If you are an admirer of wildlife and love to watch the wilds into their natural habitat and capture them into frames then you must take a tour of Wildlife Sos, Agra. This historical city has many things to offer its tourists than Taj Mahal only. It will take you on an average of 2-3 hours to finish your tour. You won’t regret of your decision to visit the elephant and bear sanctuary of Agra. In fact, it will be the thrilling moment of your whole day Agra tour.
Description:
Wildlife Sos is best known for 'dancing bears'. Not only this, but it also contains leopards, some rare species of reptiles, enormous tigers, sloth bears, royal elephants and other wild animals. The authority also runs several other biodiversity and environment conservation projects. They also work on reducing carbon footprint of us.
Traveller Tips:
You can visit here any day of the week and anytime between sunrise and sunset. But there remains one hour break almost after each visiting session. The slot timings are as below –
9AM – 11 AM, 11 AM – 1 PM, 2 PM – 4 PM and 4 PM – 6 PM. You also need to pay the entry fees there.
Things to Do:
On visiting Wildlife Sos, Agra, you will also get a chance now to visit the ‘Agra bear rescue facility’. You can meet with some rescued bears there and will get to know how they have been rescued. All through you will get a chance to witness their wonderful success story.
History:
Wildlife Sos was formed back in 1995. A tiny group of people put their steps forward towards protecting the natural heritage, wildlife and forests of India and to conserve them. That small group has turned into an organization today that is completely evolved in the activities of conserving natural habitat for protecting wildlife, doing research works and learning biodiversity to find out ways for viable and alternative livelihoods for those communities of people who depend entirely on the Indian wildlife for nourishment. They are also famous for rescuing and protecting Asiatic black bear and a huge group of dancing bears (approximately 600 in count!) from the tribal people.
Actually, the bears are named so because the tribal nomadic and Kalandar people capture the bears from their natural habitat and train them to dance for earning money by using them as a way of street amusement. This has a route back in the time of the Mughals i.e. 400 years back in India. The in was the source of entertainment for the rulers. And, the tribal people are now using that method of entertainment as their living source.
How to Reach?
Wildlife Sos is situated inside the Sur Sarovar Bird Sanctuary of Keetam. So if you are driving from Delhi on the Delhi-Agra highway, you will reach here before entering Agra. It is 16 Km away from the ‘Taj Mahal’ city. After entering through the yellow gate of the bird sanctuary, you need to drive 2 km more to reach your destination.
Other ways, the Wildlife Sos offers online booking facility and pick and drop services from your stay at Agra.
Nearby Attractions:
• Sur Sarovar Bird Sanctuary
• Taj Mahal
• Sikandra Fort
• Fatehpur Sikri
• Itimad-ud-daulah’s Tomb
• Mehtab Bagh
It is an honest effort put by the authorities to save the bears from brutality. They help many other wild animals to get back into their natural environment. It is recommended to pay a visit here and you can participate with your family in the various organized educational workshops.
So, book your trip way ahead so that you may get a chance to visit there with proper guides.