Overview
- In a letter dated February 25, Mayor Ritu Tawde asked Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel to facilitate the transfer of two male and two female Asiatic lions to Byculla’s Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Zoo.
- The request targets lions from Sakkarbaug Zoo in Junagadh, a key source for captive Asiatic lions under Central Zoo Authority protocols.
- A 2019 CZA‑approved exchange for two pairs of lions stalled because Byculla could not supply the required zebras, leaving the enclosure empty.
- The purpose-built lion exhibit, completed in 2021 and themed on Maldhari settlements near Gir, includes caves, water features, shelters, machans, dense planting and an acrylic viewing gallery, yet remains vacant.
- BMC cites ongoing modernization, including a June–August plan to expand the Humboldt penguin enclosure to raise capacity from 25 to up to 40 birds, alongside reported zoo revenue of Rs 28.1 crore from March 2023 to January 2026.