Dhaka s urbanisation has taken a toll of mapy things such as open spaces, lush greenery and crystal waler areas. It Is a pity that such a change has also threatened the existence of some animal species.

Take, for example, the horse. The animal la steeper! in many of our legendary stories. It has player! an important part tn the evolution of human civilisation. Its use is dated from ancient times. Kings and potentates used to ride horses. Even in the fffieea. there were more than one thousand horses in the city. Horse racing was also then In vogue on the race

course maidan (nor Suhrawardy Uddyanl The horse ratlin was. however, dis continued in the ear ly sixtees on socio religious grounds.

The animal aUr used in drawing pas senger carriages ii Dhaka a few decadv ago. Nowadays only . handful of horse drawn carriages cai be seen in the city They are used mainh in cinemas and ad vertisements. If am foreign Iguest ex presses his desire u rMe in one. such ■ carriage fs decorates along with tbe horse with proper trap pings. A few monthi ago when Dilip Ku mar, the famous In dian Actor, visilee Dhaka, he was once seen to ride'an opet horse-drawn carriage with great eclat.

Once the horse and the horse-drawi carriage were a sym bo! of speed. The' were also a svmbol e« high prestige will the Zatnindars ata aristocratic families It is understood thai the horse-drawn car riage was first intro duced in the city ir 1856 by the British from its. earlier use by itiem in Calcutta. It gradually acquired recognition as a means of public transport.

Though horse is gradually facing extinction with the spread of mechanised civilisation, it is still regarded as a measure of mechanised power with the currency of the the terms horse power .

The old timers of the city still recall with pleasure the old native humour of some sections of local populace in the old part of the ciiy about thei^horses used In their hackney

carriages

Another threatened specie* of animal in the city is the monkey. Even up to the early Ws. monkeys were found In large numbers in some areas of the old part of the city such as Nawab ganj. Lalbagh, lalampur. Ganderia. Wart. etc. Nowadays this specie* seems to have become extinct in the city on account of the rapid pro-cess of urbanisation. This animal was never looked upon with favour in the old part of the city because of its predatory tactics. But to the zoologists. the disappearance of a species is a matter of academic concern inasmuch as the species might have played a part in preserving environmental balance.

There is still another species of animal called donkey which is not seen tn the city. It was never much used in earlier times. The animal was mainly used as a draught animal, particularly by the dhobis' (washermen) for ’ carrying their burdens of wash clothes to nearby water areas. With the advent and growth of dry cleaning establishments. the work of laundering has been taken out of the hands of these dhobis'. This development has hastened the process of elimination of the animal as a useful beast of burden. Though a dullard is still described by the term donkey', we are not sure if the epithet is really applicable to the animal who performs a wide variety of burdensome chores. It is said in jest that litterateurs and artists never ignored donkey as a partner in creative

and recreative pursuits. In the same vein, it is also said that the animal has expertise in weather forecasting, as attested by some folklores.

Thus the city people, sooner or later, may not come across a horse, monkey or donkey In any part of the city. This may create a gap in the knowledge of their children, especially. Perhaps some children of the present as well as future generations, living in the city may need to go to a zoo to get a glimpse of these animals.