PANJIM: The State’s lone Bondla Zoo is likely to welcome a new pair of tigers this year. The Forest Department has sought approval from the government to procure new pair of animal from a rescue centre in Nagpur- Maharashtra.
The Public Works Department (PWD) has also completed restructuring the enclosure for tiger pair, who would be procured in exchange of bison pair.
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Speaking to Herald, Chief Wildlife Warden Santosh Kumar said that the proposal has been moved to government for approval, after which permission from Central Zoo Authority (CZA) will be sought.
“There is a rescue centre cum zoo in Nagpur, that has agreed to give us pair of tiger in exchange of pair of bison. We are now waiting for government consent and then CZA nod. Mostly likely, we will get the animal this year in our zoo,” Kumar said.
He said that the PWD had completed the revamping work with facilities like the shelter area, feeding chambers and night shelters for the tigers and space for their independent movement in the zoo.
Bondla Zoo lost their former pair of tigers Rana and Sandhya, the major attraction of the zoo in December 2016 and July 2017, respectively. The death of both the animals was attributed to ‘natural cause’ since both had reached old age. The pair was brought in from Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, Vishakhapatnam in 2009.
In 2019, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) had kept on hold Goa’s proposal for procuring new pair of tigers in absence of proper facilities in place to accommodate the wild cat.
The existing zoo structures date back to 1969 to 1975.
Kumar said that the department is working on modifying or restructuring the amenities at the zoo including enclosures and other in-house amenities to the animals. He said that the department is also in process of procuring a pair of Sloth Bears and talks are on with a zoo in Pune.
Also, a pair of Hippopotamus would be procured soon. The Earlier pair- Female died in 2016 of domestic violence incident while the Male died in 2019 due to natural cause.
