KARACHI, June 23: Over half-a-million people visit the Safari Park, situated along the University Road, every year to enjoy fresh air and walk around on the spacious lawns, while their children have fun in the play area — on the swings and slides — and watch the caged animals and birds.

Initially the land was given to a civic agency for the city zoo to be shifted from the middle of the city to the outskirts so that the animals had more area and cleaner environment, and were less exposed to noise and smoke pollution.

The then martial law administrator, Lt-Gen Atiq-ur-Rehman, gave 407 acres in the early 1970s, out of which 50 acres were reserved for the railway tracks and the water and gas pipelines passing through the area. 50 or so acres were covered by a few villages some of which have since been regularised. Some 10 acres were allotted to various builders with whom disputes are pending. 50 acres were given for a water park and around 35 acres are lying vacant.

Later, however, the civic agency, instead of shifting the zoo, decided to develop a safari park so that the urban population had the feel of the wilderness right in the middle of the mega city.

Though over three decades have passed since the land was handed over to the civic agency and over a couple of decades have passed since it was decided to establish a safari park here, the actual safari area — comprising over 200 acres — of the park is yet to be open to the public.

There are 11 spacious enclosures in the safari area, five of these have been fully developed and over 400 mammals are living in these, while plantation has been done in the rest of the enclosures and soon the animals will be shifted there as well.

The safari environment seems to have had a healthy effect on the animals whose breeding rate is almost more than double than that of the animals stuffed in small cages in the city zoo located in the centre of the city where the animals are exposed to the public view most of the time. 106 births were reported in the Safari Park mammals during the year 2001 and 45 births have been reported during the year 2002, so far.

It comes as a pleasant surprise when one is allowed to visit the safari area. On entering the enclosures, one finds oneself in the midst of the wilderness with wild animals sitting in the shed under the trees to avoid the scorching sun, drinking from and frolicking in and around the small artificial lakes and ponds, and running around within the fences. It looks like a scene right out of a Hollywood movie on some African safari.

The mammal species in the park, which can be seen roaming around freely in the safari area, include the gazelle (found in the Subcontinent); the spotted deer (Subcontinent); the black buck (Subcontinent); the fallow deer (Europe); the Sika deer (Japan); the Nilgai (Subcontinent); the llama (South America); the Mouflon (Europe); the Sambhar (Subcontinent); the bactrian camel (Tajakistan); the yak (Tibet); the zebra (Africa); the water buck Defassa (Africa); the water buck Kobus (Africa); the white fallow deer (Europe); the white Llama (South America) and the red deer.

As the number of developed enclosures is increasing the species are being separated. Earlier, with fewer enclosures many species were put together and a few of them crossbred, spoiling the pure bloodline. During that time the Japanese sika deer and the American red deer crossbred and three fawns were born. Though, still the number of the enclosures is less than the number of the species, those who did not crossbreed have been put in the same closures.

There are 200 employees at the Safari Park to look after the park inmates — over 400 mammals and 250 birds. However, despite the fact that there are so many mammals and birds and the park also has a fully furnished dispensary and the budget for medicines is available, there is not a single veterinarian or even a paramedic at the park to look after the inmates. A veterinarian accompanied by paramedics — all of them on the Karachi’s zoo’s strength — visit the park once a week to look after the inmates.

Wildlife experts suggest that the parent stock of the animals be changed after seven to eight years, otherwise genetic diseases may erupt due to inbreeding. So efforts should be made to introduce new blood into the herds. The animals were shifted to the park in 1996 and the experts feel that planning needs to be done for introducing new blood into the herds in the next two or three years to avoid any catastrophe.

The swings and slides installed in the play area for children are in bad shape. The metallic structures have rusted and are broken in many places, while the cement-concrete structures have deteriorated and become dangerous for children to play on.

One of the ridges in the park developed cracks when an earthquake — which killed thousands of people in the Indian state of Gujrat — hit the region a couple of years back. But so far no steps have been taken to repair the cracks which might endanger the lives of the visitors.

Various plans — one of over Rs6 million, the other of around Rs1 million, yet another of Rs2.5 million — were made. But none of these were approved. The cracks remain, posing a threat to the visitors.

FUTURE PLANS: Responding to Dawn queries, director Zoo and Safari Park, Mohammad Mansoor Qazi, said that the management was planing to start an air-conditioned bus service inside the safari area so that people could take trips through various enclosures and see the animals.