Mysore zoo gets new residents.

National » Karnataka

MYSORE, October 8, 2014Shankar Bennur

They arrived from Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Chennai

Tourists holidaying in Mysore may get to see new species of animals and birds, which were added to the existing collection at the century-old zoo.

Animals and birds arrived here on Wednesday from the Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Chennai, one of the biggest Indian zoos, under an animal exchange programme.

Thanks to the Dasara vacation, the zoo here is witnessing heavy rush and the new arrivals can be a treat to watch.

A male and two female Nilgiri langurs; two male and two female reticulated pythons, and two male peacocks arrived from the zoo in Chennai here on Wednesday. The exchange of animals between two major Indian zoos was approved by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) recently.

Chief Conservator of Forests and Mysore zoo Executive Director B.P. Ravi said the zoo has agreed to handover five species of animals and birds to the Arignar zoo as part of the exchange programme.

Two male and two female black swans; a male Indian grey wolf; a pair of red-necked wallaby; two male and one female Brow antlered deer, and a female swamp deer would be transported soon to the Chennai zoo, Mr. Ravi said.

As part of the exchange deal, another male Indian grey wolf will be given later to the Arignar zoo, he said.

Reckoned to be critically-endangered species, Indian grey wolves had been classified under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 because of their rapidly depleting numbers. The Indian Grey Wolves are at present found in Gujarat, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. The numbers of grey wolves are said to be declining though there is no accurate and authentic data on the number of wolves in the country, according to reports.

Rani, a female Indian grey wolf, gave birth to five pups in December last year. Importantly, it gave birth to the pups in the artificial den, which was created by the zoo authorities to boost captive breeding of wolves. Mysore zoo has emerged as one of the country’s key centres for conservation of endangered species. Coordinated efforts by the zoo’s animal and veterinary wings have led to the success of its captive breeding programme. It took several measures to ensure breeding of Indian grey wolves.

The zoo had approached Sakkarbaug zoo at Junagadh, Gujarat, to spare a female lion under an animal exchange programme in exchange for grey wolves and other animals to rejuvenate its breeding plans. The Mysore zoo had Asiatic lions in 1989, but they could not breed and did not survive. Thanks to the Sakkarbaug zoo, the zoo could display after 21 years a pair of pure-breed Asiatic lions. The Asiatic lions in captivity are said to be found only in Gujarat, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mysore.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/mysore-zoo-gets-new-residents/article6482268.ece