Byculla zoo gets 1,400 visitors on Day 1 of reopening, to go live on social media today

After being shut for almost one year, Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan, also known as Byculla zoo, opened its gates to the public on Monday morning

After being shut for almost one year, Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan, also known as Byculla zoo, opened its gates to the public on Monday morning. On day 1, the zoo welcomed over 1,400 visitors, resulting in revenue of ₹69,600.

Visitors at the tiger enclosure in Veer Mata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo after it reopened following the Covid-19 lockdown. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

According to the zoo authority, the biggest attractions for visitors were the two royal Bengal tigers named Shakti and Karishma and the Humboldt penguins.

“We handled a total of 1,419 visitors to Byculla zoo and earned revenue of ₹69,600. This excludes senior citizens for whom entry is free,” said Dr Sanjay Tripathi, director of the zoo.

In February 2020, the zoo had got the two tigers from the Aurangabad zoo and had planned to keep them in a 3,500 square-metre enclosure which would have flora, landscape and terrain similar to the Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan. However, by March 2020 the zoo was shut owing to the Covid-19 lockdown.

The zoo authority expects the visitor numbers to go up in the coming days.

Prior to the lockdown, the zoo received between 6,000 and 8,000 visitors daily on weekdays, and nearly 10,000 on weekends. It also gets many morning and evening walkers. However, owing to the Covid-19 outbreak, walkers are not allowed inside the zoo but can walk in the garden area outside.

Meanwhile, Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar will inaugurate the social media pages of Byculla zoo on Tuesday.

According to the plan, Byculla zoo will have dedicated social media pages under the banner of Mumbai Zoo on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. “The plan is to upload daily activities of animals and educational material about the zoo and the wildlife inside,” said Dr Tripathi.