The wild ones are at home here

When commissioned later this year, the Thrissur Zoological Park at Puthur in Kerala will be India’s first zoo designed from the ground up by a professional who specialises in this field, claims the Kerala government.

On June 18, 2023, tapping workers found a critically injured leopard cub abandoned in a rubber plantation at Ayiloor in the Nenmara Forest Division of Palakkad district in Kerala. It had injuries all over its body, including multiple spinal fractures. There were worms in the vomitus. It was weak and suffered frequent seizures.  

The six-month-old cub was rushed to the clinical medicine wing of the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, 43  kilometres away. From the near-death condition it had arrived in, it limped back to life in a few weeks. However, the seizures continued. Considering its poor health, veterinarians recommended shifting it to the Thrissur Zoological Park at Puthur, which has a full-fledged hospital with a 24-hour doctor service. There, they named it Leo.

“Nobody thought Leo would survive when he was rescued,” says R. Keerthi, director of the Thrissur Zoological Park, with a smile, as she watches Leo’s acrobatics with a toy hanging from the roof of the spacious enclosure in the zoo hospital. In between, little Leo poses for photos, appearing to thoroughly enjoy stardom.  

Leo is among four big cats that arrived in the first phase of the Thrissur Zoological Park, to be commissioned later this year. Vaiga and Durga, two tigers who were notorious for cattle-lifting, and Rudra, a dreaded maneater — all three from the Wayanad district — are the other three big cats at the zoo.

The Kerala government claims that this is India’s first zoo to be designed by an expert who specialises in integrating animals, people, and plants, through design. Jon Coe, an Australian landscape architect, has a portfolio of 160 projects, including 85 zoos. He has also worked on botanical gardens, theme parks, and national parks across 15 countries. 

Among the largest zoos in Asia, Thrissur Zoological Park is coming up across 350 acres of land in Puthur, about 12 km from Thrissur town, on a budget of ₹307 crore. The project will showcase wild animals and birds in their natural surroundings. “It is like a managed wildlife setting,” says Keerthi. The precinct is also meant for research, conservation, and captive breeding of animals and birds endemic to and endangered in the Western Ghats, according to Keerthi.  

By February, all animals and birds from the present Thrissur zoo will be shifted to Puthur. In addition, animals will be shipped in from other parts of India and overseas in a phased manner.