Hyderabad’s Nehru Zoological Park recorded its highest visitor footfall of the current Dasara holiday season on Sunday, with 20,483 people visiting the facility as families used the break for leisure and animal viewing.
The surge has prompted the zoo to expand visitor-management arrangements inside the premises. Additional ticket counters have been opened to facilitate bookings, while extra security guards have been deployed across the park to help prevent untoward incidents during the holiday rush.
Zoo officials have also increased the frequency of train rides, safaris and battery-operated vehicle services. These facilities are among the main ways visitors move through the large zoological park, and the increased frequency is intended to improve access and reduce pressure during periods of high attendance.
The latest turnout comes during the Dasara vacation, a period when the zoo typically attracts large crowds. The park also sees substantial visitor numbers during the summer vacation, making seasonal surges a recurring operational requirement for its administration.
Nehru Zoological Park currently houses 2,178 animals across four groups. Its collection includes 498 mammals, 1,352 birds, 320 reptiles and eight amphibians, according to information reported by Telangana Today. The figures indicate the scale of the visitor facility and the range of animal-care and public-access functions managed within the park.
The zoo has added mandrills to its collection through an animal exchange programme with Jamshedpur Zoo. As part of the exchange, Nehru Zoological Park gave a pair of African lions to the Jamshedpur facility. Such exchanges allow participating zoos to alter and expand their animal collections through institutional arrangements rather than relying only on new acquisitions.
The Hyderabad zoo also introduced three zebras last year after receiving them from the Radha Krishna Trust in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The zebras returned to Hyderabad after a gap of 37 years, adding to the park’s visitor attractions and animal collection.
Further additions may follow. The zoo is planning to bring kangaroos from Vantara, a wildlife rescue and conservation centre run by the Reliance Foundation. The report did not provide a date for the proposed transfer or details of the administrative process involved.
For the current holiday period, the zoo’s immediate response has focused on increasing ticketing capacity, security deployment and the availability of internal transport and visitor services. The next phase of the animal collection plans will depend on the proposed arrangements with Vantara, while the additional facilities remain in operation as the Dasara break continues.
