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Dehiwala zoo opens up to animal lovers for Valentine’s
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Pix and text by Akila Jayawardena
Animal lovers of all ages were seen having a great time bonding with their newly-met zoo pets at a unique Valentine’s Day event held recently.
An animal lovers week ‘senehase sathiya’ organised by the National Zoological Gardens, Dehiwala saw thousands of animal enthusiasts enjoying face painting, fish spa treatment, having pythons wrapped around their arms, posing for photos with exotic birds and many more activities.
Families were given the unique opportunity to feed animals at the zoo, and pet some. Photobooths set up in several places gave visitors a rare chance to be photographed holding birds and animals.
Many foreign visitors, especially those with children, were seen enjoying their day at the zoo.
This Valentine’s was special to the Dehiwala zoo as it found the perfect match for the female black jaguar in its facility. A male jaguar gifted by the Netherlands joined her this week. Visitors were given the opportunity to suggest names for the new arrival.
Frequently visiting animal lovers were able to be foster parents under a new programme introduced by the zoo management.
Visitors said this reminded them of similar events at Southeast Asian zoos and was a great way to attract both local and foreign animal lovers.
“It’s a novel experience for visitors who usually end up just watching them in cages. This is an admirable move by zoo authorities,” said Shehani (24) who usually visits the zoo annually with her family.
Issuing of membership cards for frequent visitors, offering discounted souvenirs, raffle draws were some features of the week-long event.
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