Educational tour to Suketi Fossil Park and Chattbir Zoo (Feb. 22-24, 2019)

The Zoological Society, P.G. Department of Zoology organized a three days education trip to Suketi Fossil Park, Nhan and Chhatbir zoo, Near Chandigarh.The Suketi Fossil Park, also known as the Shivalik Fossil Park, is a prominent fossil park that is located in the Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh in India. This park is the first one in Asia to be situated on the same site where the actual fossils were unearthed, and has a collection of vertebrate fossils and skeletons that date back to the prehistoric times, and have been recovered from the upper and middle Siwaliks geological formations of sandstones and clay at Suketi. It is the largest fossil park in Asia and is situated at a distance of 21 kilometres from Nahan, on the banks of the Markanda River. It is located in the upper and middle Shivaliks and has soft sandstone and clay rocks. The fossil park is famous for its open-air exhibition of six life-sized fibreglass models of extinct mammals whose skeletons and fossils were found at the location, displays of fossil finds, and the museum which displays fossil finds. The various exhibits in the park fascinated the students with a scientific bent of mind and helped them to co-relate the theory of fossils which they study in Evolution.

On the second day the students visited the Mahendra Chaudhary Zoological Park, Chandigarh. This Zoological Park not only boasts about being home to the enchanting Royal Bengal Tiger and the mighty Lions along with other reptiles and mammals but is also famed for the walkways surrounded by lush green forests. The purpose of the visit was to acquaint the students about the wildlife of the region in their natural habitat.