At the Yangon Zoo

• "What is this life if full of care. We have no time to stand and stare?"
• If you can steal your time from your daily schedule it is worth spending the whole day or half of it at the Yangon Zoo. You might have visited this place in your childhood, but that event belongs to the past. It is entirely a different story if you revisit it in your adulthood.
• A couple of weeks ago I happened to be driving in the vicinity of the Zoo. I felt an irresistable temptation to see the wildlife in captivity, though I had visited the Zoo before many times. While looking for a place to park my car in the parking lot, an old acquaintance of mine greeted me. He is an officer in the administration department of the Zoo. Inviting me to his office he introduced me to his superiors who are authorities on conservation of wildlife. They were kind enough to explain to me all that I wanted to know about the Zoo.
• History of the Yangon Zoo
• Traditionally Myanmar Kings used to establish sanctuaries at the time of their accession to the throne as an act of compassion and life saving charity by issuing royal orders demarcating the extent and location of sanctuary called "Abayahtana" (No danger Zone) where all flora and fauna be spared and safe. The idea of a Zoo was introduced only in the British Colonial regime.
• It was in the year 1882 that what we may call a pioneer Zoo came into being on the site where the Yangon General Hospital now stands. On that site at that time was Phayre Museum and around this museum were some wild animals and birds in captivity displayed for the public. In 1901, a fund for founding a Zoo in Yangon was raised and a total sum of Rs.240000/- was collected. With that money, began the building of the present Zoo. Vegetation on the site was cleared for building houses and habitat for the wild life, while retaining mighty trees and bamboo groves intact to preserve its natural environment.
• In January 1906, the Zoo was opened to the public. It was named Victoria Memorial Park and Zoological Gardens in honour and memory of Queen Victoria the Empress of the British Indian Empire. The white Elephant, the royal mount of King Thibaw (A.D. 1878-1885) the last Myanmar King whom the British deported to India, was displayed in a separate pavilion in the centre of the Zoo. Since then the Yangon Zoo became one of the major attractions of the capital city as well as one of the best and well-known Zoos in Asia. In 1908 the Victoria Memorial Park and Zoological Gardens Act was passed giving the establishment a legal recognition. In 1951 an Amendment Act was passed changing its name to Yangon Zoological Gardens and Parks.
• During the last World War the Zoo suffered much from the war ravages and vandalism like other public properties. But due to combined efforts of the Government and the authorities in charge, the Zoo was gradually restored to its normal state. In 1962, the Government upgraded it to international standard by building new buildings and new fencing and extending old roads and constructing new ones. The area of the Zoo was extended from 42.02 acres to 69.25 acres. A natural history museum and an aquarium were established and opened to the public on 4, May 1966 and 1, October 1998 respectively. The Aquarium is now under the management of the Department of Fisheries.
• Since the last decade, the Zoo has been undergoing all round renovation and development. A sports ground of world class
• including a children's play ground and amusement centre was installed and was opened on 1, October 1997. Restaurants, snack bars, and souvenir shops have been opened for the convenience of the visitors. There are pleasure rides and drives for children and adults, such as elephant, horse and elephant cart, horse cart and electric train. On weekends, snake charmers and magicians put up their show to enthral the spectators with their tricks and antics. Pavilions, shady parks and green lawns provide idyllic havens of rest and relaxation at noontime when the fiery Orb becomes mightiest and most powerful especially in summer.

• Recreational, informative and educational
• The Zoo has three objectives - (1) to provide recreation to the public, (2) to provide the public with general knowledge of the biodiversity of the country and (3) to educate students of zoology and botany in Myanmar's fauna and flora.
• With these objectives, the Zoo accommodates 60 different species of mammal totalling 610 60, different species of bird totalling 42517, different species of reptile totalling 168 amounting to 137 species of land animals numbering 1203 creatures living in their man-made habitats. Visitors may visit the Aquarium to view aquatic creatures.
• While creating natural conditions for the animals in captivity as much as possible so as to make them happy and healthy, the Zoo intends to set up botanical gardens on its sites. Flora and fauna are the twin basic elements of ecology. They cannot be separated. Fauna depends upon flora for survival. Therefore over 300 species of flora totalling 15000 in number are grown on the establishment. They are:
• 170 different species of trees and plants.
• 19 different species of coconut and palm.
• 23 different species of bamboo and grass.
• 69 different species of shrub and vine.
• 24 different species of seasonal flowers.
• The Natural History Museum which is situated to the south in the Zoo Park, exhibits an array of Taxidermy, rare species of Myanmar fauna with explanatory charts and captions. Attendants around in the museum are employees of the Forest Department or postgraduate students of zoology who are obliged to help the visitors if they need further explanation regarding the exhibits. I was involved in an interesting conversation with an attendant who said that she had met me at the Popa Resort some years ago when I accompanied state guests there. From her I learnt that visitors from abroad were quite pleased and satisfied to have visited the Zoo and the Museum.Visitors from the western countries are environmentalists or specialists in Zoology or research sutdents on wildlife.
• A medium for environmental awareness
• The folder I was given at the entrance gate carries basic information regarding the Zoo. It contains a guide map of the Zoo with detailed directions to animals' houses and birds's cages. There are two simple but clear messages in it, appealing to the public. One reads "Save Our Endangered Species" with a coloured photograph of Tiger on its top. The other reads "Be Kind To Animals" at the bottom of the two folds showing 8 coloured photographs of some endangered species, now being looked after with special care at the Zoo. They are Tiger, Takin, Asian Elephant, Clouded Leopard, Myanmar Large Tortoise, Great Hornbill, Marsh Crocodile and ELD's Deer. Under the beautiful photograph of Thawkagyi blooms (Amherstia nobitis) (Queen of Flowers) are twelve lines of appeal to the world public to care and protect the world's natural environment from degradation and destruction, since all things and livings in nature are mutually interdependent.
• The Yangon Zoo is open from 8 a.m. to 6 P.M.. It is well worth paying an entry fee of K 25 for adult and K 10 for minors for Myanmar citizens FEC 2 for resident foreigners and FEC 5 for tourists.
• I returned home, informed and more knowledgeable about the fauna of my country, feeling happy that I had spent my "stolen time" to "stand and stare" in the Yangon Zoo. Happier still was I when I received greeting purrs of my pet cat on my lap as I relaxed in my easy chair.

Dr. Khin Maung Nyunt.