Children from poor families get free trip to Patna zoo as a part of the Wildlife Fortnight celebrations on Monday. Telegraph picture

Patna, Oct. 3: Children from underprivileged sections of society were taken on an all-expense-paid trip to the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park today.

Over 200 children from areas around the zoo were taken on the free tour across the zoo as part of Wildlife Fortnight celebrations.

“As a part of the celebrations, we brought around 200 children from slums near the zoo, including those residing around Chitkohra bridge. The idea was to spread awareness on wildlife by educating them on the characteristics of various animals in the zoo. I believe the children had a great time and they learnt a lot as well,” said Patna zoo director Abhay Kumar.

The children arrived at 10.30am. They went from one enclosure to another watching their favourite animals, including rhinos, giraffes, monkeys, lions, tigers and the lone elephant. They also enjoyed the aquarium and mini-train ride free of cost.

“Tiger is my favourite animal and I had heard from elders that new tigers have come to the zoo. I was very excited to see them from a close distance,” said Rajesh Kumar (11).

On completion of the trip, the children were also given free snacks at the zoo canteen around 1pm.

“Though the zoo is close to my house, I have never been able to come here. I am delighted at having made it here today. Moreover, all of us got to learn a lot about animals during this trip,” said 14-year-old Sneha Kumari.