The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Work on ‘night safari’ begins at Vandalur

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Saturday, May 24, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Work on ‘night safari’ begins at Vandalur

P.Oppili

30,000 saplings of different species have been raised at nursery

CHENNAI: Work on ‘night safari’ at Vandalur has begun, with the raising of saplings in a nursery, and a compound wall.

Wildlife officials said 30,000 saplings of different species had already been raised at the nursery. They would also raise dwarf species, such as cashew nut, around the safari area. This would help to create a real forest ambience. A total of 50,000 saplings would be raised. This would be followed by creating structures for storing water.

A senior officer said 124 mammals, 124 birds and 42 reptiles, totalling 290, would be exhibited. As per the plan, the authorities would source an adequate number of birds, mammals and reptiles from the zoo, and the rest would be acquired from other zoos in the country under an exchange programme.

The safari area required 20 lakh litres of water every day. For this, the officials proposed to draw seven lakh litres from the ground, and 6.5 lakh litres from the Palar and Veeranam. The rest would be treated water that would be obtained from Perungudi.

The facility needed 5,000 MW of power. The cables for power supply would be laid underground. For viewing the animals, special lightings would be provided, but they would not disturb the animals. To overcome disruption of power supply, a back-up facility would be created with silent generators.

Within the safari zone, the animals would be exhibited on six trails: Nilgiris, Tahr, African, Mangrove, birds and mixed. A battery-operated vehicle would ride along a three-km circular road with four spots. The visitors would be allowed to get down at any station to watch the animal of their choice from close quarters. They could board the next vehicle.

A radio frequency identification device would be tied to visitors. If they lost their way, they could be traced before the closure of the safari.

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