LAHORE: The Lahore Zoo Safari has been reopened after a gap of three months or so with a new look and added attractions for the visitors, officials told Dawn.

Officials say that the Punjab Wildlife Department has plans to keep open the upgraded Safari, with a state of the art fish aquarium and newly introduced electric cars, till 11pm in the night. They say Safari will offer free visits to schoolchildren for a month till March 22, as announced by ex-chief minister Mohsin Naqvi while inaugurating the upgraded facility on Feb 22.

Lahore Zoo Safari Project Director Mudassar Hassan, giving details of the facilities added to the upgraded Safari, says that initially four electric cars have been introduced at Safari to take visitors inside the enclosures of animals such as antelopes. He says that new tracks for the cars have been constructed in these enclosures and eight more electric cars will be added to the facility in the near future.

The project director says that a modern fish aquarium will be a new experience for the visitors to Safari, where a shark will also be introduced soon.

He says Safari landscaping has been done on thematic patterns as different animals will be kept there according to their natural habitats. For the purpose, as hillock has been built there, besides a desert-like area etc. The lion Safari has also been upgraded with addition of “hills” to the enclosure. He says a parking lot for 500 cars has also been built for the visitors.

Hassan says that new animals are also being introduced in the Safari, including three elephants (two females and one male), nine giraffes (three males and six females), and a pair of rhinos.

To a question about any increase in the Safari entry ticket and other facilities, he said such proposals were with the Zoo Management Committee and would be implemented after its decision.

Published in Dawn, February 29th, 2024