First of its kind in the country, an Open Top leopard Enclosure was inaugurated for visitors at the Nandankanan Zoological Park here on Monday. Forests and Environment Minister Bikram Keshari Arukh inaugurated the enclosure along with a walk-through aviary marking the zoo’s 55th foundation day.
“No zoo in the country either in Hyderabad or in Bengaluru has such an open top leopard enclosure. Such a facility is available in Singapore. Now, visitors can enjoy the scene here. The enclosure was built with foolproof security arrangements for visitors and the animals also,” said Zoo Director Dr Sudarshan Panda.
The enclosure has been built in such a way that it would give the big cats freedom to use their natural ability to climb trees. Three leopards have been put in the enclosure. The enclosure has two banyan trees. Although it is stated to be an open enclosure, the exhibit will have solar fencing and steel plates at the top to prevent the leopards from making any attempt to escape.
The walk-through aviary has been built on a 2,200-sq metre area. Fifteen metres in height, the aviary will have an array of colourful birds to charm the tourists. The Zoo Director also informed that the entire zoo would be under CCTV surveillance soon while at least 72 CCTV cameras would be installed at various points by March 2015.