Archive for the 'Nepal' Category

Swamp Deer in Central Zoo, Kathmandu

During my visit to Nepal I spent a few days in the Royal Chitwan National Park. This is in the Terai area of southern Nepal. As a part of that visit I went on several elephant rides through the park. The main purpose of these rides was to see tigers and rhinoceros. We weren’t lucky enough to see any tigers – most people don’t – but we did see several of the local rhinos.

On these rides we also came across a family group of Swamp Deer, or more correctly, Barasingha. These beautiful deer are native to India and Nepal. The group we saw from the elephant’s back was quite a distance away and it was rather gloomy, so I didn’t get a good photo. The photo above was taken in the Central Zoo in Kathmandu later in the week.

The Barasingha (sometimes spelt Barasinga) is a type of deer, native to India and Nepal. In Assam in the North-East India, Barasingha is traditionally known as Dolhorina similar to its English name as dol in Assamese means swamp. In Central India it is called goinjak (male) or gaoni (female). The most striking feature of a barasingha is its antlers, with 10-14 tines on a mature stag, though some have been known to have up to 20. The name is derived from this and means 12 tined or horned in Hindi. (From Wikipedia article)

Links:

• Barasingha – article in Wikipedia about the Swamp Deer.
• Travels in Nepal #55 Elephant ride
• Travels in Nepal #56 Rhinoceros
• Travels in Nepal #57 Tigers in Nepal
• Travels in Nepal #58 Another Rhinoceros

Black Buck in Central Zoo, Kathmandu

I photographed this beautiful male Black Buck antelope in the Central Zoo in Kathmandu, Nepal. I was not lucky enough to see this magnificent species in the wild while I was visiting Nepal. The following details come from the Wikipedia article on this animal.

Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) is a species of antelope found mainly in India, but also in parts of Pakistan and Nepal. There are also introduced populations in various parts of the world.
The horns of the Blackbuck are ringed with 3 to 4 turns and can be as long as 28 inches. The Adult males can grow as tall as 32 inches and can weigh as much as 95 pounds. In the male, the upper body is black (dark brown), and the belly and eye rings are white. The light-brown female is usually hornless. Blackbucks usually roam the plains in herds of 15 to 20 animals with one dominant male.

There are four subspecies or geographic races.

Spotted Deer and Black Buck in Central Zoo, Kathmandu

On my visit to the Central Zoo in Kathmandu I was able to see some Spotted Deer up close in one of the exhibits. These are common animals throughout the world in zoos and parks and even in private collections.

I was fortunate to see some of this species of deer in their natural habitat in southern Nepal when I visited Royal Chitwan National Park. In the rainforest it is much harder to get good photos of these animals, of course, so I was pleased to get this very clear photo in the zoo.

The chital (or cheetal) deer, also known as the spotted deer or axis deer is a deer which commonly inhabits wooded regions of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, and most of India. It is the most common deer species in Indian forests. Its coat is reddish fawn, marked with white spots, and its underparts are white. Its antlers, which it sheds annually, are usually three-pronged and curve in a lyre shape and may extend to 75 cm.

Chital eat primarily grasses and vegetation, but also eat their shed antlers as a source of nutrients.

A chital stands about 90 cm tall at the shoulder and masses about 85 kg. Lifespan is around 20-30 years. (Quotes from Wikipedia)

Related Articles:

• Travels in Nepal #56 Rhinoceros
• Travels in Nepal # 57 Tigers in Nepal
• Travels in Nepal #58 Another Rhinoceros
• Spotted Deer at Monarto Zoological Park – this articles gives many details about Spotted Deer. The Monarto Zoo is my local zoo, being only a ten minutes drive from where I live.

Central Zoo, Kathmandu

After a break of a few weeks I am going to return to writing about my time in Nepal. If you want to read earlier posts about my time in Nepal, click on the appropriate link in the contents section on the sidebar, or choose one of the categories.

One of the things I really wanted to do while in Kathmandu was to visit their zoo. My family and I are keen visitors to zoos and wildlife parks here in Australia. I am a life member of the Adelaide Zoo in South Australia, so it was only natural that I wanted to visit a foreign zoo. I also thought it would be a good opportunity to observe some of the native animals I had missed while exploring different parts of Nepal.

Central Zoo, Kathmandu

Central Zoo in Kathmandu in the only zoo in Nepal. It is within easy reach of most parts of the city. It was very cheap to enter; two Australian dollars if my memory is correct plus another dollar if I wanted to take photos. The day I visited was a sunny, clear day and so there were many visitors, including several large groups of school children.

Overall, my impression of this zoo is one of great disappointment. It was generally clean and well maintained but the animals on show were merely token efforts at representing some of the fauna of this beautiful country. The enclosures were obviously constructed in the late 1800s and have never been upgraded since. Heavy mesh wire cages and bars were everywhere, with no attempts at making the enclosures pleasant for the animals nor aesthetic for the human visitors.

It is a sad reminder of how zoos once were constructed. One cannot blame the zoo authorities for this sad state. Nepal has endured massive political and financial pressures in recent decades; there would have been no sense of urgency or even a perceived need to improve the overall appearance of the displays, nor to care more humanely for the animals on display.

In coming days I will feature some of the animals I photographed.