Karachi Zoological Gardens
Encyclopedia
Karachi Zoo is located in Karachi
, Sindh
, Pakistan
. It is the oldest zoo in the country after Lahore Zoo
.
and Landhi Korangi Aquarium
.
, classified critically endangered by IUCN. A pair was bought from a private farm in 2007. The female gave birth to a female in 2007 and later, to a male and a female in 2008, both of which died in 2009. The first born oryx, gave birth to another calf on March 12, 2010, who died the following day. Four days later, the mother of the calf also died in the zoo hospital. At this point, zoo was left with the original pair from 2007. On March 23, 2010, the female of the pair, who was being treated for a foot injury at the zoo hospital for a week, also died.
Mammals
Reptiles
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. It is the oldest zoo in the country after Lahore Zoo
Lahore Zoo
Lahore Zoo in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, established in 1872, one of the largest zoos in South Asia. It is currently managed by the Wildlife and Parks department of the Government of Pakistan. Today the zoo houses a collection of about 1380 animals of 136 species...
.
History
Karachi Zoo, established in year 1878, was commonly called as 'Mahatma Gandhi Garden' . In 1861, the zoo was transferred to municipality by the government. In 1878, the municipality placed the zoo under a trust to be developed out of public subscription. Later, the zoo was once again opened to public in 1881. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the name was changed to 'Karachi Zoological Gardens' or 'Karachi Zoo' for short. In 1953, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation introduced a zoo curator and a qualified veterinary doctor. In 1991-2 CDGK for remodeling of Natural History Museum, which was carried out. In 1992, the Japanese Princess inaugurated the remodeled Natural History Museum. Currently, total strength of Karachi Zoo is about 240 staff members.Areas and Attractions
- Elephant House is the most famous exhibit in the zoo. An 65 years old Asian ElephantAsian ElephantThe Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....
, named 'Anarkali', died on 19 July 2006. Two female African Bush ElephantAfrican Bush ElephantThe African Bush Elephant or African Savanna Elephant is the larger of the two species of African elephant. Both it and the African Forest Elephant have usually been classified as a single species, known simply as the African Elephant...
s arrived at the zoo on May 16, 2010 from Karachi Safari Park. Both were born in TanzaniaTanzaniaThe United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
in 2007 and have been named 'Noor Jahan' and 'Madhu Bala'.
- Natural History Museum, renovated in year 1992, is one of the more famous attractions in Karachi Zoo. Apart from stuffed animals, skins, antlers, horns and feathers etc. are also placed on display in the museum. The facility is used by zoology students for research and educational motives.
- Reptile House was extended and renovated in the year 1992. It is one of the few Reptile HouseReptile HouseReptile House was a 1980s hardcore punk band from Baltimore's music scene. The band included Daniel Higgs, later of Lungfish, guitarists Alex Layne, Asa Osborne and Joe Goldsborough, bass players David Rhodes and Leigh Panlilio, as well as drummers Gary Breezee and London May who went on to play...
s in Pakistan. There are 13 species of snakes and lizards. Newly born hatching of testudines and crocodilians are also exhibited.
- Veterinary Hospital was established in 1998 in Karachi Zoo with modern diagnostic facilities. There is an operation theatre, equipped with X-ray and sonogram facilities, multiple sick bays, a laboratory and an incubation room.
- Mughal Garden, established in the year 1970, has green lawns with seasonal plants that occupy major part of the garden accompanied with MughalMughal EmpireThe Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
-style fountains. The garden is famous for different variety of roseRoseA rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
s and other flowers that are exhibited there.
Karachi Municipal Aquarium
Karachi Municipal Aquarium was constructed in 1953. Located inside the Karachi Zoo, the aquarium has a total of 28 tanks which contain a total of around 300 fishes of about 30 species. It is one of the three public aquariums in Karachi, the other two being Clifton Fish AquariumClifton Fish Aquarium
The Clifton Fish Aquarium, was an aquarium located in Clifton near Abdullah Shah Ghazi’s shrine in Karachi, Pakistan between 1965 and 1998. Several attempts were made to reopen the aquarium after the initial closing, but it remains closed.-History:...
and Landhi Korangi Aquarium
Landhi Korangi Zoo
Landhi Korangi Zoo , established in 1990, is a zoological garden located at Korangi, Landhi Town, Karachi District, Sindh, Pakistan. It is spread over an area of approximately and contains a fewer variety of animals compared to Karachi Zoo...
