Vandalur zoo crawling back to normality

An enclosure for birds damaged due to the fall of a tree, at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Vandalur. Photo: D. Madhavan

On December 21, a few curious visitors at the entrance of the Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Vandalur were enquiring with the security guards about the date on which the facility would be re-opened.

Following cyclone Vardah, the Vandalur zoo has been indefinitely closed. The 600-hectare premises has received a severe battering — many trees have been uprooted, visitors’ amenities, including small water tanks, seating facilities, children play equipment and signboards, damaged. A few ticket counters and enclosures also bear the tell-tale signs of a cyclonic attack.

“Our staff and workers from other zoos across the State are working tirelessly to complete the restoration process. We can’t fix any specific time but the zoo will be restored soon,” Amit Asthana, Chief Conservator of Forests and Zoo Director, told

The Hindu.

Consider the second largest zoological park in South Asia, Vandalur zoo has 1,342 animals, including 402 mammals and 650 birds in its 90 enclosures, and around 300 staff take care of these wild species. Open safaris for deer and lions, the Otteri lake, an elephant bath area and white tigers are among the attractions at the zoo.

According to zoo officials, more than 15,000 trees were uprooted in the cyclone. Pipelines supplying water to the moat area, created around enclosures with wild species, have been damaged. Electric poles and two low-tension (LT) transformers were also damaged, resulting in disruption of power supply to zoo.

“Power supply has not been restored yet (December 21), and we rely on diesel-run generators for our routine work, including feeding of wild species and providing water supply,” said a zoo official.

Every day, on an average, the zoo requires around six lakh litres of water for various purposes, which include cleaning the enclosures and filling the moats.

At present, the zoo gets around three lakh litres of water from Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD) and the rest of water is sourced from its 13 open wells and two borewells. However, pumping the water to overhead tanks and to the nearest moats remains a challenge due to lack of power supply.

“Water is supplied to nearby enclosures through gravitational force. Our staff carry food on their heads and walk a few kilometres to reach the enclosures as the passage to the enclosures is blocked by fallen trees,” said a zoo official.

Zoo officials however said the biggest challenge was clearing the fallen trees. So far, only a lone bitumen road on the premises has been cleared of fallen trees. The debris has been dumped on either side of this stretch.

As the stretch is narrow, zoo officials are hesitant to use a large number of lorries to transport the fallen trees to the reserve forest area.

“With power yet to be restored, it might take many days to open the zoo for the public as the safety of animals and visitors have to be ensured,” said a zoo official.