Subhechcha Ganguly 
The National Zoological Park (Delhi Zoo) has developed an innovative idea to allow individuals to adopt animals, where they will be paying for the upkeep of those creatures residing at the zoo and in exchange, such animal lovers will be able to play a little role in wildlife conservation.
Given a membership card with his name and the animal’s name on it, the individual who adopts an animal will be able to visit the zoo once a month during open hours without having to pay a separate admission price. But if a pandemic or zoonotic illness breaks out, the adopter may be barred from the area. The name of the person who adopted the animal will also be etched on the enclosure it lives in. The adoption costs begin with a low yearly fee of Rs. 700 for a bird. Sambar deer, swamp deer, or the exceptional hornbill can be adopted for Rs. 40,000, an Indian Wolf for Rs. 1, 80,000, and an Indian Bison or a gaur for Rs. 2,25,000. Similar to this, adopting a higher-end species like a leopard will cost Rs. 3,60,000 while adopting a rhino, lion, or tiger will cost Rs. 6,00,000.
The Delhi Zoo is operated by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, which stated in its official notice that adoptions are for one or two years but may be withdrawn if necessary. The adoption fee, which will not be refunded, will instead be donated to the zoo each quarter for animal welfare and betterment programmes. The NCT Delhi administration had previously introduced a similar programme whereby one could adopt and take care of a tree. Regarding the current programme, the Nandankanan Zoo in Odisha already uses a similar adoption programme.
