Anant Ambani, the younger son of Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries, recently announced the launch of his ambitious wildlife preservation project 'Vantara,' meaning 'Star Of The Forest.' Aiming to be a haven for abused, injured and endangered animals, it is set to become the world's largest zoo and rehabilitation centre, spanning 3,000 acres within Reliance's Jamnagar Refinery Complex.
Meanwhile, according to a Hindustan Times report, 10 leopards from the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre (MLRC) in Junnar taluka of Pune district will be shifted to Vantara due to a lack of space. "We sent a proposal to the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) in the first week of March, and they have cleared it. We are awaiting a formal letter from them, which we expect to get by next week," Amol Satpute, deputy conservator of forest, Junnar, was quoted as saying.
Junnar is among the regions with the highest leopard population in the country, and in recent years, there has been a significant increase in leopard attacks on humans and domestic animals.
NR Praveen, Chief Conservator of Forests, Pune, in a recent conversation with The Free Press Journal, mentioned that they are considering sterilising the leopards in the region to control their population. A proposal regarding this has been sent to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), he added.
Praveen further said the space at MLRC is proving to be insufficient as more leopards are being caught while the space there is only for 40. To address this, he shared that they have purchased 10 acres of land from the Irrigation Department for ₹1.27 crore. This new land will accommodate additional enclosures for captured leopards, addressing the centre's current overcrowding issues, he added.
