Welcome to Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, situated in the scenic Eastern Ghats with its natural settings. The Zoo is flanked by hills on either side and the Bay of Bengal on the East and attracts many visitors from all over the country.

Indira Gandhi Zoological Park was declared open to the public on 19^th May, 1977. The park extends over an area of 635 acres, and is the premier visiting spot for Visakha citizens. The scenic rugged terrain provides a natural setting to animals and birds in their large nature simulated enclosures. The Zoological Park can be compared with some of the best zoos in the world, though it is still in the process of development.

This modern Zoological Park is established for fulfilling the following objectives.

1. Conservation of critically endangered fauna with special attention on the endemic fauna of the Eastern Ghats.
2. To propagate the values of wildlife and its conservation through education and interpretation aimed at a wide public appreciation. 
3. Wildlife research for its conservation and management.

Animal Collection

Nearly eighty species numbering eight hundred animals are present in the zoo. The well planned layout of the zoo  has different sections for primates, carnivores, lesser carnivores, small mammals, reptiles, ungulates and birds.

The primates comprise various monkeys - the common Langur, Rhesus monkey, Bonnet Monkey and also includes certain other exotic fauna like Mandrills, Olive Baboons and Sacred Baboons.

The Carnivore section contains Panthers, Tigers, Lions, Pumas and Jaguars and Lesser Carnivores, like Wolves, Jackals, Wild dogs, Hyena, Rattle etc.

The Himalayan Black bear and the Sloth bear in the bear complex are housed in large moated enclosures.

The Hippopotamus is a special attraction to the zoo. The Crocodile complex has all the three Indian Crocodile species. The Reptile section has Pythons, Snakes, Land Tortoises, Terrapins, Water Monitor Lizards, Monitor Lizards etc. Elephant, Bison, Sambar, Spotted Deer, Nilgai, Barking Deer and Thamin Deer are the collection in Herbivores section.

A varied collection of birds from the Eastern ghats in the large walk-through aviaries is a special attraction in the Zoo. Grey Pelicans, Rosy Pelicans, Pied Horn bills, Painted Storks, Peacocks, Ducks, other ground birds and little beautiful love birds, Budgerigars, and Cockatiels form the bird collection in the Zoo.

Future Plans

Our future plans include the construction of a Nocturnal animal house, Reptile house, enclosures for Small Mammals, Lion Tailed Macaque, Deer etc.

It is also proposed to setup a Marine Land Complex on the shores of the Bay of Bengal in an area of hundred acres adjoining the Zoo for the captive breeding of endangered marine fauna of the Bay of Bengal like Dolphins, Dugongs, Sea Turtles etc.

Indira Gandhi Conservation Monitoring Centre (IGCMC)
http://www.wcmc.org.uk/igcmc

Overview

With the full support of the Government of India, the Indira Gandhi Conservation Monitoring Centre (IGCMC) has been established as a major national facility by WWF-India. The aim of the Centre is to support conservation and sustainable development by providing information to government agencies and NGOs, thereby assisting in the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity. This goal will be achieved by developing and maintaining databases on India's environment, especially indigenous flora/fauna, habitats of conservation importance including wetlands, national parks and other protected areas, and trade in threatened species of wild flora and fauna. The Centre will network with other concerned agencies and organisations, including research and survey institutions, NGOs, universities, members of the WWF family, and international organisations such as the World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

Background

The WWF-India Secretariat located in the Pirojshah Godrej National Conservation Centre (PGNCC) at New Delhi was inaugurated by the President of India in November 1989. WWF Indias Community Biodiversity Conservation Programme was launched by the Late Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi in a separate function. At this function, in which HRH Prince Philip, President, WWF International, also participated, the concept of a National Conservation Monitoring Centre, to provide scientific information and data management support to the biodiversity programmes in the country, was put forward by Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, President, WWF India. 

The Board of Trustees of WWF India decided that the Centre should be dedicated to the memory of the Late Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi as a humble tribute to her untiring efforts and pioneering initiatives for promoting Nature Conservation and Environmental Protection. The Centre was accordingly named as the Indira Gandhi Conservation Monitoring Centre (IGCMC). 

Mission

IGCMC will maintain information in the form of databases on India's natural resources, especially its biological diversity including indigenous plant and animal species, habitats of conservation importance including national parks and protected areas, and the trade in threatened species of wild flora and fauna. To achieve this goal, the Centre will gather, store, retrieve and disseminate such information through a modern information management system, linked to similar natural resource organisations within India, such as government research and survey institutions, universities and non-government organisations, and outside India, such as the World Conservation Monitoring Centre and WWF International.

Functions

• To provide reliable, up-to-date information for natural resources decisions.
• To build databases on indicators of conservation status of species, ecosystems and biodiversity.
• To support international conventions on wildlife conservation through data management and analysis.
• To build data management capacity.
• To provide information for Environmental Impact Assessment Studies.
• To disseminate data widely through books, maps and electronic media.

Services

Research and Analysis Services
To carry out scientific research and analysis of data in support of conservation action, the identification of conservation priorities, and the sustainable management of biological diversity. 

Information Services 

To provide a service capable of anticipating and responding to the demands of users for reliable and up-to-date conservation information. 

Technical Services 

To provide professional technical services in support of conservation research, data base building and information management. 

Strategies

• To build an environmental information service.
• To identify and fill information gaps.
• To improve accessibility; move towards realising on-line networks.
• To develop bibliographic services.
• To develop regional geographical linkages.
• To build on information presently managed by WWF India.
• To develop research and assessment capabilities.

Proposed Databases

While in the long run, IGCMC would cover all major aspects of environment conservation in the country, to begin with, it is proposed to concentrate on creating databases pertaining to species, habitats including forests, biogeography/vegetation, wetlands and biodiversity, protected areas, wildlife, and bibliographical applications. The subject areas planned to be handled in IGCMC as medium term objectives, include:

Biological diversity 

• Threatened, endangered and endemic species (Flora and Fauna).
• Protected Areas Network and other threatened habitats.
• Forests.
• "Hotspot" Areas - North East and Western Ghats.
• Wetlands.
• Marine Ecosystems.
• Ex situ conservation (the network of existing botanical gardens and zoological parks).
• Genetic resources (medicinal plants and economic species, local breeds of domesticated animals).
• Trade in Wildlife.
• Ethnobiology.

Conservation projects

• Conservation Projects of WWF India, other NGOs, and Government Agencies.
• Conservation Projects of WWF International, WCMC, and other external organisations.

Legislation

• Indian context.
• International conventions to which India is a party.

Expertise/Institutions

• Professional expertise in conservation and environmental protection.
• Environmental NGOs.

Others

• Bibliographic databases.
• Environment in legislative proceedings.