Caged for Life

I have always been fascinated by animals. I always wanted to have a pet at home. Be it a dog, a cat or a small rabbit. I would have liked it to be a part of my family. But, my mom doesn't want any four legged creatures in the house.

But, this never bothered me. You won’t be surprised to know that my favourite channel on the TV is the Animal Planet and my favourite shows include "The Crocodile Hunter" and the "Most Extreme." My favourite hosts are Steve Irwin and Jeff Corwin from the Animal Planet. And it is no surprise that we group of friends call ourselves the Animal Kingdom.

It’s been around 22 years that I have been staying in Mumbai. There is only one Zoo in the city and I had visited it only once during all these years. So, it was time for me to visit the VEERMATA JIJABAI BHOSLE UDYAN again for the second time. I don't even remember the last time I was there. So, it was time I paid a visit to this amazing place.

My companions were Atul and Glen. The fact is that I and Atul have decided to see all the tourist places in Mumbai. We have seen many people visiting all the places when they visit some new place but the native city is always neglected.

Visiting this Byculla Zoo was a wonderful experience. We first paid visit to the King of the Jungle... the beautiful Lion and then headed towards the other cages. Delight and Grief gripped us at the same time. God did not create these magnificent animals to be enclosed inside cages. They too have a life of their own. They just can't be caged our pleasure.

Its heart breaking to see Hippos swimming about in dirty waters, hyena and leopards stuffed in small cages. One of the most intimidating animals I saw was the Indian Rhino. What a creature it was!!! It resembles more of a Dinosaur than modern specie.

The worst part about the zoos is that some people don't respect these wonderful and magnificent creatures. Throwing stones and teasing these animals is not a act of heroism. I would recommend that the thrown objects at the animals should be asked to retrieve from the enclosures. That should teach them a lesson.

The Byculla zoo also holds many birds including the Pelican, the Peacock, the Peahen, the White Crow, the Parakeets and the Lovebirds. Don’t cage these birds. They own the sky. Let them fly away to freedom. Leave them back in the wild. That’s the place where they belong.