Lucknow Zoo to be shifted to Kukrail

• 17 Aug 2022

The century-old Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Garden in Lucknow (popularly known as Lucknow Zoo) will now be shifted to Kukrail forest area, about 12 km away from its current location in Narhi.

• The move is aimed at decongesting the overcrowded Narhi area because of the presence of the zoological garden.
• The Govt. will establish Kukrail night safari to encourage eco-tourism and create more employment opportunities for locals engaged in tourism trade, catering, decoration etc.
• Possibilities of channelising Kukrail river and developing it as an attractive river front would also be considered. The cost of this mega project will be assessed after the UP government gets to see the report made by the consultant.
• Kukrail Reserve Forest has a captive breeding and conservation center for the freshwater gharials (gavialis gangeticus), one of the 3 native species of crocodiles in India.

About the Park

• Lucknow’s zoological park was established on November 29, 1921 by the then Governor, Uttar Pradesh, Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler.
• It was named as Prince of Wales Zoological Garden.
• On June 4, 2001 the zoo was renamed as Lucknow Prani Udyan.
• In 2015, the Lucknow Prani Udyan was renamed as Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Prani Udyan. Shah was the last Nawab of Oudh who was fond of animals and had reared different animals, to create a small zoo in Kolkata.