City zoo a step closer to get 4 asia tic lions

AFTER TWO FAILED ATTEMPTS, THE ZOO AUTHORITIES HAVE FINALLY SHORTLISTED A PROCUREMENT AGENCY

After two failed attempts and two years of delay, BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo (Byculla Zoo) have finally shortlisted a procurement agency to help import two pairs of zebras to be given to the Sakkarbaug Zoological garden in Junagadh, Gujarat, in exchange for two pairs of lions. The civic body has shortlisted a procurement agency Goa Trade, the same agency that had assisted them in flying in the colony of seven humboldt penguins.

Zoo authorities are in the process of making a proposal, which will be tabled before the civic standing committee soon for final nod.

The first tender was floated in the first half of 2019. Two agencies have shown interest, however, the process was hit by glitches after the two firms complained of technical difficulty in filing the bid.

The second time tender was floated in October 2019; this time too the bid could not be finalised. The civic body then floated tenders inviting agencies for procurement of two pairs of zebras in February 2020. The bids were finalised in the month of March; however, the process got stuck after pandemic hit the city. The arrival of the asiatic lions at Byculla Zoo was delayed after the Sakkarbaug Zoo sought zebras in exchange. While the zebras were expected to be imported earlier this year, delay in bids and then the coronavirus-induced lockdown has hit the process. However, the civic body plans to complete the paperwork and approval at the civic body level.

The procurement of the two pairs of asiatic lions has become a prestigious matter for BMC and Byculla Zoo.

The selected agency Goa Trade would have to procure the zebras based on guidelines laid out by the central government and the convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna. The agency will be expected to locate and bring the zebras to India in two months. The animals will be procured from a foreign zoo under the animal exchange programme and BMC will shell out around Rs 80 lakh as handling and shipping costs. It's been six years since the Byculla Zoo had its last captive Lion. Byculla Zoo’s most popular lioness Anita died in 2010. Jimmy another lioness, which was a hybrid-born from a cross between an African lion and Indian lioness died in 2014, after which, till date, there have been no lions in the zoo.