The Indroda Park, a nature reserve in Gandhinagar has some new attractions for visitors. The park now has an open moat for some of the wild animals like lions, tigers and leopards.
An open moat is a spacious caged enclosure open to the sky that tries to mimic as much of their natural environment as possible within the enclosure. Unlike a cage, it is quite spacious but is surrounded by tall fences to prevent the wild animals from escaping.
The park also has a pair of white tigers brought from different zoos in the state which is likely to attract more visitors.
The open moat at the animal conservatory has been made by the Green Foundation for the wild cats that live in Indroda. The enclosures have now been thrown open for the public.
The open moats have been constructed for Rs2 crore.
The state is hoping that the new facility will attract more visitors to Indroda Park. The structures within the moats are also made of natural raw materials. The moats also have within them caves, waterfalls, small ponds and lakes as well as natural-looking elevations to create an environment similar to their natural environment.
It has a separate pathway and a gallery for visitors so that they can get to see the wild animals in their natural environment without the animals being disturbed. Later, further plantations will be carried out to create a jungle-like look for the park.
The state has a population of 674 lions in the wild. It has distributed over 10 crore saplings as part of its social forestry efforts. The government said its efforts had led to an increase in trees and forest cover in the state.
The Indroda park is also home to several other species of flora and fauna. Its fossil and dinosaur park and earth section is very popular among tourists.