Children to get a glimpse of zoo keeping

Demo on tranquilising to be held during summer camp

Summer camp for the first batch of 50 students, by Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, was inaugurated, here, on Monday.

During the ten-day camp, participants will listen to lectures related to bio-diversity, along with field practicals about various aspects of zoo management and also tour of conservation centres in the region.

Lectures on conservation of water, bio-diversity and importance of conservation will be delivered by experts during the camp. During field practicals, students will be allowed to clean cages and feed animals, giving them a hands on experience in zoo-keeping. Field practicals also include behavioural studies of animals, vegetation survey, interaction with visitors to the Zoo, pug mark study, etc. Participants will witness a demonstration of tranquilising animals by zoo veterinarians.

Inauguration

The summer camp was inaugurated by film-maker T S Nagabharana. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, he stressed on the importance of conservation and said, every being on earth has the right to live. “Respecting the environment is as important as having affection towards it. This should be taught to children at a young age,” he said.
Today, students aspire to become an engineer, doctor or a bank official, depending on their education.

But, a profession alone will not help us in our lives. So, students should develop a hobby, which will be important in the later stages of our lives, he added.

Speaking on technology, he said, information is available at fingertips, thanks to mobile phones. However, it is important to make sure that the information is somehow useful for us, he added.

Batches

Owing to a large number of applications for the summer camp, it will be held in three batches. While enrolment for the first two batches have already been done, camp for the third batch will be held from May 20 to 27. In the third batch, opportunity will be provided to students from outside Mysore to participate in the camp.

During the first day of the camp, a lecture on water conservation was delivered, followed by a visit to the Zoo, for the participants.