Vacant lion enclosure at Byculla zoo prompts mayor to seek Asiatic lions from Gujarat

In a letter dated February 25, Mayor Ritu Tawde urged the Gujarat CM to transfer two pairs of lions to the city from the Sakkarbaug Zoo in Junagadh

Mumbai: Mumbai’s first female BJP mayor Ritu Tawde has renewed efforts to bring back Asiatic lions to the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Udyan and zoo in Byculla by writing to Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel.

In 2021, a new enclosure was built for lions as part of the second phase of Byculla zoo’s redevelopment. It has been lying vacant since. (Raju Shinde/HT PHoto)

In a letter dated February 25, Tawde urged Patel to transfer two pairs of lions to the city from the Sakkarbaug Zoo in Junagadh, which houses the largest population of lions in captivity across the country.

“Despite continuous follow-up over the past 4-5 years, the Asiatic lions have not yet been made available for exhibition at the zoo. This has caused great disappointment among visitors. I request the chief minister to kindly intervene so that the citizens of Mumbai may soon receive two pairs of Asiatic lions as a goodwill gesture,” Tawde wrote in the letter.

Lions were once a major attraction at the Byculla zoo, which was called Victoria Gardens during the colonial era. While the number of lions dwindled over the decades, the last lion held in capacity died in 2014.

A proposal to acquire two male and two female lions through an exchange programme in accordance with guidelines of the Central Zoo Authority was approved in March 2019. Under the plan, Byculla zoo was to get four lions in return for a bunch of animals including two zebras. The plan did not materialise as the zoo was unable to provide the required pair of zebras for exchange.

Meanwhile, in 2021, a new enclosure was built for lions as part of the second phase of the zoo’s redevelopment. The enclosure replicates Maldhari community settlements found near Kutch and the Gir Forest National Park in Gujarat. It features mud houses, thatched-roof structures, water facilities, resting shelters, shaded areas, elevated platforms (machans), dense plantation for cover, spacious caves suited to the needs of lions, and a viewing gallery fitted with acrylic glass panels for visitors.

The new enclosure has been lying vacant for nearly five years, said Sanjay Tripathi, director of the zoo.

“The Asiatic lion is the only lion species native to India and is found in the Gir Forest. Sakkarbaug Zoo in Junagadh houses the largest population of these lions. Earlier we had requested two pairs, but now we will at least try to get one pair,” he said, when asked about the Mayor’s letter to the Gujarat chief minister.

Asiatic lions were previously housed at the zoo and the infrastructure and expertise to care for them already exist, Tripathi stressed.

“We still have trained keepers, veterinarians and maintenance staff. In the past, lions were fed buffalo meat and sometimes chicken,” he said.