World class zoo worth Rs 500 cr to come up in Mumbai

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World class zoo worth Rs 500 cr to come up in Mumbai

Thursday, 06 June 2019 | TN RAGHUNATHA | Mumbai

A modern world-class zoo, which will showcase a slew of rare wild animals, trails and jungle safaris, nature education centre, a separate breeding centre and other facilities, is coming up near the Film city and Sanjay Gandhi National Park in north Mumbai.

To be set up at a cost of Rs 500 crore, the proposed zoo will be second zoo in the metropolis after the BMC-run Veermata Jijabai Bhosale (VJB) Udyan and Zoo at Byculla, which is undergoing a modernisation programme. Owing to space constraints, the expansion in terms of area is not possible in the existing zoo.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Maharashtra Government’s Forest Department and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).  The State forest department and BMC officials exchanged the documents were exchanged in presence of Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray and State Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar.

Spread over 100 acres of land, the proposed zoo will have night/moonlight Safari, a Leopard Safari, different types of big and small reptiles, nocturnal animals and daytime hunting animals, apes and other attractions. “Among other wild animals, we plan to house lions, big apes, panthers and giraffe at the zoo. We will take a call on this as per guidelines of Central Zoo Authority (CZA) and on the advice of experts in the matter.

The land required for the project will be carved from the 190 acres of government land at Goregaon’s Aarey Milk Colony. The BMC will fund the entire project from its funds. The revenue to be generated from the project will be shared be between the BMC and state forest department. 

According to the MoU, the State Forest department will provide technical expertise for managing the proposed Zoo  and help in procurement of animals. The BMC will acquire necessary permissions for procurement of animals, as per the guidelines of the Central Zoo Authority. The BMC develop and manage a conservation breeding centre outside the zoo.

The new zoo is being set up in the vicinity of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SNGP), as the existing the VJB Udyan and Zoo at Byculla zoo does not have adequate space to house big wild animals.  

Spread over 103 sq km, the SNGP is home to a number of endangered species of flora and fauna and harbours approximately 800 species of flowering plants, 274 species of birds, 35 species of mammals, 78 species of reptiles, snakes and amphibians and 170 species of butterflies. The SNGP is also home to a number of endangered species of flora and fauna and harbours approximately 800 species of flowering plants.

The VJB Udyan and Zoo at Byculla had come under sharp focus on August 22, 2018,  after a baby Humboldt Penguin died on the zoo premises in south Mumbai, just a week after its much-publicised birth.

It may be recalled that a day after the birth of  the baby Penguin at 8.02 pm on August 15, 2018, the authorities had celebrated the event by releasing photographs and a short video of the newly-born chick to the media.

After mating in captivity with male Penguin Molt, the female Penguin Flipper delivered had delivered an egg last month at the VJB Udyan and Zoo. The mating of Molt and Flipper had happened between March and April this year After the female penguin laid eggs in a month and a half, and both parents took turn to incubate them.

While Mr Molt is the youngest male, Flipper is the oldest female in the zoo Penguin colony.

The first chick was born at the VJB Udyan and Zoo more than a year after eight Humboldt penguins — Donald, Daisy, Popeye, Olive, Flipper, Bubble, Mr Molt and Dory — were brought here from Seoul in South Korea.

Of the eight imported Penguins, female Dory had succumbed to some illness on October 23 2017, after showing symptoms of dullness, inappetance, greenish stools and laboured breathing and was diagnosed with the Gram negative bacteria.

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