Stop in Your Tracks and Head for Delhi Zoo Now (Black Swan)

Didn’t I feel giddy with excitement when I started spotting exotic animals and birds one after the other!

At first the very name National Zoological Park of New Delhi, sapped my happiness. Who wanted to visit a zoo for god sake, I thought, but the plan was made and on a good spring day, we entered it.

I passed its gate after 20 years! Within 5 minutes I was blessing my friend, for it reckoned that it’s a fascinating treasure trove.

Fondly and simply called Delhi Zoo, it’s definitely worth a visit for any and every adult interested in wildlife.

From this one, I’ll start a series of blogs here, taking one wild beauty at a time.

Charming Black Swan

Native to Australia, and found there in tropical rivers, swamps and lakes, our own Zoo in New Delhi, has a pair of this exotic bird. Its red bill stands out brightly on the all-black plumage. It’s a nomadic bird which keeps migrating, depending on the weather.

Do you notice them eating green shoots and plants in the photo? Well the bird is herbivorous, and lives on aquatic plants and algae.

Very interestingly, except Australians, no other country in the world knew of a black swan other than white species. It was only in the 17th century that Europeans found them while sailing over Swan River in Perth.

It can go upto 140cm in size and 9kgs in weight. Although I couldn’t spot their nest in the zoo, their nest is quite interestingly big and made of vegetation mounds.

Unlike or like humans — can’t decide — this bird is monogamous! In Australia it’s illegal to hunt them.