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Young World
A storehouse of information
K. JESHI
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More than a century old, Gass Museum is one of the oldest forest museums in the country.
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Photo: M. Periasamy
At the Museum: A preserved heritage.
A sandalwood tree rises majestically at the centre of the hall, which is home to a spectacular collection of wildlife exhibits. The tree weighs 1.75 tonnes and is part of the collection of timber species of India displayed at the Gass Forest Museum (GFM), located in the forest campus in R.S. Puram.
The museum set up in 1902 by H.A. Gass is a red mansion style two-tier building in gothic style, and is one of the oldest forest museums in India.
In the birds section, there is a rich collection which includes jackals, hawks, blue wing parakeets, Indian spotted doves, Malabar squirrel, blossom headed parakeets, Malabar squirrel and sandpipers.
Wood fossil dating back to 25 million years, marine species including octopus, poisonous snakes, flying lizard, scorpions and chameleons in reptiles, all find a place at the museum.
A 410-year-old rosewood and a 456-year-old teak wood, first man-made Conolly’s teak wood, and about 400 to 500 different species of timber are among the notable exhibits.
A stuffed Indian Gaur, gifted by the king of Mysore, Jaychamraja Wodeyar, takes centre stage in the hall, along with a sloth bear and a chinkara.
There is a separate section on arms and weapons and bayonets, rifles, carbines, field implements and tiger spears used for hunting found a place here.
Display models of timber stacking, timber seasoning, timber houses and the Donald gravity rope weighing system of timber carrier are also there.
At the elephant corner, you will find a full skeleton of an elephant, cross section of the skull, a elephant tooth and elephant foetus in various stages at two months, four months and 14 months.
There is a separate collection of the insect world including species of butterflies and moths, ants and bugs. Revolving photo stands with rare photographs of forests, more than 100 geological specimens including rock, mineral, wealth and soil formations from various parts of the world, ornaments of jungle tribes, eggs of various species including African ostrich and Emu and antlers of deer species are displayed.
Fungal species that occur in the forests and have an important role to play in the growth of trees are maintained in the mycology section.
Skins of King cobra (measuring 15 to 20 ft), python and rat snake, a pair of tusks of a baby elephant, loose horns of barking deer are some of the other exhibits at the museum.
The museum is open for the general public from 9.a.m. to 5.30 p.m. The entry fee is Rs. 10 for adults and Rs. 5 for students.
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