Many takers to adopt animals at Bannerghatta Park

NT Correspondent

There has been a quantum jump in wildlife conservation enthusiasts donating money to adopt animals at the Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP). These contributions are used to meet the food and veterinary care expenses of the animals.

This has come as a major relief to the park authorities, as they were finding it difficult to keep it running due to low footfalls during the Covid-19 pandemic, and drop in revenue. People stayed away due to frequent lockdowns and the fear of contracting the virus.

According to the reports, during the Covid year 2020-21 the number of animals adopted was only 231, but it has increased almost 10-fold to 2000 plus in the 2021-22. The park had launched the adoption programme in Covid-19 days, and the initial response was lacklustre.

But now individuals and corporations have loosened their purse strings, and many animals are being adopted. This has helped the park authorities to improve the maintenance of zoos. 

Rhesus Macaque, Jungle Cat, Common Palm Civet, Indian Muntjac, Great Indian Hornbill, Palm Cockatoo, Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Galah Cockatoo, Blue Crowned Pigeon, King Cobra, Star Tortoise are some of the animals that enthusiasts are keen to adopt.

The zoo has multiple adoption plans for the patrons ‘ ‘Diamond class’, ‘Gold class’, ‘Silver class’ and ‘Bronze class’.

The adoption rate under ‘Diamond class’ varies between Rs 75,000 and Rs 3 lakh a year; for ‘Gold class’ it is between Rs 20,000 and Rs 50,000; for ‘Silver class’ it is between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000, and under ‘Bronze class’ it is between Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,000 per year.

Bannerghatta Biological Park houses 2,279 animals of 101 different species. It is spread over 731.88 hectares, has a zoo, safari, butterfly park and a rescue centre.