Nine lakh people undertook virtual tour of Patna zoo in a week: Official

Stuck within the four walls of home amid the coronavirus-triggered lockdown, lakhs of people, in search of some solace, have logged in to the social media pages of Patna zoo over the past week to take a virtual tour of the menagerie, which houses at least 800 animals and birds.

Several wildlife enthusiasts, following their virtual visit of the Sanjay Gandhi Jaivik Udyaan, have also shared their experiences on its YouTube channel and Facebook page.

The state forest department launched the initiative a week ago in a bid to keep the locked-down people, especially children, engaged and entertained, its principal secretary Dipak Kumar Singh said on Sunday.

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"Within a week of the launch of our YouTube channel -- DEFCC Official -- more than nine lakh animal lovers across the globe virtually visited the zoo. The channel has premiered six episodes so far, featuring tigers, birds, rhinoceros, chimpanzees, giraffes and elephants," he said.

Children, who tune in to the videos on social media, will get to learn a thing or two about animal behaviour, their food habits and habitat, Singh said.

"As the Patna zoo is home to 800 wild animals and birds, the campaign has been divided into a series of episodes. Each episode describes the natural habitat, food habits, reproduction cycle and other interesting facts about one animal," he said

The menagerie usually witnesses high footfall round the year, the forest department official said.

"The zoo has never remained closed for so long in the past. Just to help people beat lockdown blues, we launched this unique initiative which will allow them to get up close with animals and birds from their homes," he added.