Madanapalle is a historic town, and also offers something for everyone to experience, including some wildlife and nature. One of them is a zoo. The zoo in Madanapalle is located in Horsley Hills. Here you can find different species of birds, deer, emus, and crocodiles. In the zoo, there is a special enclosure for emu, which was inaugurated in 2013. Emus live in pairs, and they are found in the forest habitats and woodlands of Australia. They feed on mineral mixture, garlic, Bengal gram, and green leafy vegetables, and live for about ten years.
At this zoo, one can also see the national bird of India: peacock. It feeds on green leafy vegetables, groundnuts, poultry seed, onion, pulses, grains and paddy. Their nesting season is between January to October. Peacock’s lifespan ranges between 15 to 23 years.
There is cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus). Cockatiels are the birds found in arid wetlands, semi-arid wetlands, scrublands, and bushlands. A cockatiel’s lifespan is between 15 to 20 years.
Zoos are not only the places for animals to conserve, and preserve but they are also there to visit especially parents with children, or for educational institutions to organize study trips. Visiting a zoo helps children to see the unseen animals, to understand the importance of animals and the environment, to grasp the diversity on planet Earth, and how significant it is to conserve and preserve the biodiversity on earth. Who knows a child may also be inspired to pursue a study related to animals, environment, ecology. A visit to a zoo helps one to understand or learn about exotic animals, and native species.
K. Ashok, a graduate a SV Agricultural College and post-graduate from Institute of Rural Management, Anand in Gujarat, says visiting a zoo can introduce a child to understand about co-existence with nature, and to develop empathy about other creatures. He says students are not exposed to the natural habitats and also to zoos. He says the uniqueness of the zoo in Madanapalle is, it is in the natural habitat of the Eastern Ghats. He recalls the efforts of one Keshav Reddy, a forester, who has taken steps to conserve the natural habitat in Horsley Hills.
In a barbed enclosure one can find a pond with crocodiles. If the temperature is moderate and warm enough to bask, you can find crocodiles basking on the sandy ground. The crocodiles in the zoo are mugger or marsh crocodiles, Crocodylus palastris. The crocodiles are amphibious, they come out to the shore for basking and during.
Crocodylus palastris lives in fresh water habitats like river systems, ponds, reservoirs and lakes; and they are found in the Indian subcontinent: India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and in Iran and Myanmar. Their lifespan is about 70 years.
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