Pune: With this being the final weekend during the Diwali vacations, Punekars are enjoying the break from their regular professional lives very enthusiastically. The streets are crowded, while famous tourist destinations within the city and near it are flocked with people. Hence, a major crowd was seen near the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park and Wildlife Research Centre in Katraj on Saturday.
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According to available details, since Saturday morning, a heavy rush of tourists of all ages, including kids, has been seen at the famous Katraj Zoo of Pune. With people getting back to their routine schedules from Monday, the animals and famous snakes within the Katraj Zoo lured people to spend some quality time with their family.
Katraj Zoo, which is managed by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), is a 130-acre land divided into three parts -- an animal orphanage, a snake park, and a zoo. It also has a big lake inside, which is approximately 42 acres, where some aquatic animals can be seen.
The zoo was opened 26 years ago on 14th March 1999. Initially, it only included the reptile park, sambars, spotted deer, and monkeys. However, in 2005, all of the animals from Peshwe Park were eventually moved here and to other sites, and Peshwe Park was closed. Katraj Zoo has run an animal adoption scheme since 2010 and also has a rescue centre for injured and orphaned animals.
Today, the zoo has a wide collection of reptiles, mammals, and birds. The zoo had a white tiger but now has a male Bengal tiger named Tanaji. Along with that, leopards, sloth bears, sambhars, barking deer, blackbucks, monkeys, and elephants, along with reptiles like the Indian rock python, cobra snakes, vipers, and Indian crocodiles, and others are in the zoo.
The zoo has always been a huge attraction for Punekars due to the wildlife representation it provides. Locals here say that if you visit Pune once and have never been to Katraj Zoo, your visit will never be complete. As Diwali holidays are ending and the weekend is there, Punekars are utilising their time visiting the zoo.
