Kolkata: An open air enclosure for Royal Bengal tigers and an aquatic aviary for exotic and endangered birds at the Zoological Gardens in Alipore here was Monday inaugurated by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The 33,500-square-metre tiger enclosure, built at a cost of Rs.2.3 crore, has an open roaming area, a pond, and a waterfall. The enclosure separates the animals from the visitors by a 39-mm three-layer glass, zoo officials said.
The new facility will enable visitors to watch the tigers from close. The zoo now has five Royal Bengal tigers and three white tigers, they said.
The new facility for birds will have a water body and steel net as ceiling as against the earlier concrete ceiling.
Birds like spoonbills, open bill storks, pelicans and rosy pelicans would be kept in the new 7,850-square-metre facility.
