Following some relaxation in covid norms, the plan to get two Bengal tigers to the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park and Wildlife Research Centre at Katraj which was pending since the last few months, has finally seen the light of day with the duo namely Bhakti and Arjun being transported from Aurangabad to the Katraj zoo on Saturday. With this, the total count of tigers at the zoo has gone up to eight, including four tigers and four tigresses. Of the four tigresses, one is a white tigress.
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has got the pair of big cats from the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation-run Siddharth Zoo in exchange for two Nilgai (Boselahus tragocamelus). Siddharth Zoo currently has 14 tigers, including five cubs.
Rajkumar Jadhav, director, Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park and Wildlife Research Centre, said, “We have got the pair of tigers from the Aurangabad zoo under the exchange programme. Bhakti, 5, and Arjun, 7, have been quarantined as part of our protocol.”
Dyneshwar Molak, additional municipal commissioner, said, “Due to the covid-19 pandemic, the plan to get the tigers was pending for a few months now. Finally, they have arrived here.”
Unlike gardens in the city however, the Katraj zoo hasn’t still been opened by the PMC in the absence of permission from the Central Zoo Authority and the state government. “The pair of tigers will help us in the process of mating with our existing tigers as we want tigers of a different bloodline. At present, we have six tigers including three male, of which two are old. We have a capacity to keep 10 tigers in the zoo. The normal quarantine period of the animal is 21 days. We are keeping the new pair separately from the existing tiger cages. After the quarantine period is over, we will get them to mix with the other tigers,” said Jadhav.
The Katraj zoo is spread across 130 acre and is divided into three areas namely, an animal orphanage, a snake park and a zoo overlooking a lake spanning 42 acre. The zoo houses a total 440 animals and gets financial aid from the Central Zoo Authority. The zoo is planned so as to offer a natural habitat to 16 animal species with indigenous natural enclosures created for tigers, white tigers, monkeys, sambar, bears, leopards and an assortment of wild cats, sloth, barking deer, black bucks, crocodiles and the Indian tortoise. At least 2,500 to 3,000 people visit the zoo daily with the number reaching 10,000 to 15,000 people on weekends and holidays. A member of the ISIS (International Species Information System) and a non-profit organization, the Katraj zoo shares a world-class zoological data collection and software with more than 800 member- zoos, aquariums and related organizations across 80 countries.