.
Arabian oryx
Karachi Zoo has developed a negative reputation because of multiple deaths of resident species of Arabian oryxArabian Oryx
The Arabian Oryx or White Oryx is a medium sized antelope with a distinct shoulder hump, long straight horns, and a tufted tail. It is a bovid, and the smallest member of Oryx genus, native to desert and steppe areas of the Arabian peninsula...
, classified critically endangered by IUCN. A pair was bought from a private farm in 2007. The female gave birth to a female in 2007 and later, to a male and a female in 2008, both of which died in 2009. The first born oryx, gave birth to another calf on March 12, 2010, who died the following day. Four days later, the mother of the calf also died in the zoo hospital. At this point, zoo was left with the original pair from 2007. On March 23, 2010, the female of the pair, who was being treated for a foot injury at the zoo hospital for a week, also died.
Species list
Aves- Black Crowned CraneBlack Crowned CraneThe Black Crowned Crane is a bird in the crane family Gruidae. It was once called also Kaffir Crane.It occurs in dry savannah in Africa south of the Sahara, although in nests in somewhat wetter habitats. There are two subspecies: B. p. pavonina in the west and the more numerous B. p...
- Common PheasantCommon PheasantThe Common Pheasant , is a bird in the pheasant family . It is native to Georgia and has been widely introduced elsewhere as a game bird. In parts of its range, namely in places where none of its relatives occur such as in Europe , it is simply known as the "pheasant"...
- Greater FlamingoGreater FlamingoThe Greater Flamingo is the most widespread species of the flamingo family. It is found in parts of Africa, southern Asia , and southern Europe...
- Green PeafowlGreen PeafowlThe Green Peafowl or Javan Peafowl, Pavo muticus is a large Galliform bird that is found in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia...
- Indian PeafowlIndian PeafowlThe Indian Peafowl or Blue Peafowl is a large and brightly coloured bird of the pheasant family native to South Asia, but introduced and semi-feral in many other parts of the world...
- Mute SwanMute SwanThe Mute Swan is a species of swan, and thus a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is native to much of Europe and Asia, and the far north of Africa. It is also an introduced species in North America, Australasia and southern Africa. The name 'mute' derives from it being less...
- Ring-necked Parakeet
- Rock PigeonRock PigeonThe Rock Dove or Rock Pigeon, is a member of the bird family Columbidae . In common usage, this bird is often simply referred to as the "pigeon"....
Mammals
- Arabian OryxArabian OryxThe Arabian Oryx or White Oryx is a medium sized antelope with a distinct shoulder hump, long straight horns, and a tufted tail. It is a bovid, and the smallest member of Oryx genus, native to desert and steppe areas of the Arabian peninsula...
- Asiatic Black BearAsiatic Black BearThe Asian black bear , also known as the moon bear or white-chested bear is a medium-sized species of bear, largely adapted for arboreal life, which occurs through much of southern Asia, Korea, northeastern China, the Russian far east and Honshū and Shikoku islands of Japan...
- African Bush ElephantAfrican Bush ElephantThe African Bush Elephant or African Savanna Elephant is the larger of the two species of African elephant. Both it and the African Forest Elephant have usually been classified as a single species, known simply as the African Elephant...
- Bactrian CamelBactrian camelThe Bactrian camel is a large, even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of central Asia. It is presently restricted in the wild to remote regions of the Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts of Mongolia and Xinjiang. A small number of wild Bactrian camels still roam the Mangystau Province of southwest...
- Bengal TigerBengal TigerThe Bengal tiger is a tiger subspecies native to the Indian subcontinent that in 2010 has been classified as endangered by IUCN...
- Black BuckBlack BuckFor the mammal, see Blackbuck. For the RAF operation, see Operation Black Buck.In post-Reconstruction United States, Black Buck was a racial slur used to describe a certain type of African American men...
- ChitalChitalThe chital or cheetal , also known as chital deer, spotted deer or axis deer is a deer which commonly inhabits wooded regions of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and in small numbers in Pakistan...
