Bhopal: You Can Now View Rare Sulcata Tortoises At Van Vihar

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): For the first time, the visitors to Van Vihar National Park will be able to see the rare Sulcata tortoise, a species of South Africa. Van Vihar has five Sulcata tortoises.

“Six years back, five Sulcata tortoises were handed over to Van Vihar National Park on the orders of the court. They were seized from the possession of smugglers. Since then, they were kept indoor. Now, we have shifted them and they will be available for public view,” Field Director of Van Vihar National Park, Padampriya Balakrishnan told Free Press.

“ We have only two indoor wards and wild animals used to be shifted to Van Vihar from other places. Hence, we decided to put Sulcata tortoises for public view,” she added.

Meanwhile, Van Vihar National Park authorities are also working on innovative measures to draw visitors.

For instance, Needam area is being developed in which artificial birds of different size and colours will be placed. The area will also have nests of 15 different sizes and artificial bird eggs.

The Van Vihar National Park authorities are also planning to develop interpretation centre through PPP model. During monsoon season, Van Vihar National Park area is closed but zoo is open for visitors.