Fire at FICCI building: What we lost at the National Museum of Natural History

New Delhi: A massive fire completely gutted the iconic National Museum of Natural History early on Tuesday.

Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar described the development as “unfortunate” and “a real loss”.

"This is a real loss. This loss cannot be counted in rupees,” he said.

Here's a short list of what all was lost in the fire at the museum:

• Thousands of exhibits
• Some very old and rare specimens of flora and fauna
• Exhibits of herpetological specimens
• Exhibits of taxidermied (stuffed) animals
• Specimens of butterflies
• Specimens of frogs
• Specimens of snakes
• Specimens of lizards
• Mounted specimens of tigers
• Mounted specimens of leopards

Established in 1972 and inaugurated in 1978, the National Museum of Natural History in New Delhi, under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, was one of the two museums focusing on nature in India.