Arignar Anna Zoological Park

Arignar Anna Zoological Park also known as the Vandalur Zoo, is a zoological garden in Chennai, India. It is located at Vandalur in the south western part of the city, about 32 km (20 mi) from the city center. It is spread over an area of 602 ha (1, 490 acres) and is amongst the largest zoos in South Asia. The park is open for public viewing. It was established by Edward Balfour in 1855 as Madras Zoo in the Madras Government Museum premises and was amongst the earliest zoos in the country. As the zoo expanded, it was shifted to People's Park in Park Town in 1863. For the want of space for expansion, the Government of Tamil Nadu intended to move the zoo to the Vandalur reserve forest in 1979. The zoo was opened to public on 24 July 1985, and is named after earlier chief minister Annadurai. It is affiliated with the Central Zoo Authority of India, and is managed by the Tamil Nadu Zoo Authority. The park exhibits various animals that are segregated based on the taxonomic classification. The animals are usually displayed in open enclosures with concrete walls and moats separating them from viewing areas. As of 2022, the park housed 2,389 animals across 178 species. The park has a specialised display area for nocturnal animals, a serpentarium, an aquarium, an amphibian house, a pre-historic park, a butterfly park, a primate house, and a walk-through aviary. There is a wildlife safari

Park data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).