April 13: Museums and zoos should collaborate more, feels Lee Durrell, the director of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. The trust runs Jersey Zoo, set up by Lee's husband, the conservation icon Gerald Durrell. While she spent her first day in Calcutta visiting Alipore zoo and the Indian Museum, the day after, on Thursday, she visited India's first private zoo at Marble Palace.

"There should be ample co-operation between museums and zoos. Zoos have the living animals. When they die, there is a wealth of information, like anatomical measurements, that can be passed on."

The Jersey Zoo, she said, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Museum of Scotland. "We give away our dead specimens to them." This aids genetic research on critically rare species. "This way the life of the animal continues to be of value to science."

Museums, she pointed out, are far ahead of zoos in terms of education and interpretation. "They have become interactive in their displays. Zoos have to think of better ways to tell visitors why we need to preserve animals and birds. We are not very good at that," she admitted.

Durrell shared her views with the education officer of Indian Museum, Sayan Bhattacharya. Later, speaking to Metro , Bhattacharya said it was a "wonderful idea". "The concept of museology is changing. We are becoming more inclusive in terms of the visitors we cater to. She was happy to learn about our outreach programmes. It makes sense to collaborate with the Alipore zoo as both are key spots on the city's tourism map. We can spread important messages together."

The mammals and the birds and reptiles galleries at the museum are maintained by the Zoological Survey of India. "So zoology is already linked with the museum," he added.

A zoo official came by to meet Durrell on Thursday on a personal capacity. Durrell suggested cleaner water and better sanitation in enclosures.

"We have a nature interpretation centre at Alipore and are developing one in Siliguri. They are like museums in terms of display," said V.K. Yadav, member-secretary, West Bengal Zoo Authority.