Mumbai: Byculla zoo roars for a lion, Gujarat stays silent

Byculla zoo has been trying to introduce lions for the past two years. File pic

The Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo wants the Gujarat government to gift them a lion. The zoo authorities have written a letter to Gujarat officials requesting a lion, as they have been unable to find zebras to exchange with the Sakkarbaug zoo.

The civic-run Byculla zoo has been trying to introduce lions for the past two years. In August 2023, the zoo authorities wrote to their counterparts in Gujarat, requesting a pair of lions. "The Sakkarbaug Zoo authorities asked for a pair of zebras in return, but we couldn't find any," said a BMC official. "Then, in October 2023, we reached out to Sardar Patel Zoological Park [Kevadia zoo], offering penguins in exchange, but we received no response." In December 2024, another letter was sent for a lion, but the request remains unanswered.

Dr Sanjay Tripathi, director, Byculla zoo

Dr Sanjay Tripathi, director of the Byculla zoo, said, "Since we are not getting a response from Gujarat zoos, we have now written to the Gujarat state government, requesting a lion as a donation."

The last lion at Byculla zoo, Jimmy, a 16-year-old African-Asiatic hybrid lioness, died in 2014. She was born at the zoo on March 28, 1998, to African lion Amar and Asiatic lioness Anita.

As part of its modernisation plan launched in 2019, the BMC has introduced tigers, leopards, and penguins to the Byculla zoo. The zoo expansion proposal also includes exhibits for giraffes, zebras, white lions, and jaguars.