Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the Sadar Zoo. At this time, it would be relevant to remember the zoo's old and new journey.

Anatole France, the 1921 Nobel Prize winner in Literature and author of the famous work ‘Penguin Island’, said, ‘Not a single part of the human soul can be awakened until an animal is loved.’ The story of ‘Penguin Island’ is interesting in itself. Once a priest reaches the penguins’ habitat. He imagines the penguins standing on the waves as humans and starts preaching. His action creates a commotion in the gods. The gods transform all those penguins into humans. After the penguins transform into humans, they start wearing clothes, acquiring land, accumulating wealth, and indulging in sex. The web of immorality and lust grows in them. Finally, those people resort to murder, violence, and war. Here, ‘clothes’ is taken as the starting point of human civilization. The conclusion says that naked penguins were more civilized and moral than people wearing clothes. This context represents the loneliness and selfishness of humans and the ignorance and selflessness of animals.

There is also an inspiring context at the end of the Mahabharata. When the five Pandavas were preparing to go to heaven, everyone left them. A dog followed them to the gate of heaven. Indra told Yudhishthira that the dog would not be allowed to enter heaven. Yudhishthira said, ‘Indra! When everyone left us, this dog accompanied us until the last moment and came here. If it does not enter heaven, then I will not accept your divine heaven.’ This statement reveals the relationship between humans and animals since ancient times.

There is also a wonderful relationship between humans and animals. There are animals, birds and insects and human life is beautiful. There are animals and this earth is moving. Animals are beautifying this earth as the adornment and jewel of nature. Without animals, humans, who declare themselves the supreme beings of the world, have no existence on this earth. That is why conscious people have been taking various initiatives to protect nature and animals. In the context of Nepal, the National Trust for Nature Conservation has been doing remarkable work in the field of nature and wildlife conservation. The Jawalakhel Central Zoo is one of the various institutions that the Trust has taken charge of and presented a successful management model. 

BS. In 1989, Juddha Shumsher Jabra 

established the Central Zoo to fulfill his personal hobby. After the change in BS. 2007, the zoo came under the ownership of the Government of Nepal. It was opened to the public only after BS. 2011. While remaining as a government body, it was somehow running amidst financial shortages and managerial confusion. BS. From 2052 Poush 14, the management responsibility of the zoo came under the National Trust for Nature Conservation for 60 years. BS. 2082 Poush 14, the zoo has completed its thirtieth year of journey under the umbrella of new management. During this period, the Sadar Zoo is breaking the vicious cycle of financial distress and is taking steps towards a prosperous journey. Its dimensions and dignity have been expanding. 

Sadar Zoo Jawalakhel currently houses more than 1,300 wild animals of 115 different species. Curators, zookeepers, veterinarians, and administrative and managerial teams work day and night to care for, treat, and serve them. The zoo is spread over an area of ​​about 118 ropanis (about 6 hectares) on the outskirts of the busy urban environment of Jawalakhel. It is small in terms of geographical dimensions, but it is vast and exemplary in terms of biodiversity. Recently, the sheds, huts and cages here have been somewhat organized. Every year, one million visitors come here, and its annual income has reached 180 million. However, since this amount alone is not enough to take care of the animals, various individuals, organizations and bodies have been providing financial support to it.

Currently, ‘Conservation Education’, ‘Friends of Zoo’ and ‘Adopt an Animal’ campaigns are being run in conjunction with the zoo. Children’s parks, boating, pavilions, rest areas, baby care centers, breastfeeding rooms, restaurants, toilets and drinking water facilities have also been expanded for visitors. It is not only an entertainment venue but is also developing as a knowledge-acquisition center for students, teachers, scholars and researchers of various colleges and schools. 

Some animal lovers, nature lovers and freedom worshippers in the world do not like to keep innocent animals locked up in one place. At first glance, it seems that the zoo violates the natural rights of animals. This columnist also felt the same way, but there is a big wall between feelings and reality. The reality is that the zoo is also a center for saving animals that have escaped from the forest and entered the city, have been attacked and injured by other animals, have lost their lives due to accidents and natural disasters, and have been endangered by human encroachment. The Central Zoo rescues and rehabilitates more than four hundred animals a year. There are also examples of some animals including arnas, chitals, and black bears being taken back to the forest and released. In this way, the Central Zoo has been taking steps in the rescue, treatment, and rehabilitation of wild animals.

There are interesting stories of various researchers and zoos around the world reproducing, promoting, and protecting endangered animals from their natural habitats and saving their lineage. There are many examples in the world of saving the lineage of some species of horses, deer, vultures, turtles, frogs, monkeys, lions, leopards, etc. through controlled breeding. In Nepal, under the leadership of the National Trust for Nature Conservation, the endangered Gharial crocodile and a species of vulture have been bred and their numbers have been increased. 

The great man Gautam Buddha has said, ‘The greatest religion of man is to have compassion for all living beings.’ The two eyes of Buddha indicate wisdom and compassion. The Central Zoo also seems to be taking the lead in giving the message of wisdom and compassion. Recently, the zoo has been running more than 40 programs based on conservation education in more than 300 schools in the valley alone. Thousands of students and teachers are involved in this. Students cannot directly go to the forest to see the wild animals they have seen in books and on glass screens. The zoo can encourage students to see animals directly and to advance conservation education related to the existence of this beautiful earth. It is the law of the ecosystem to make 'smaller' than itself 'food', contrary to this, the zoo has been giving the message that everything from a beetle to an elephant should be protected.