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Grasamruga
vanam
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| The
Chinkara enclosure has been christened 'Grasamruga
vanam'. The sanskrit meaning of the local name 'Gaddi
jinka' is 'Grasamruga' and hence the enclosure has
been named so. Deer is associated with innumerable
stories. Mareecha assumes the form of a golden deer
in order to attract Sitadevi. Lord Shiva uses a
loincloth made with deer skin. Vayu's chariot is
pulled by a pair of deer. The Musk-deer, ' kasturimriga
', is nearest relative of deer. |
Grasamruga vanam- Chinkara enclosure |
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Chinkara
Scientific name :
Gazella gazella
Common names : Hindi
: Chinkara ; Telugu : burra jinka, gaddi jinka
Size : 65 cm height
(at the shoulder) ; 23 kg weight ; 25-30 cm horn length
;
Characters : It has
a slender graceful build . The color above is light chestnut
, deepening where it joins the white of the underparts
. There is the usual white streak down each side of the
face , so characteristic off all gazelles , and a dusky
patch above the nose . The horns of the male appear almost
straight when seen from the front , in profile they take
a slightly s-shaped curve having 15-25 rings . Horns of
the female are smooth or even missing . |
Habitat
:
Plains
and low hills of northwestern and central India extending
through the open lands of the Deccan to a little south of
the Krishna river .
Habits : Scattered bush
, thin jungle , wastelands broken up by nullahs and ravines
are the usual places for Chinkara . They are shy of man and
are not so frequently seen near cultivated lands . Sight ,
scent and hearing are all equally developed in these animals.
Food : food consists of
grass , various leaves and wild fruits. They can go without
water for long periods of time , deriving their water requirement
from their food. Chinkara do not have a particular mating
season , but there are two birth peaks , the major one in
April and a minor one sometime during Autumn. Gestation period
is five and a half months . Males are territorial with ranges
upto 200mts in diameter , demarcated by fecal markings .
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Krishnamruga
vanam
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'Krishnamruga
vanam' - Blackbuck enclosure |
The
zoo has named the Blackbuck enclosure as the
'Krishnamruga vanam'. This is the Sanskrit term
for the Blackbuck .
This name probably evolved because the Blackbuck
, like Lord Krishna is dark in colour . |
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The
Blackbuck or the Indian antelope
Scientific name :
Antilope cervicapra
Common names :
Hindi :Hirna ; Telugu : Krishna jinka.
Size : A full
grown Blackbuck stands 80 cm tall at the shoulder
and on the average weighs about 40kg. . Horns usually
never exceed 50cm in the south but may reach 65 cm
or more in north India.
Characters : This
exclusive Indian animal is perhaps the most beautiful
of all its kind with its striking colour and its beautiful
spiraled horns . When young its coat is yellowish
fawn. It starts turning black at the age of three.
The plain horns of the young ones start developing
a large open spiral at the age of two and attain,
at the end of the third year, full number of spiral
twists . |
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Habitat
:
Black buck used to occur in practically all the plains
area except along the Indian coast southward from
the neighborhood of Surat . They avoid forest or hill
tracts .
Habits
: Black buck are usually seen in
herds of 20 or 30 , though in Rajasthan and the Punjab
gatherings may number several hundreds . They feed
on grass and various cereal crops . They graze till
noon and late evenings and rest in the hot hours of
the day . they have a moderate hearing sense and fair
sense of scent . Keen eyesight and speed are their
protection . When alarmed the herd moves off in a
series of light leaps and bounds , and then breaks
into a gallop . Female leads the herd .
Blackbuck breed at all seasons but it is at the peak
in the months of February and March . One or two young
are produced at a time which are concealed in the
grass by the mother . The young ones gain strength
rapidly and rejoin the herd . |
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