(Spotted Deer) - Fallow DeerFallow DeerThe Fallow Deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. This common species is native to western Eurasia, but has been introduced widely elsewhere. It often includes the rarer Persian Fallow Deer as a subspecies , while others treat it as an entirely different species The Fallow...
- Girrafe
- Hog DeerHog DeerThe Hog Deer is a small deer whose habitat ranges from Pakistan, through northern India, to mainland southeast Asia...
- Indian Crested Porcupine
- Indian WolfIndian WolfIndian wolf and Iranian Wolf are two common names for Canis lupus pallipes, a subspecies of grey wolf which inhabits western India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and southern Israel. Some experts have suggested at least some C. lupus pallipes populations be re-classified a canid species...
(Indian Jackal) - LionLionThe lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
- LlamaLlamaThe llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....
- MouflonMouflonThe mouflon is a subspecies group of the wild sheep Ovis aries. Populations of Ovis aries can be partitioned into the mouflons and urials or arkars...
(sub. UrialUrialThe Urial , also known as the Arkars or Shapo, is a subspecies group of the wild sheep Ovis orientalis. Noticeable features are the reddish-brown long fur that fades during winter; males are characterized by a black ruff stretching from the neck to the chest and large horns. It is found in western...
) - NilgaiNilgaiThe nilgai , sometimes called nilgau, is an antelope, and is one of the most commonly seen wild animals of central and northern India and eastern Pakistan; it is also present in parts of southern Nepal. The mature males appear ox-like and are also known as blue bulls...
- Olive BaboonOlive BaboonThe olive baboon , also called the Anubis baboon, is a member of the family Cercopithecidae . The species is the most widely spread of all baboons: it is found in 25 countries throughout Africa, extending south from Mali to Ethiopia and to Tanzania. Isolated populations are also found in some...
- Plains ZebraPlains ZebraThe plains zebra , also known as the common zebra or Burchell's zebra, is the most common and geographically widespread species of zebra. It ranges from the south of Ethiopia through East Africa to as far south as Angola and eastern South Africa...
- Red DeerRed DeerThe red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
- Sika DeerSika DeerThe Sika Deer, Cervus nippon, also known as the Spotted Deer or the Japanese Deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to various other parts of the world...
- Spotted HyenaSpotted HyenaThe spotted hyena also known as laughing hyena, is a carnivorous mammal of the family Hyaenidae, of which it is the largest extant member. Though the species' prehistoric range included Eurasia extending from Atlantic Europe to China, it now only occurs in all of Africa south of the Sahara save...
- Wild GoatWild GoatThe wild goat is a widespread species of goat, with a distribution ranging from Europe and Asia Minor to central Asia and the Middle East. It is the ancestor of the domestic goat.-Social structure:...
(sub. Sindh IbexSindh IbexThe Sindh Ibex or Turkman Wild Goat is a vulnerable wild goat commonly native to southern Pakistan.-Description:Sindh Ibex are rather stocky animals with thick-set bodies and strong limbs terminating in broad hooves...
)
Reptiles
- GharialGharialThe gharial , , also called Indian gavial or gavial, is the only surviving member of the once well-represented family Gavialidae, a long-established group of crocodilians with long, slender snouts...
- Indian CobraIndian CobraIndian Cobra or Spectacled Cobra is a species of the genus Naja found in the Indian subcontinent and a member of the "big four", the four species which inflict the most snakebites in India. This snake is revered in Indian mythology and culture, and is often seen with snake charmers...
- Indian Sand BoaEryx johniiEryx johnii is a non-venomous boa species found in Iran, Pakistan and India. No subspecies are currently recognized.-Description:Adults rarely exceed two feet in length , although they sometimes reach 3 feet . Adapted to burrowing, the head is wedge-shaped with narrow nostrils and very small eyes...
- Mugger CrocodileMugger CrocodileThe mugger crocodile , also called the Indian, Indus, Persian, or marsh crocodile, is found throughout the Indian subcontinent and the surrounding countries...
- Oriental Ratsnake
- Spur-thighed Tortoise
External links
- Karachi Zoo website (temporarily shut down)