Kathmandu, October 24

Animals in the Central Zoo, the country’s only zoo, in Jawalakhel are forced to live in a congested environment.

The zoo spread in an area of six hectares currently houses 849 wild animals and birds of 110 species.

Two-thirds of the zoo’s area is occupied by an amusement park and a pond, leaving very little space for wild animals and birds living there.

The central zoo is managed by National Trust for Natural Conservation, an autonomous body, since 1995.

Acting curator at the zoo Rachana Shah admitted that the zoo was not spacious enough but highlighted the brighter side, saying the zoo was well-managed with limited resources.

“We are  taking good care of animals although we have very limited resources and we are proud of our achievements,” she said, adding that the zoo needed animals like zebra, giraffe and lion to attract more visitors.

Conservation Officer at the zoo Leena Chalise  said, “We have not been able to hold animal exchange programmes at  the international level as we are not confident that we meet  international standards.”

There are 72 staffers working at the zoo,  which collects approximately Rs 90 million revenue annually by  selling tickets to visitors and additional Rs 7.26 million annually in rent  collected from amusement park owners.

The zoo receives more than 100,000 visitors every year, according to zoo officials.