By Bernama
Yangon : A first-ever zoological garden was inaugurated in Myanmar’s new capital of Nay Pyi Taw Wednesday morning, aimed at providing recreation place for tourists visiting the capital and local people, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.
Attached with the opening ceremony were elephant and other animal shows as well as elephant ride programs by visitors, reports reaching here said.
Partly moved from the zoological garden in the former capital of Yangon, famous animals in Myanmar and rare ones such as penguins, Kangaroos and white tigers as well as mammals, birds and reptiles are kept in the Nay Pyi Taw zoo.
The Nay Pyi Taw zoological garden project, which covers an area of more than 400 hectares and was undertaken by the Ministry of Forestry since 2006, stands the third after Yangon’s and Mandalay’s and the largest in the country.
Of the two existing zoological gardens, the historical Yangon’s, which expands as 20.3 hectares and was set up in January 1906, accommodates over 1,000 animals including 554 mammals of 62 species, 424 birds of 70 species and 130 reptiles of 19 species. Meanwhile, the Mandalay zoological garden, which expands as 21.5 hectares and was inaugurated in April 1989 and has 107 mammals of 35 species, 142 birds of 39 species and 137 reptiles of 15 species.
In January 2006, the Yangon Zoological Garden celebrated its rare centenary with special fun fair and drew thousands of visitors.
According to the garden officials, the Yangon zoological garden is among the 40 in the world which have history of over 100 years, attracting about 1.5 million visitors annually.
The Yangon zoological garden also exchanges animals and facts about them with counterparts of other countries including Malaysia, Singapore, Nepal, Germany and Czech Republic apart from many international organisations.
Meanwhile, the Myanmar forest authorities are calling on the country people to participate in the task for conservation of rare birds and wildlife to stabilize the ecosystem which faces collapse as in the world.
Taking note that the population of tigers worldwide gradually declines with tiger species being available in 13 countries only, Myanmar is cooperating with seven other Asian nations in an effort to establish a tiger protection corridor which extends as 5,000 miles (8.000 kilometers) for endangered ones.
In the wake of warning that there survive only 100 tigers in the country, Myanmar is also cooperating with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in undertaking tiger conservation in the Hukaung Valley.