The Corporation’s Mini Zoo at VOC Park has four new arrivals i.e., Moustached Parakeets, African Grey Parrot, Assame Goats and Nanday Conure which are attracting more visitors.
According to official sources, two pairs i.e. four African Grey Parrots (Psittacus erithacus) said to be costing Rs. 1 lakh per pair have joined the 435 avian species belonging to 25 species at the zoo.
In addition, nine moustached parakeets sold at Rs. 30,000 per pair have also been donated to the zoo. The other avian species, a new arrival, is five numbers of Nanday Conure, a parakeet said to be South American species numbering five. Two Assam Goats said to be costing Rs. 50,000 each have also joined the animals at the zoo.
The zoo in a 4.61 acre of land has more than 435 bird species, 109 species of mammals belonging to nine species and 32 reptiles belonging to seven species.
In fact, the news about new arrivals has triggered interest in people who have already visited the zoo. Old visitors are making a beeline to the zoological park as it was the only avenue for entertainment-starved Coimbatoreans, officials said.
After a face lift given recently, the officials are trying to put up labels at the zoo giving the name and features of the species in each enclosure. In fact, the conditions had proved so good that the Corporation’s Mini Zoo has proved an ideal habitat with more animals breeding in captivity and their numbers increasing.
Officials said that on average 50 schools are visiting the zoo every month on an educational tour. The number of students from each school has been upward of 50, officials said, going by the entry ticket sale.
