68th Wildlife Week: Children learn, participate in fun activities at Vizag zoo

Visakhapatnam: From drawing what they know about wildlife to learning new things about wild animals, it was a fun week for the children who took part in the 68th Wildlife Week celebrations held at Indira Gandhi Zoological Park in Visakhapatnam.

The week-long celebration at the zoo was busy and colourful with children having a good time interacting with the staff and zoo keepers and taking part in competition and fun activities.

This year, the 68th Wildlife Week was celebrated with the theme "Recovering key species for ecosystem restoration-LIFE (Lifestyle for the Environment)" and P3 (Pro-Planet People) movement. As part of the Wildlife Week celebrations, three short documentaries were released on marine turtles, the animal adoption scheme of IGZP, Visakhapatnam, and the wildlife of IGZP.

The whole week saw some exciting sessions organised by the zoo officials. Children walked around the zoo and spotted many species of birds. They learned new facts about the birds and captured them with their cameras. Many competitions and programmes were organized, including bird watching, drawing, debate, photography, butterfly conservation workshops, and webinars.

"These activities teach children about wildlife and how to protect the environment. During the week, children were taught interesting facts about wild animals and species in the zoo," said the curator of IGZP Dr. Nandani Salaria.

"We are trying to bring new species of animals from Indian zoos as well as foreign zoos like the Czech Republic and Sri Lanka. An MoU with Italy zoo was signed as part of the Sister Zoo Concept to have a technical knowledge exchange between the zoos about the best practices," she added.