A Day in Bannerughatta

 What comes to your mind when you hear 'Biological Park', or 'National Park'? And what comes to your mind when you hear the word 'Zoo'? On the face of it, they might appear as different things. And most of the time, they are. But in Bannerughatta they are the same. While traditionally, a biological park is something of a conserved forest with the motive to protect animals in its natural habitat, it's not the case in Bannerughatta.

There is a Zoo and a small forest where animals roam in a very limited boundary. Basically, they are just bigger cages. And who decides where these animals roam and what they eat? Yep, humans. Can we call this space a biological reserve then? I hardly think so.

The very reason of these biological parks and zoos is to make money through visitors, and not the conservation of animals. Don't let their motto deceive you. There are way too many animals in there which don't need protection and can survive easily in the wild. And even if they can't survive in the wild that is the way nature is. Not all survive. Because in nature no one is important, no one is not important.

You enter the zoo and you see Royal Bengal Tiger in a cage of around 600 sq. feet. They roam in forests as big as 600 sq. km. Then there are 10 feet long snakes in a cage of 15 feet long and 10 feet wide. These are just some examples.

The main attraction of the park is the White Tiger. Yeah, they're so attractive, but what goes on behind the scenes is something way below 'unethical'. They are continuously inbred, meaning breeding happens within the same blood. That naturally produces cubs with deformities. It is reported that as many as 30 to 60 cubs may be destroyed before getting one perfect, profitable cub. This is not conservation. This is done just for attraction, at the cost of those animals. You can read more about this here. It's really so sad.

And next comes the birds. Now, why the heck do you need birds from Amazon or elsewhere in a small cage in Bangalore? You guessed the reason. Money! Imagine, you are at your home in this pandemic, still, you are feeling like you're in jail. Now the same thing for birds, but 100 times worse. They can fly, for crying out loud!

Then there are reports of quarries around the "forest". So many wild animals in there, such loud sounds nearby, it's just a bomb ticking. And what has the government done? Absolutely nothing. It's disgusting.

The thing is Zoos as a whole are just profit-making machines most of the time. This is not limited to Bannerughatta park. And by going to these parks we are actively encouraging these activities. Yeah, that includes me. Before anyone says "conservation" purposes, no, it can be done even in Reserve Forests like Bandipur.

This was basically my rant. I normally ask you to share only if you liked it, but please share this article with as many people as possible. Let us raise awareness. Thank you for reading.