Mumbai: Rani Baug zoo is set to get a boost to its big cat population, with plans to bring in a male and female Bengal tiger from Nagpur’s Balasaheb Thackeray Gorewada International Zoological Park by early next year. The proposal is currently awaiting clearance from the Central Zoo Authority.
Zoo officials said the exchange has already been initiated between the two facilities. The Authority meets once every three months to approve such proposals, with permissions remaining valid for six months.
The development comes as the zoo’s tiger count has dropped to just two- Jay and Karishma. Meanwhile, the Gorewada facility is housing around two dozen tigers, more than its capacity, and is looking to shift some of them.
The decline in numbers follows two tiger deaths last year. Three-year-old cub Rudra died on October 29, while nine-and-a-half-year-old Royal Bengal tiger Shakti died on November 17 due to respiratory failure after pneumonia.
The two deaths prompted the zoo administration to initiate the exchange and restore the count to four, which is the enclosure’s maximum capacity.
Apart from tigers, the zoo is also planning to introduce lions in a bid to expand its animal portfolio and draw more visitors.
