Tk1,500cr master plan to offer Dhaka zoo animals cage-free life

Bangladesh National Zoo in Dhaka is going to have a major facelift to offer wild animals living in it an environment similar to their natural habitats – all animals will move freely without being caged and visitors will observe them from a safe distance.

Based on this new idea, the government has formulated a master plan that is expected to be finalised in December this year, say the people concerned. The zoo's mega overhaul plan will be implemented in around six years at a cost of Tk1,500 crore, say people concerned.  

The zoo will be divided into five separate zones for animals of different habitats with natural barriers, according to the plan.

Visitors will not be able to cross such natural barriers and reach animals, while animals will not be able to come out of those as well.

There will be a Bangladesh habitat zone for local animals, an African habitat for African animals, a dedicated zone for nocturnal animals and another for tropical animals. Besides, an active zone will be created for children to play.

The master plan also includes a boundary wall with native trees planted inside, beautification of the whole area, several roads for pedestrians, boating routes, two gates, a restaurant on the zoo's lake, a children's zone etc.

Abdul Latif, director of the national zoo, said, "We will keep invisible or natural cages between animals and humans to build the zoo animal friendly. Visitors will have the feeling of watching them in natural habitats."

"The preparation of development work will start as soon as the master plan gets approved in December," he said.

According to the master plan, 223 species of animals will be housed in about 77 hectares of land of Mirpur National Zoo including 102 species of native animals, 66 species of tropical, 40 species of African and 15 species of nocturnal animals. Besides, there will be 10 species of animals in the active zone for children.

The new plan has allocated 17.68 hectares of land for the Bangladesh habitat zone where a Sundarbans like habitat will be created for 102 species of native animals. 

The habitats of 26 species of fishes, nine species of reptiles, 54 species of birds and 12 species of mammals will be separated by wetlands.

In the tropical habitat zone, 14.48 hectares of land will be designed in the form of tropical forest for 66 species of animals, including seven species of reptiles, 45 species of birds and 14 species of mammals in 26 cages.

The African habitat zone will be created on ​​23.16 hectares of land with 40 species of animals, including three species of reptiles, 16 species of birds and 21 species of mammals.

In the nocturnal habitat zone, a form of dense forest covering an area of ​​3.75 hectares of land, there will be 15 species of animals in 15 natural cages.

In the active zone of the zoo, four species of birds and six species of mammals will be kept in natural barriers covering an area of ​​5.38 hectares for children's entertainment and education.

In addition, 3.48 hectares of land has been allocated for wetlands, 1.1 hectares for nursery and 3.54 hectares for two entrances of the zoo. However, an area of 4.7 hectares has been allocated for the exit zone and car parking.

There will be five roads for pedestrians with a length of seven kilometres across the zoo. Two tram roads with a distance of 2.4km and two boating routes of another 2.4km have also been included in the master plan.

The plan includes a floating restaurant on the lake of the zoo with entertainment facilities like a bird and dolphin shows.

According to the master plan, the zoo will have adequate drainage and an animal waste recycling system to keep the environment clean. There will be separate roads for zoo staff and visitors. A residential area for zoo officials with multi-storeyed buildings to be erected as well.

In 2018, the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock started working on a project at a cost of Tk34 crore to formulate a master plan with the help of a Singapore-based company Bernard Harrison and Friends and a Bangladeshi firm Desh Upadesh for Dhaka Zoo and Rangpur Zoo which was set to be completed in July 2020.

However, the draft master plan was presented to the authorities only on 14 November.

The deputy team leader of Desh Upadesh Ltd told The Business Standard, "We have been working on the national zoo for a long time. Authorities will be able to start work next year once the master plan is finalised by December. We have given priority to native plants and animals in the plan."

Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim recently at a programme said, "We are creating world-class zoos in Bangladesh. We no longer have to go to Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong or any other places in the world to visit zoos. Instead, people from other parts of the world will come to see Bangladeshi zoos."