Mumbai, May 25: Following in-principle approval from Sakkarbaug Zoological Park in Junagadh, Gujarat, to bring four Asiatic lions to Mumbai, Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Udyan and Zoo has approved an animal exchange programme under Central Zoo Authority (CZA) norms.
Capuchin monkeys to be exchanged
As part of the exchange, the Byculla zoo will transfer three male and three female Tufted Capuchin monkeys, which may be sent directly to Sakkarbaug Zoo after arriving in India.
In its letter to the Director of Sakkarbaug Zoo, the Byculla zoo authorities stated that the monkeys would be procured through an authorised agency while ensuring compliance with mandatory permissions, quarantine, transportation and CZA regulations.
The communication also proposed that the Capuchin monkeys be transported directly to Sakkarbaug Zoo upon arrival in India for quarantine and acclimatisation.
Direct transfer proposed to reduce stress
According to Mumbai zoo authorities, directly shifting the monkeys to the zoo in Gujarat would minimise repeated handling and transportation stress while helping the animals acclimatise more effectively to their new enclosure conditions.
The quarantine and acclimatisation procedures, the zoo said, would be carried out at Sakkarbaug Zoo in coordination with the concerned agency.
Mayor’s intervention revives proposal
After several failed attempts by the BMC to acquire lions for the city zoo, Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde wrote to Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in February, seeking two pairs of Asiatic lions for Mumbai as a goodwill gesture.
The Byculla zoo has remained without a lion since the death of its last resident, a 16-year-old African-Asiatic hybrid named Jimmy, in 2014 following a prolonged illness.
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Born at Byculla Zoo in 1998 to African lion Amar and Asiatic lioness Anita, Jimmy was one of the zoo’s biggest attractions.
Over the years, the civic body explored multiple proposals to procure lions from zoos in Junagadh and Indore in exchange for zebras and also approached Gujarat’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, but the efforts failed to materialise.
It was only after these setbacks that Mayor Tawde personally intervened to revive the plan to bring Asiatic lions back to Mumbai.
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