Watch in wonder as leopards prowl, tigers roar and tropical birds shriek into the night. All wonders of the famous Singapore Night Safari are coming to Noida soon.
The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has given the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority the permission to start a night safari zoo, the first in India.
The same team that created the Singapore Night Safari will develop this zoo.
While the CZA has given its nod, experts working on the project will also have to get permission for importing or obtaining individual animals, as per the norms laid down by the International Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and International Union for Conservation of Nature.
We have given permission to the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority to develop this zoo facility. It is likely to have tropical, mostly nocturnal, animals like owls and big cats from South Africa and South America. Indian animals will include leopards, hyenas and tigers. Bernard Harrison, former CEO of the Singapore zoo, will head the expert team, said Dr Brij Kishor Gupta, Evaluation Officer, Central Zoo Authority.
According to the CZA, the facility will also serve educational purposes and is expected to evolve into a major tourist attraction. It will be on over 100 hectares and will be on the Taj Expressway. We expect many tourists to visit the zoo, said Gupta.
The facility will also have a vulture conservation breeding centre, which has emerged as an important touchstone for Indian conservation following the extinction of White Backed vultures, Slender Billed vultures and Long Billed vultures 2003 onwards.
There are three vulture conservation breeding centres in the country at Pinjore, Assam and West Bengal but currently vultures are bred only in Pinjore.