Mumbaikars and tourists visiting Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo at Byculla will today be introduced to a new pair of leopards. While the male has been named Arjun, the female is yet unnamed. Also new to the zoo is male bear Shiva.
The zoo is already home to male leopard Dragone and female leopard Pinto; they were brought from Pilikula zoo in Mangalore in 2019. The new pair has been brought from Nagpur’s Gorewada zoo.
Both the leopards are just two-and-a-half years old, while the earlier pair is now six to seven years old.
Shiva has also been brought from Gorewada and will be seen with his mate Shivani, who has been alone at Byculla zoo for a long time. Moreover, the Humboldt penguins have been attracting long queues of visitors since their arrival.
The average footfall on weekdays at the zoo is 4,000-5,000, while it swells to 15,000-18,000 on weekends. The last long weekend recorded 58,000 visitors in three days.
