Byculla Zoo not the place for Humboldt penguins: Activists

MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) plan of procuring eight Humboldt penguins from South America is facing severe flak as several activists protested

MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) plan of procuring eight Humboldt penguins from South America is facing severe flak as several activists protested on Saturday at Byculla Zoo against the move to relocate the penguins into an artificial habitat at the zoo. The BMC has spent about Rs20 crore on constructing enclosures and maintaining the eight penguins.

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The activists said the civic body was disturbing the natural habitat of the penguins and also that none of the civic or city veterinary doctors have the experience of handling them. Anand Siva, an animal activist, said, “I fail to understand why birds should be kept in captivity. The civic body doesn’t even have the expertise to handle animals, then why bring in exotic birds. Water and power will be wasted for maintaining these birds.”

The civic body, however, said the maintenance has been taken care of. A senior civic official said, “We will not be wasting resources as only 80,000 litres of water will be required annually, and we have set up a water recycling plant. When the penguins are brought in by the end of this year, they will be kept in quarantine for about one and a half month to adapt to the habitat.”

“We are aghast with the fact that the local corporation could even consider translocating these penguins, which have very little chances of survival, when it comes to the climatic conditions of Mumbai. The poor infrastructure combined with menial managerial skills that the zoo has, will not be able to protect such creatures,” said Neetu Jindal, activist.