Zoo Station

Vikram and Nikhil at the zoo entrance

With shopping and the party finished, we were now able to enjoy some of Chennai’s sights.  On Monday we chose to visit the Arignar Anna Zoological Park (aka the Vandalur Zoo), because it's closed on Tuesday.  AZP is the largest and oldest zoo in India and lies southwest of our flat.  Traffic leaving the flat quickly thinned out and Suresh deftly maneuvered through the remaining autorickshaws and lorries (see that, I used a British/Indian-English term) to get us to the zoo in 30 minutes.

Admission is 20 rupees (<50 cents) per adult and 10 per child.  For non-Indians, however, admission is 200R.  Taking pictures, however, will cost you 25 rupees for a still camera and more for a video camera.

The park is quite large (1,500 acres) and, the weather being hot, we decided to take a guided tour with a golf cart rather than walk.  The guide mainly shouted the name of each exhibit was as we drove by at 10 mph.  He did stop at key points and we got off to take pictures.

This zoo keeps some rare white tigers.  In fact, just as we arrived in Chennai, a white tigress gave birth to cubs. However, these were not on display.  An American zoo would have sold tickets for a few, “select” people to get a glimpse of the cubs and have a whole section of white tiger memorabilia in the gift shop (not to mention tiger cubcam).  Come to think of it, I didn’t see a gift shop.  Come on people!  Where are the white tiger hats, T-shirts, plush toys, and tote bags? You’re missing a huge money making opportunity.

We boarded the bus for the Lion Safari shortly before the departure time of 2 PM.  I may have mentioned that Chennai is hot in August.  You don’t want to be outside for too long, and if you’re going to be outside, you don’t want to be in a metal box without A/C.  The bus was an oven.  There was one fan, which wasn’t running while the bus was parked, and was aimed directly at the driver anyway.  We sat, semi-patiently

1:55        We board the bus

2:05        We ask where the driver was and learn that he is still at lunch. 

2:10        Driver arrives and counts the passengers.  He notices three empty seats, i.e. unsold tickets, and decides to wait for three more passengers.

2:15        Three more passengers board; a couple with a small child.  When they realize that the three remaining seats were separate, they decided to disembark and wait for the next tour.

2:17        Still waiting for more passengers.

2:18        We decide to buy the last three tickets just to get the bus moving.  Fortunately, three young men buy tickets and board the bus.

2:20        The 2 PM tour departs.

2:45        The tour ends.

There’s no guarantee that passengers will see lions in the preserve.  So we went with the expectation that we may see one or two.  At the first turn-off in the preserve we saw eight lions.  When we left that area, the driver turned back to the entrance, rather than going further into the preserve.  He announced that there are only eight lions in the preserve, and we had no more to see.  For all I know, the driver wanted to take a nap and concocted the eight lions story.

These lions were not particularly interested in tourists.  They made no attempt to put on a show by attacking the bus or fighting with each other for dominance – actually we only saw one male, which must have been by design.  I guess, with temperatures in the 90s, the lions just wanted to find a shady spot.

 In addition to the mammals, the zoo has aviaries, outdoor reptile exhibits (including an American alligator), and a snake house.  Monkeys are present as non-caged residents. 

The highlight of the zoo trip, due to our immaturity, was the Indian Wild Ass. Naturally, we posed for photos.

See more zoo photos on the Expedition Chennai photo album.