Mumbai: Sanjay Gandhi National Park may finally get new pair of lions from Gujarat

The Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) may soon get a pair of breeding Asiatic lions from Gujarat's Sakkarbaug Zoological Park. After a four-year wait, the Gujarat government has given its consent to send a pair of breeding lions to SGNP, in exchange for two Royal Bengal tigers.

A proposal on the same will be sent in a week and placed before the monthly technical committee meeting of the Central Zoo Authority. Earlier, the Sakkarbaug Zoological Park had rejected the request for lions as SGNP had offered two Rusty Spotted cats in exchange, which Sakkarbaug termed an ‘unfair exchange'.

Following instructions from Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray, last week, Clement Ben, additional principal chief conservator of forests (APCCF) Wildlife (West), along with SGNP Field Director and Conservator of Forests (CF) G Mallikarjun visited Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

The captive tiger and 12-hectare lion safari at SGNP was started in 1990 and since then it has been one of the important tourist attractions for people visiting the park. Representation pic

"Environment Minister Aaditya Thackerayji has taken the lead in bringing a breeding pair of lions for the captive lion safari at SGNP. The matter was pending for years, so following the instructions of PCCF Sunil Limaye, last week, we went to the secretariat at Gandhinagar, Gujarat, to meet the Chief Wildlife Warden and other officials, including the head of the Forest Force. We requested them to give us two breeding pairs of lions, however, for now, they have given consent for one pair in exchange for two Royal Bengal tigers," said Ben.

Proposal to be sent

Ben and Mallikarjun have also visited the Member Secretary of CZA and in a week a proposal will be sent. "We have received written consent from the Gujarat government to get one pair of breeding lions. The Member Secretary of CZA told us that once we send them the proposal, they will place it before the monthly technical committee meeting of CZA. We have also told them that we have an orphaned tiger and leopard at some forest department facilities in Maharashtra and the same can be exchanged for the lion breeding pair," added Ben.

After trying for 4 years

The SGNP officials have been trying to get breeding lions from Gujarat for the past four years. In September 2020, SGNP had also approached the Telangana Forest Department to get two pairs of lions from Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad. However, no further development took place on the proposal because the Telangana Forest Department wanted a lion in exchange for lions.

The captive tiger and 12-hectare lion safari at SGNP was started in 1990 and since then it has been one of the important tourist attractions for people visiting the park. The biggest draws are the park's captive lions and tigers. But the authorities are concerned as the animals are either dying of old age or illnesses. At present, there are only two captive lions at SGNP, of which 19-year-old male lion Ravindra is the oldest and the other is Jespa, 12. The aim is to increase the population of lions through captive breeding.