The Magical Childhood With the Adorable Monsters

As a daughter of a forest officer, I had plenty of privileges. For starters, I had a zoo. Yes, I literally had a zoo as my playground!

My father used to be a Zoo Director at Padmaja Naidu Himayalan Zoological Park. I loved that place with all my heart. It could be a childhood illusion but I think we had the best house in Darjeeling. From the French windows in my parents' room, we could see the entire Kunchenjunga range. From my room, which my sister and I used to share, we could see the garden with its beds of bright red poppies in the spring and summer on one side and a jungle, which probably only had jackals, from the other. Even though I knew from the beginning that I would have to leave this magical place - my very own Narnia - someday, it did not stop me from being friends with the diverse animals that lived there. And of course, I had my favourites too.

The zoo campus was my fortress. I surveyed it everyday, stopping to admire the beauty of the clean and green environment that came alive with the chirping of exotic birds and the roar of Siberian tigers. Everyday, the zookeepers and the guards would tell me stories and happenings that went on in the zoo. Trust me, it felt exactly like being in the fairy tale of Narnia. Only these animals did not speak English.

My favourite anecdote was one where the leopard broke a visitor's umbrella. Some tourists got excited after they saw the leopard. But they were soon disappointed when it wouldn't act in a way a carnivore is supposed to. I guess they expected it to be growling and inflicting fear on passersby. So they poked it with an umbrella until the leopard got angry and snatched the umbrella and broke it. After that incident, Achilles (mispronounced as Ac-chilis by the zookeeper) became my favourite leopard.

I also enjoyed playing with the fluffy looking snow leopard. Each time I was near his cage, he used to mirror my movements. If I ran, he ran. If I walked, he walked. At times, he used to hide and watch me from the corner of his eyes and then surprise me by suddenly jumping out of his hideout. Sometimes, under supervision, I even stroked the back of his furry ear. I could say that he really enjoyed it by his throaty purrs.

I used to love how I had found secret hideouts in the zoo. On every holiday, if we were not out on a family getaway, I would walk all the way up to the Siberian Tigers enclosure, which was at the far end of the zoo. And even though they were not very friendly, I enjoyed looking at them. I was also very jealous about the fact that they had a nice looking cave where they could nap.

I did not like the deer family and mountain goats too much because they spent all their time eating. Nonetheless, I did make a friend. A little mountain goat called Pooja Bhatt. I gave the goat this name since it had a cute little fringe that was sported by the popular actress. However, I'm not sure if the goat was even a female. But I loved feeding it grass and it definitely had a big appetite.

Like I said, there were plenty of advantages of being a zoo directors' daughter. One of them was being able to play with and care for the cute and helpless looking cubs that grow up to be majestic yet fearful looking creatures.

The tiger and leopard cubs were extremely cute. If you kept a stuffed toy right next to them, you wouldn't be able to tell them apart, until the real one moved. It's funny how everyone is so scared of these carnivores. Each time a cub was born, we would wait excitedly for it to grow up and play with us. Sadly, cubs abandoned by their mothers did not do very well despite all the warmth and nourishment we tried to provide to simulate the care it would have got from its mother. It was heartbreaking to watch them die. When you looked at the scared and shivering cubs with their wide-eyed innocence, you forgot that when they grow up, they could kill you with a casual flick of their paw across your face.

But if I had to pick a favourite, then it would definitely be the bear cubs, Sunny and Mani. I don't remember how they ended up staying in the guard room outside the house when they were first brought to the zoo hardly a month old, but I do remember them biting the bottom of the wooden door with their moderately sharp teeth.

I wouldn't say we had the best garden but we did have some nice looking poppies, petunias and fuchsias among a few others. However these adorable yet destructive pair of cubs hardly took half an hour to ruin our gardeners' hard work. But how could we be mad? These cuddle worthy cubs never let us get angry with them by being so lively and funny.

My memories about my stay at PNHZP have faded a little over the years. But what I still remember and will never forget is that I only had friends and no enemies. I had a good day everyday. I was in Darjeeling a little while ago and made it a point to visit the zoo. The place looks much grander now. But sadly, it's no longer my Narnia. I saw Sunny again. He is old now and of course, didn't remember me. But that doesn't matter because I have the best memories of him and they will always stay with me.

The Danger of Exotic Species

What are exotic species? Exotic species are species that are not native to the environment. They can be plants, fish, or animals. The reason they are dangerous is that they can invade a native environment and take over because the native species, whether plant, fish, or mammal, do not have the means to defend themselves against the exotic introduced species.

One exotic species, that is not really so exotic, but comes under the heading of harmful or potentially harmful and can overtake an environment and affect the ecosystem is the common goldfish. Goldfish are plentiful. They are easily obtained. And they may be dumped into a local pond or lake where they can grow and crowd out native species as they eat food meant for the native species. Another fairly well-known example is how pythons have been taking over the Everglades in Florida, even able to consume alligators.

Potentially harmful plants include water hyacinths, giant salvinia, and hydrilla. Exotic fish include Asian carp which go by the names of grass, silver, and bighead; tilapia, and zebra mussels. Harmful plants and animals are regulated by strict state laws. Permits are required to transport them. There are fines if these species are found. There are some permits given to zoologists or for research purposes, but outside of that there are strict controls against exotic and potentially harmful species. Texas alone has a 370 page book that presents information on the various species and similar species. If you do a Google search for "exotic species regulated", in conjunction with a specific state's name, such as "Texas exotic species regulated", you will find the different states have information and links specific to their state regulations. The point is, the issue of exotic species and dangerous species is an important topic.

For example, in the case of the zebra mussel, it is required that boats be drained of water as they leave or approach public fresh water. Plus, these mussels cannot be found clinging to the vessel. Other regulations cover the clinging of vegetation to the boat, or regulations on live bait. The only way to know the regulations for the particular state where you live or vacation is to search out the regulations of that particular state. People in tournaments are covered by special rules and documentation that the tournament organizers possess.

Another form of regulation concerns transporting live, non-game fish in specific geographic locations. In other words, certain geographical locations have specific rules covering only them. These will be better known by the locals, but if you are going into a certain location, it is worth searching out these regulations so as not to be in violation. The purpose of these regulations is to keep the native species alive and well, and keep the non-native species from overcoming the native species and destroying the natural ecosystem.

Cheryl Jones is a copywriter, and online entrepreneur. She authors on a variety of topics, including writing for outdoor businesses such as http://LochowRanch.com and [http://TrophyExcursions.com] Whether the topic be niche or expansive, she has the ability to construct knowledgeable, quality copy.