Mumbai: Byculla Zoo is pulling crowds by the dozen

The Humboldt penguins were brought to the city in 2016

The Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo, popularly known as the Byculla Zoo, which was shut for almost a year-and-a-half, witnessed over 30,000 visitors last weekend.

The zoo opened to visitors around six months ago, and initially remained shut during the weekends to control the crowds. "With the summer vacation starting, parents and children are coming in large numbers," said an official from the zoo. "Though all the sections are attracting visitors, the tigers, penguins and the newly-inaugurated Birds Paradise are the main attractions," said Dr Sanjay Tripathi, director of the zoo. The zoo earned a revenue of Rs 52.88 lakh till April 22.

Parveen Kadiwar, who visited the zoo with her two children, said that there was long queue at the tiger enclosure. "We had to wait for a long time, before we could get a glimpse of the animal." The zoo now has plans to get four lions. While one pair of Asiatic lions will come from Sakkarbaug Zoological Park in Junagadh, the other pair will be brought from Kamla Nehru Prani Sangrahalaya in Indore.

1,29,456
Total no. of visitors at the zoo between April 1 and 22