Delhi Zoo - National Zoological Park is one of the best places to explore for Kids in Capital City of India
Delhi Zoo is one of the most popular place for folks visiting Delhi from other parts of the world or different Indian States. Especially Kids love to visit Delhi Zoological Park to experience controlled wildlife. This Photo Journey shares some of the photographs from Delhi, which is located near Old Fort in Indian Capital.
Delhi Zoo is one of the very well maintained zoological parks in the country which has good number of wild animals and birds in it. This is located just next to the Old Fort and the lake. There is enough parking space outside the main gate. And it's recommended to eat something before entering into the zoo. Now eatables are not allowed inside and there is no option inside if you feel like eating something.
Probably Delhi Zoo is best place when you are planning an outing with Kids. Kids love going to the Zoo, watching different animals especially White Tiger, Giraffe, Lion, Zerba, Jaguar and colorful birds which can be rarely seen otherwise.
There are few beautiful water bodies inside the Delhi Zoo, where you can find colorful birds taking bath or playing in groups. When we visited Delhi Zoo 4 years back, some of us were wondering that how is it ensured that birds don't move out of the Zoo, because many of these birds were not in any kind of enclosure. Few were of-course enclosed but many were not. It seems that high level of ecosystem is built in these Zological parks so that such birds which are free, don't feel like moving out. And here we are talking about birds which are not really seen in other parts of Delhi, except Okhla region.
There are few golf-carts deployed, which can be used inside the zoo to move from one part of the Zoo to other. Delhi Zoo is spread over a huge area and at times, it becomes difficult to cover whole Zoo only by walking from one cage to another.
There is a huge section for Jaguars in Delhi Zoo. This spotted cat most closely resembles the leopard physically, although it is usually larger, stronger, although behavioral and habitat is closer to those of the tiger. Dense rainforest is its preferred habitat of jaguars but they will range across a variety of forested and open terrains. Jaguars are strongly associated with the presence of water and is notable, along with the tiger, as a feline that enjoys swimming. The jaguar is largely a solitary, opportunistic, stalk-and-ambush predator.
I have been to Delhi Zoo many times and mostly with Kids and a few times with Photography Enthusiasts. Delhi Zoo is one of the popular destination among folks who are in initial phase of learning Photography. I have also spent significant time in early days, as it has lot to offer for Photographers who wants to experiment a lot and learn from mistakes. There are lot of challenges that Zoo throws on a Photographer - Low light conditions and then moving subjects at distance etc.. This place helps a Photographer appreciate the importance of good zoom lenses, Image Stabilization capabilities and how fast these lenses are (f2.8, f3.4, f4.5 etc)
Places like Delhi Zoo encourages families to spend quality time together and enjoy the holidays in better way. If people visiting the Zoo behave responsibly, it can become a great to spend weekends. As of now, families can't spend more time as there is no way to find eatables inside. If everyone behave responsibly, authorities can allow eatables. Although if planned well, it can be planned now as well. There are many isolated areas in Zoo, where canteens or restaurants can be setup and people should not be allowed take out any eatable beyond a boundary. Specially with kids, it's impossible be inside without anything to eat.
Most of the animals are located on right side of the entrance gate. These animals include chimpanzee , hippopotamus , spider monkey African wild buffalo , Giraffes, Gir lion, and Zebras . Going to the left, visitors will see animals including migratory birds like peafowl , and well as hyenas , macaques , and jaguars in the swamps that were designed for water birds. In the center of the zoo is the underground reptile house.
There are very interesting birds in Delhi Zoo and most of the times we have spent max time around these cages having colorful birds with pleasant sounds all around.
Here is a photograph of white peacock. Just for Photography enthusiasts, this peacock was inside the netted cage which is not visible in this photograph. This was clicked by planing camera near the net and used highest possible aperture. I don't remember which lens was used for this photograph but most likely it was kit lens 18-55 and photograph was clicked at 18mm to make best use of least f value possible - f3.6.
Delhi zoo is part of conservation breeding programs of the Central Zoo Authority for the royal Bengal tiger, Indian rhinoceros , swamp deer , Asiatic lion , brow antlered deer , and red jungle fowl. The breeding program for the brow antlered deer has been so successful that individuals from the herd have been distributed to zoos in Ahmedabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Junagarh, and Mysore, and have acclimated well to all of these locations.
Best time to visit Delhi Zoo is Winters. Summers in Delhi are relatively bad days for going out anywhere, especially places like Delhi Zoo which needs significant time if you want to explore it well. Monsoons are also good, depending upon the day when you plan. And green landscapes around Zoo also help in keeping the temperature low as compared to rest of the city.