Private firms should involve in wildlife conservation: Deputy CM Pavan Kalyan

Visakhapatnam: State deputy chief minister and minister of forest and environment K Pavan Kalyan emphasised the importance of wildlife conservation for environmental balance and stability, urging everyone to be part of it. He called on corporate houses to get involved in wildlife conservation. On the occasion of his mother Anjana Devi's birthday, he adopted two giraffes at the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park in Visakhapatnam and announced that he would cover their maintenance costs for a year.On his three-day visit to the port city, Pavan inspected Visakhapatnam Zoo on Thursday, enquiring about the facilities set up for animal conservation and discussing development opportunities with forest department officials. Corporations should partner in zoo development, choosing animals they like and taking responsibility for their care. He said his family is full of animal lovers and is very attentive to animal welfare, as his family has four dogs at home.He visited the butterfly park near the back gate and enquired about the different types of butterflies and their feeding methods from zoo curator Mangamma. He released various butterflies collected by forest officials into the park. When tiger butterflies landed on him, he gently redirected them to the flower plants. Later, he observed the elephants in the zoo, enquiring about their diet, names given by zoo officials, and care measures.The deputy CM inaugurated a new enclosure for bears, learning about the two black bears in the zoo and feeding them. He observed deer, lions, African macaws, and tigers, discussing their protection measures and the facilities needed in the zoo. He visited the elephant shelter, following zoo regulations, sanitised himself, and fed the elephants. Later, he visited the giraffe enclosure, feeding them their favourite banyan leaves and bananas, and enquired about their origin and age from the caretakers.He inspected Kambalakonda Eco Park and inaugurated an urban forest (Nagara Vanam) developed by the forest department. The urban forest spans 50 acres in the eco park. He then took a 400-metre canopy walk on a wooden bridge among various tree species, examining trees like teak, neem, mahogany, and bamboo, and learning about their scientific names and benefits. He planted mahogany saplings in the park's peace garden. He was accompanied by the principal chief conservator of forest PV Chalapathi Rao, APCCF Shantipriya Pandey, forest development corporation regional manager Jyoti, Visakhapatnam DFO Ravindra Dama, and joint collector Vidyadhari, among others.