In harmony with animals at Pinnawala Open Air Zoo

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             I was not able to contain my excitement at the prospect of visiting the first open air zoo in the country-the Pinnawala Open Air Zoo. Launched as the first of its kind in Sri Lanka, I looked forward to an experience that proved to be quite out of the ordinary and without a doubt never encountered before!

Located close to the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, the Pinnawala Zoo apart from being the first open air zoo in Sri Lanka, is the second zoo of the country after the Dehiwala Zoological Gardens. Bringing to life a concept that goes beyond merely caging animals, care has been taken to re-create their natural habitats within a spacious expanse. With a land extent of 44 acres, each enclosure has been allocated an area that is slightly more than 1.5 acres, ensuring that its inhabitants have enough space to roam around freely.

Snaking our way amidst the crowd thronging inside from the entrance, we made a beeline towards the pet area. It had minimal barriers, which consisted of a short dividing metal-stone wall. Rabbits, a Bantam fowl and Muscovy ducks were walking through the perimeter as if they were in a rush, while a turkey took slow steps-with its tail plumage spread behind it-like a bride walking down the isle! Next to them, was some mouse deer (Chevrotains)-not one but three of them play fighting. Then there were owls, lazily resting on tree branches.

The premise for the construction of the Pinnawala Zoo was first initiated to compensate for the limited space at the Dehiwala zoo, which restricted further expansion. So far, the first phase, which accounts for around 25 acres of the total area has been completed and opened to the public while the rest is still under careful construction. Though the massive deer and leopard enclosures are what await to amaze the visitors now, the bear and crocodile enclosures, slated to be opened by the end of this year will equally draw the attention of the curious onlookers.
 

Being up close with the big cats was the highlight of our journey to the zoo, and I was absolutely stunned by the majesty of the Sri Lankan leopards (this was the first time that I have seen one this close!). There are two viewing points at the enclosure-Willpattu and Yala points and we hurried towards the the Yala Point. Peering through the fence, I tried to get a glimpse and was stopped by a soft roar. And there they were in one corner, a pair, playing with each other. Another one was taking a nap atop a rock, but would lift his head from time to time to glance at the crowd. I could hear the ‘click, click,' of cameras as visitors had already begun capturing each movement of these animals. We learned from the zookeepers that the big cats have marked their territories within the enclosure and would seldom come out from their comfort zones.

Sambar, spotted deer, barking deer and hog deer are the species of deer that were in the zoo; and sometimes we had to walk around the enclosure to get a good glimpse of them. Boards displaying various ‘did-you-know' facts about the animals were also displayed in each area; where I learned that unlike the human vision, deer vision only uses shades of yellow, blue and grey, with 280-degree field of view, whereas that of humans is only 120-degree.
 

Donkeys roam free on grass lawns and you can almost walk in tandem with them. There were jumbos, visiting from Pinnawala, taking a walk around the zoo, and they would even pose for pictures with visitors.
 

The zoo teaches people to live in harmony with the animals, since there are minimal or no barriers in all spaces. Everywhere I looked, adults and children alike were enjoying the rare treat of seeing animals that are not seen outside of their natural habitats, up close. And for me, it was a memorable journey and one that allowed me to have many first time experiences.

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