For God’s love, and his image

Vaastu consultant, others sponsor Katraj zoo elephant Meera for a year as part of Ganeshotsav

Some faithful take Ganeshotsav celebrations to a very personal level, literally. Meet city-based vaastu consultant Prasad Joshi, who loves to take care of zoo elephants as a mark of reverence to the elephant god. What started as a single person mission turned into a community movement and now Joshi has a lot of friends who are willing to sponsor Meera, an elephant, at the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park and Wildlife Research Centre, also known as Katraj Zoo.

“I was drawn towards the display boards near animal enclosures about them having being adopted. I was told by the zoo authorities that public are welcome to a part of the conservation efforts. Soon I adopted an elephant. It is a privilege to be associated with the zoo’s conservation work. The idea is to set an example for the common public and encourage people to come forward and be a part of the scheme,” he said.

Prasad Joshi started taking care of zoo elephants since 2013

Giving details about the animal, Joshi said, “Meera celebrated her 19th birthday on September 5 this year. She is one of the fortunate zoo animals as people are waiting in queue at the zoo office to sponsor her as it symbolises the lord of good fortune. Her sponsorship for the whole month is booked. I used to sponsor another elephant Janaki since 2013. I have taken the responsibility to find sponsors for Meera for the whole year. As the elephant is a high-maintenance animal, it is adopted only for a day.”

Joshi said that all the people who have decided to sponsor the elephant are from Pune and advance booking is till November. “The cost of parenting an elephant goes around Rs 1,500 for a day and Rs 45,000 per month. Other animals, including leopard, tigers, tortoise, snakes and peacock are also in demand,” said Rajkumar Jadhav, director of the zoo.

“The scheme is only to sponsor food for all the animals in the zoo. As per the rules and regulations of the Central Zoo Authority, a benefactor cannot carry the animal home, but sponsor food and other maintenance. An individual or a family or a corporate company can sponsor an animal or a group of animals for one day to as per his or her wish as stated in the contract. The sponsor’s name is put up on the board placed at the enclosure. The sponsor gets benefits like a guided tour of the zoo, special workshops and free magazines and other publications by the zoo,” Jadhav said.

The zoo animal adoption scheme is popular across the country as some states also give tax benefits. It is also an effective revenue model to help maintenance of the zoo that gets lakhs of visitors every year. All the animals are available for adoption. One can adopt a bird for Rs 1,000, but a one-day care of elephant is Rs 1,500. The fee is based on the feeding cost of the animal. Officials said educational institutions, companies and industries are also supporting the conservation efforts of the zoo.

Katraj Zoo had introduced the Animal Adoption Scheme six years ago and around 175 adopters have enrolled for the scheme. The sponsored fund is used for the daily upkeep, feed and medicinal requirements of the adopted animals. Katraj Zoo houses 389 animals of 67 species including mammals, birds and reptiles. Even as the zoo gets grant from the state government and entrance ticket sales, the revenue from adoption helps it maintain the facility.

vicky.pathare@goldensparrow.com

Originally published on The Golden Sparrow