Spring season brings joy for visitors

Rawalpindi
As the arrival of spring has bought various colours to the Ayub National Park, Rawalpindi and one cannot pass by without appreciating the colourful flowers meticulously maintained blossoming in and around the premises; similarly Jungle World Zoo in the same park is also bustling with new arrival of animals.
In the recent months there has been a tremendous breeding in almost all the animals. Blue bull cows gave birth to three calves, Asian black bear gave birth to one offspring, Rhesus monkey gave birth to one offspring, Chinkara deer gave birth to three offspring, Urial gave birth to four offspring, and Black Buck deer gave birth to one offspring. Hog deer, Australian sheep and Mufflon sheep gave birth to one offspring each. Last week two zebra females gave birth to two offspring, which have become the darling of the zoo. A pair of lions about 10 months old has also been inducted in the zoo recently.
The Jungle World Zoo at Ayub National Park being run under the Army Heritage Foundation is one of the best zoos being run in private sector. Presently the centre of attraction for children is two zebra offspring and a pair of lions.
The distinct black and white stripes of Zebras are much like human fingerprints with no two being exactly alike. Zebra, the member of the horse family, with an eye-catching coat of black and white stripes are found only in Africa. There are three species of Zebras, each with a distinctive stripe pattern; Grivy’s Zebra, the Mountain Zebra and the plain Zebra (also known as Burchell’s Zebra). Grivy’s Zebra is the best at coping with drought conditions. It lives in grasslands and thorny scrublands on the borders of northern Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia. The Mountain Zebra lives in the high grounds of South Africa and in the coastal hills of Namibia and Angola. The Plain Zebras have a much broader range. It lives throughout the grasslands, Savanna and scrub of East Africa reaching as far as Angola in the west. The Mountain Zebra is the smallest species of Zebras, adults average about 1.2m (4 ft) high at shoulders. Adult Plain Zebras are slightly larger averaging 1.4m (4.6 ft). Grivy Zebras is the largest species with adults standing about 1.5m (5 ft). The plain and Mountain Zebras weigh 290 to 340 kg while the Grivy Zebra weighs up to 450kg. Female Zebras can give birth to the first foal when they are just three years old after a gestation period of about 12 months. In the wild average life span is about 20 years while at zoo it lives upto 40 years.
Brigadier (r) Khalid Hameed Chughtai, Consultant of the Jungle World Zoo, while talking to ‘The News’ said that this year there has been extraordinary breeding of all animals in captivity besides hatching of Peacocks and Pheasants. “After the Zebra offspring the other attraction is the cub of Asian Black bear,” he said adding there are eight species of bears in the world. Polar bear is the largest of all species. Two species of bears are found in Pakistan.
The Himalayan black bear is found in Pakistan, India and Nepal. Brown bears live in the Deosoi plains in Pakistan. The Himalayan black species is quite identifiable by the presence of a distinct white ‘V’ shape on its chest. The toes have long strong claws that are used for digging, scratching, climbing and in defence. Its shoulder height is 130-190 cm, weight- 150-200 kg. Gestation period is 7-8 months and life span is about 30 years.
While talking to ‘The News,’ Army Heritage Foundation Director General Brigadier (r) Zaman Nasarullah Khan Niazi said that by providing friendly environment to the wild animals they have a record breeding in animals and birds. He appreciated the efforts of Director Jungle World Zoo, Lieutenant Colonel (r) Muhammad Tayyab and his entire team in achieving this milestone.
He said that this year Army Heritage Foundation has also organsed a festival; ‘Jashan-e-Baharan’ in the Maple Garden of Ayub National Park where all the varieties of spring flowers has been placed for the public, after a lapse of many years. Public has widely appreciated the idea and their participation has been tremendous. Extensive plantation has added to the beauty of the park with well-lit areas to facilitate the public.