Location: South of the Maidan.
Address: Alipore Zoo, Kolkata - 700027
Time to visit: 9 A.M.-5.00 P.M.
Closed on Thursdays and the day following National Holidays.
Admission Fee: Rs 10 per person.
Hit the Spot: All buses going to the National Library can bring you here.
Photography/Video Charges: For domestic purposes Rs 250. For commercial purposes Rs 500.
Nearest Railway Station: Howrah
Nearest Metro Station: Rabindra Sadan
Nearest International Airport: Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.
Time required for sight seeing: 1 day.

The Alipore Zoo was founded in 1875. It was pioneered by Mr. L Schwendier, a member of the Council of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. In February 1873, Mr. L Schwendier laid out the details of the scheme for the set up of the Zoological Gardens, following which, The Society and the Agri-Horticultural Society approved his suggestions.

The idea was to provide amusement, education and pleasure for the people of the city and to initiate scientific observations on the habits of animals, especially those specific to tropical countries. It also wanted to support the familiarization, domestication, and procreation of animals and uphold the science of Zoology by the exchange, introduction and export of animals.

Sir Richard Temple, the then Lt. Governor of Bengal, took active participation in the idea and an area of about 14 hectares of land was allotted at Alipore by the Government of Bengal to establish the zoo. With the generous contributions of Mr. Schwendler, who readily donated his excellent compilation of specimens, and other instinctive contributions from a number of donors like Raja Surjakanta Acharya Chaudhury of Mymensingh, the Nawab Abdul Gani and Khajah Ahsanullah Khan Bahadur of Dhaka, a substantial menagerie was established by December 1875. King Emperor Edward VII, formally inaugurated the zoo on the 1st of January, 1875. However, the zoo was open to public, only from the 1st of May, 1876. Two young elephants and a leopard were sent to the Garden as a symbol of interest evinced by His Royal Highness who consented to be the patron of the garden.

Ever since the zoo started, the management of the Garden has been vested in an honorary committee selected by the Government. At present, the garden is run under the Alipore Zoological Garden (Management) Rules 1957 framed under the Bengal Public Parks Act, 1904. The Managing Committee consists of 22 members (of which 10 are ex-officio members), nominated by the State Government.

In 1957, an external enclosure for tigers was constructed. A freshwater aquarium was added to the zoo in 1977, comprising of 17 large and 28 small tank. It is considered to be the largest freshwater aquarium in Eastern India. It boasts of about 1,500 freshwater fishes belonging to local and unique varieties.

A large (1064 sq m) new reptile house was established in 1979 for a better accommodation and exhibition of the diverse reptiles. The house has 48 exhibition cages set in a globular manner for the display of the different species of reptiles, and a big central pool with a wire netted top for exhibition of crocodiles and gharials. The construction of a new small carnivora house in 1981 with twelve large cages, provides a good opportunity for better exhibition and breeding of jaguar and other carnivores. An open-air arena for elephants was constructed in 1999. The most significant and striking achievement of Alipore Zoological Garden is the breeding of giraffe in 1988. The zoo recently lost a Giant Tortoise, Adwaita, believed to be the pet of Lord Clive.


Related External Links:
More on the Alipore Zoo
More on the Death of Adwaita