The Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park here will get bison, grant zebra, dhole and black swan from Mysuru Zoo under an animal exchange programme, a senior Forest department official said.
The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has given permission for the animal exchange programme between Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, popularly known as Patna Zoo and Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens (Mysuru Zoo), the official said. According to the animal exchange programme, Patna zoo will get three bison, two grant zebras, two dhole and two black swans from the Mysuru zoo in exchange for a female giraffe.
”We have got permission from the CZA in this regard. It would be one of the largest animal exchange programmes Patna has done in recent times. Animals are expected to arrive at Patna zoo by the end of this month”, P K Gupta, Chief Wildlife Warden, told PTI. ”The CZA is the apex body for all zoos in India and it has a set of guidelines that all zoos in India have to follow while undertaking exchange programmes. While Patna zoo would be sending one female giraffe to the Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens (Mysuru), in exchange we will get Bison (3), Grant Zebra (2), Dhole (2) and two black swans. All formalities are being completed”, said Gupta. The Patna zoo, at present, has only one female zebra and our zoo needs a male zebra to complete the pair, he said, adding ”we are getting a pair (male and female both) from the Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens. They will be allowed to breed in the dedicated enclosures made for them at the Patna zoo, the chief wildlife warden said, adding that similarly, ”we are getting two female and one male Bison. While we are getting one pair of Dhole, the Patna zoon will also get a pair of Black swans under the exchange programme.” The Patna zoo spread over approximately 153 acres of land has 108 different species of wild animals, of which 50 species are under the endangered category. The total number of animals and birds in Patna Zoo is 1,163.
Around 25 lakh visitors visit Patna Zoo every year and there is a significant increase in the number of visitors in the last few years. ”Patna Zoo is world famous for ex-situ conservation breeding of one-horned rhinoceros. Other mammals such as Royal Bengal Tiger, White Tiger, Black Beer, and Giraffe are also breeding successfully and constantly increasing the number of healthy animals”, Gupta added.
