On Mothers Day, zoo leopards to pen thank you note to mom
LUCKNOW: This mothers day, the inmates of Lucknow zoo will express their love and gratitude towards their mothers by writing letters to them. Not the biological ones but those who have adopted them. Going by the fact that not every inmate at zoo has been adopted and that not every adopter is a woman, the opportunity will be available to a selected few. And the lucky ones will make most of it with zoo administration writing letters, on their behalf, to the women who have adopted them.
To begin with, Ashoka and Nakshatra, two-year old leopard siblings will express gratitude to Dia Mirza.
The actor had visited the zoo in March, 2010, to christen the leopard cubs born to a leopardess, Dia. The animal was rescued from Mirzapur and hence, named Dia Mirzapuri.
It was her name that propelled us to write to the actor telling her about the striking similarity in the names, said Renu Singh, zoo director.
The actor not only christened the cubs but also adopted the two and gave Rs 1 lakh as adoption fee to the zoo.
The adoption scheme of Lucknow zoo has received a huge response from women. At least 50% of the adopters are women. The effort is to say thanks to all of them by sending them letters, said the director.Acknowledgement will also be expressed towards Namrata Bharadwaj, Andrea, Benu Bajaj, Anjali, Rasika, Sushila Singh, Preeti Agarwal, Manjula Khare, Seema Upadhyay, Divyani and Mallika Tripathi.
Most of these women have adopted pheasants, blue-yellow macaw, chinkara, white peacock and cheetal. Zoo will also send a similar letter to its director, who has adopted a blue-yellow macaw and a white dove.
The initiative will also help in popularizing zoos adoption scheme.