are children,” the Deputy Curator of Hyderabad Zoo said.
By Amrutha Kosuru Published on 10 March 2022 1:14 PM GMT
Hyderabad: Children who come to the zoo are often enamored by the animals. "They almost always hope to take them home," said A. Nagamani, the deputy curator of the Hyderabad Zoo. While it's not possible to take the animals home, children can adopt them as part of the Hyderabad Zoo's animal adoption scheme.
Around 50 people have adopted various animals at the Nehru Zoological Park during 2021-2022. "Of these, almost half of them are children," Ms. Nagamani said. "They make small contributions. Sometimes they adopt an animal for a day or a week. But it is heart-warming to see the conviction children have towards animals when they see them," she added.
More than Rs. 1 crore has been collected as part of the animal adoption scheme, the highest since the scheme was introduced in 2018. More than half the amount is from adoptions made by various private companies, government organisations, schools, and others.
Recently, SBI adopted 15 tigers for a year.
Hyderabad zoo's most sought-after animal for adoption is the elephant. The zoo has four elephants that are adopted by various people throughout the year.
"Currently, one has to come down to the zoo to adopt an animal. However, we are working on a website to enable the public to adopt an animal 'virtually' via the website," Ms. Nagamani explained. The website is currently being designed and will be up soon.
From lions to peacocks and snakes to giraffes, one can adopt any animal at the zoo for any period of time. The costliest animal to adopt is the elephant. It costs Rs. 5 lakh per annum to adopt an elephant. The least priced animals are the parrots and lovebirds which are around Rs. 5,000-15,000 per year.
Reptiles such are tortoises, snakes, and alligators are priced at Rs. 20,000-50,000 per annum.
The Asiatic lions, tigers, jaguars, and cheetahs are priced at approximately Rs. 1,00,00 per annum.
"The adoption costs will be used for their daily food, medicine, water, and other miscellaneous expenses," Ms. Nagamani explained. "A private company has shown an interest in adopting four rhinos and also wants to cover the expenses of the animal keepers, as well," she added.
She said the zoo welcomes such initiatives and added that the animal keepers are extremely talented and tend to all the animals' needs.
The curator of the zoo, S. Rajashekar, said the adoption rates were last revised by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) in 2011. "Most of the prices are outdated. We are planning to seek revision of prices as per the current financial standards," he said.
Animal exchange programme
As part of the animal exchange programmes between zoos across the country, four pairs of Rhea birds have arrived at the zoo.
Rhea birds are large flightless birds that look similar to the ostrich.
"Their adoption rate is yet to be finalised. We will decide upon the rate and the public can adopt them as well," Mr. Rajashekar said.
