Vizag zoo to welcome two new Bengal Tigers

To attract more tourists, a pair of Royal Bengal Tigers are being brought to the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, a Vizag zoo.

By next month, the zoo would be welcoming a Bengal Tiger and a tigress from Pilikula Biological Park in Karnataka and two lions from Gujarat. This is as part of the animal exchange programme being conducted at the Vizag zoo.

The pair of tigers is being brought as a part of the breeding process to increase the tiger family at the zoo. Wild dogs are going to be exchanged in the process.

Speaking to TNIE, Divisional Forest Officer Selvam said, “We earlier had the plan of getting zebras. But as per the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) guidelines, a zoological park should have only 10 percent of exotic species in the total collection. We have more than the given percent of exotic species, so we cannot get them now. It will take more time.”

Now, the authorities are planning for Protected Contact Method in the elephant enclosure to let them live unchained. Protected Contact Method for elephants is being followed in European countries where the elephants are kept unchained.

Also, the officials are proposing Protected Contact Method to leave the elephants unchained so that they can roam around freely in the enclosure.

The DFO mentioned, “The Protected Contact Method will soon be implemented in the zoo. The works are estimated to cost Rs 50 lakh.”