Junagadh (Gujarat): Eight lions from Gujarat will soon be shifted to a zoo in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur as part of an animal exchange programme. These lions are currently lodged at the Sakkarbaug zoo at Junagadh in Gujarat.
“As part of the animal exchange programme, two lions and six lionesses from will be shifted to a zoo at Gorakhpur in UP. The Central Zoo
Authority has allowed the transfer of eight big cats,” said Ram Ratan Nala, Director, Sakkarbaug zoo.
However, it was not yet decided as to which animal would be transferred from Gorakhpur to Gujarat under the exchange pact.
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“We have made all the preparations on our part for the transfer of the animals. Now, it is for the Gorakhpur zoo to decide on the time,” said the official.
The Gorakhpur zoo has been set up recently by the UP government and it sought lions to be transferred from the Sakkarbaug zoo. Once the two states agreed upon the shifting of lions, a proposal was sent to the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) which recently gave its nod.
Sakkarbaug zoo said to be the second oldest in the country, is the nodal centre for providing Asiatic lions to other zoos and safaris within the country.
The Gir wildlife sanctuary in Gujarat is the last abode of Asiatic lions in the world.
As per the last census in 2015, there were 523 lions in the state, mainly in the forest areas of Junagadh, Gir-Somnath, Amreli and Bhavnagar districts.
