The youth club of Mysuru zoo, one of the most sought after educational clubs for students aged between 12 and 18 years, is all set to launch its year-long activities as the club events will be formally launched on the zoo premises on Sunday, July 23, at 10:30 a.m.
This is the 31st year of the club activities for which students are selected on a first come first serve basis since the intake of members to the club was 60.
Every week, the zoo conducts activities for the club members and the students will always be looking forward to the events which also includes classes on captive management of wild animals. Each week, they would get to listen to the resource persons and experts speaking on various topics and they would get the exposure of basics of biodiversity, values of wildlife, conservation of wild animals, and animal behavior at the zoo.
The activities include both theory and practical classes on the subjects.
Police Commissioner Ramesh B. will inaugurate the 31st Youth Club of Mysuru zoo on Sunday.
Being one of the largest zoological gardens in South India, the Mysuru zoo has been in the forefront of conservation education, spreading awareness among the public, especially among schoolchildren, on subjects related to wildlife and conservation besides the human-animal conflict and means of addressing the problem, by educating them with relevant information.
The youth club, because of its format, has also been replicated in some smaller zoos.
The youth club activities had come to a halt during COVID-19. The students used to miss the activities as they would enjoy knowing facts about wildlife and their favourite animals. The club activities have resumed after the pandemic came under control
The zoo management has also revived “Conservation Speaks”, a programme to create awareness about conservation measures which had also come to a halt during to pandemic. It was revived last year. With its many education activities, the zoo had created general awareness about wildlife and conservation practices and policies among stakeholders. It launched this interactive educational programme ‘Conservation Speaks’ more than a decade ago. Under the programme, the zoo management organised talks by people engaged in conservation of natural resources. As a centre of ex-situ conservation, the zoo says it feels compelled to establish a link between in-situ and ex-situ conservation efforts for better understanding and appreciation of conservation strategies adopted in the country.
