The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is taking active steps to introduce unique and rare animals to the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park in Katraj. Their latest endeavour is to bring zebras to the zoo. To facilitate this, the corporation has issued a tender worth ₹1.6 crore and is currently searching for zebras in Europe, Israel, and Africa.
The plan is to bring four zebras, including two females and two males, typically aged between three to four years, as the Pune environment is suitable for zebras. The construction of a 5,000-square-metre trench, which is 80% complete and has cost around ₹1.6 crore, is underway to accommodate the zebras.
The Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park of the PMC is located on 130 acres of land in Katraj and houses 450 animals from 60 different species, including snakes, porcupines, bonnet monkeys, bears, sambars, nilgais, chinkaras, jackals, tigers, elephants, wolves, and leopards. The zoo currently boasts seven tigers, including Arjun from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Bhakti, a white-striped tigress from Rajkot. The addition of zebras will further enhance the zoo's offerings.
