Byculla Zoo agrees to swap capuchin monkeys for Asiatic lions from Gujarat’s Sakkarbaug Zoo

Mumbai's Byculla Zoo will exchange two pairs of Asiatic lions for tufted capuchin monkeys with Gujarat's Sakkarbaug Zoo, following a formal agreement.

MUMBAI: The Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Udyan and Zoo in Byculla has formally agreed to a proposed animal exchange with Gujarat’s Sakkarbaug Zoo involving two pairs of Asiatic lions in return for tufted capuchin monkeys. The Byculla Zoo will facilitate the procurement of the monkeys through an authorised agency.

Byculla Zoo agrees to swap capuchin monkeys for Asiatic lions from Gujarat’s Sakkarbaug Zoo

In a letter dated May 6 to Byculla Zoo director Dr Sanjay Tripathi, the Junagadh-based Sakkarbaug Zoo said it was agreeable to providing two male and two female Asiatic lions (Panthera Leo Persica) to Mumbai, subject to approvals from the competent authorities and the Central Zoo Authority (CZA).

The development follows efforts by Mumbai mayor Ritu Tawde, who had written to Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel on February 25, seeking two pairs of Asiatic lions for the city zoo. Tawde had urged the Gujarat government to consider the transfer as a goodwill gesture, pointing out that Sakkarbaug Zoo houses the country’s largest population of captive Asiatic lions.

With the proposal moving ahead, Byculla Zoo, in its response to Sakkarbaug Zoo, conveyed its consent for the exchange arrangement involving four Asiatic lions from Sakkarbaug in return for either giraffes, Indian one-horned rhinos or tufted capuchin monkeys.

A letter signed by Byculla Zoo director Dr S A Tripathi on May 15 states that the zoo will facilitate the procurement of six tufted capuchin monkeys—three of each gender—through an agency while ensuring compliance with all statutory permissions, CZA guidelines, quarantine requirements, transport norms and other applicable procedures.

In a gesture of empathy, it has suggested that once the capuchin monkeys arrive in India, they should be transported directly to Sakkarbaug Zoo instead of first being brought to Mumbai since conducting quarantine and acclimatisation at Sakkarbaug Zoo itself will minimise repeated transportation stress and handling for the animals. The arrangement will also help the monkeys adapt more effectively to the enclosure environment and management conditions at the Junagadh facility.

The letter also states that the concerned agency will provide the necessary assistance for quarantine-related measures at Sakkarbaug Zoo after the animals’ arrival.