Renuka Wildlife Sanctuary in Himachal Pradesh to get a pair of Royal Bengal tigers

The Renuka Wildlife Sanctuary in Himachal Pradesh (HP) was once famous for its Lion Safari and will now open its doors to a pair of Royal Bengal Tigers from Delhi. It will be through an animal exchange program and the state government will send three leopards in exchange from Shimla, which has 12 leopards at the moment. These animals are found in abundance in the jungles in HP.
There are no lions left in the Renuka Wildlife sanctuary in Sirmour district after the death of the last one two years ago.
This has been reported in thestatesman.com dated 5 February 2017.

In order to accommodate the tigers, special enclosures are to be built. These enclosures must have a deep foundation. These tigers would be kept for captive display in the zoo in the sanctuary. The wildlife wing’s plan on tiger breeding would, however, depend on the pair that is provided to the state.
The Renuka zoo is the first one in HP and, was established in 1957. A pair of Asiatic lions was brought to this zoo from Uttar Pradesh in 1974. Over the years, the lions grew in numbers and at one time, there were more than two dozen. THe sanctuary is spread across 4.028 square kilometres and houses a zoo, which has some leopards, 20 barking deers, 40 Sambars, 20 Indian ducks and three Black Bears and Cheetal.


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Ranchi Zoo to get two female leopards from Lucknow Zoo in exchange of two male sloth bears

As part of an animal exchange program, Ranchi Zoo is expected to get two female leopards from Lucknow Zoo in exchange of two male sloth bears. The leopards are aged around two years each. Ranchi already has four leopards - one female and three male. The two males were rescued from Mandar in 2013 while the third came from Guwahati in 2012.
The main reason for the induction of the two young females was to accelerate the breeding program in the zoo because the lone female is aged around 17 years and too old while the two-year-old ones are young, hale and hearty.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 2 March 2017.

The Lucknow team will take sloth bears from the Bhubaneswar zoo also apart from Ranchi zoo.
The arrival of the leopards comes at a time 3when the number of people visiting the zoo has gone up, because there is lion cub on public display. It was born on December 17 and was the first ever successful lion breeding in the zoo. It has been put for public viewing about two weeks ago.


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Footfalls reduce in Bhagwan Birsa Biological Park in Ranchi after demonetisaton

Bhagwan Birsa Biological Park in Ormanjhi, Ranchi, is one of the top hangouts in the state for animal lovers and it is experiencing a footfall slump after the demonetisation of high-value notes like Rs 500 and Rs 1000 last week.
People are rushing to banks and ATMs and there are hardly any visitors in the zoo.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 17 November 2016.

In October the zoo had seen nearly 13,000 visitors or, roughly, which means roughly 400-450 a day. This has drastically gone down by 25-30 per cent since November 9 (a day after Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes were abolished). In the opinion of a zoo official - when all roads are leading to banks or ATMs, who will come to watch animals.
The zoo is spread over 104 hectares and boasts of 1,200-odd animals and birds across 65 species. The entry fee is Rs 30 for adults and Rs 20 for children between three and 12.
Between 2010-11 till last year, it has been regularly increasing its earnings. In 2010-11, it had generated Rs 45 lakh in revenue following a footfall close to 3 lakh. In the next financial year, it bettered the record by raking in Rs 67.25 lakh with an additional 50,000 visitors compared to 2010-11. In 2012-13, the collection was Rs 98 lakh, with the visitor turnout being 4 lakh.
In 2013-14, the zoo entered the crore club for the first time, earning Rs 1.06 crore and registering a footfall of 4.45 lakh. Last year also the revenue touched Rs 1.20 crore following a footfall of more than 4.50 lakh.


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Enclosure is ready but Ranchi zoo would have to wait for giraffes and zebras

Bhagwan Birsa Biological Park in Ranchi had been wanting to procure two pairs of zebras and a pair of giraffes in its animal collection plan. It was a long-term vision statement with a 10-year perspective cleared in 2009-10 after the nod of the state government and approval of the Central Zoo Authority of India (CZA).
But - the wait would have to continue because the state government has, now, put on hold the grand plan of Ranchi zoo even though nearly Rs 1 crore have been already spent on constructing enclosures and other paraphernalia.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 19 September 2016.

As revealed by an official of State forest department, the project had been put on hold pending technical and feasible studies. It seems certain objections were raised by certain experts and it has been put it on hold till a conclusive feasibility study is done.
Incidentally, Tata Steel Zoological Park in Jamshedpur has brought four zebras in December last year and was doing fine with them. In January, the Ranchi zoo in Ormanjhi block had signed an MoU with a firm in Israel for two pairs of zebras. The firm has already handed over a consent letter along with details of the animals, their lineage among other things. It will cost between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 35 lakh. As to a pair of giraffes, Birsa zoo was in talks with an agency in South Africa. However, the state government is not keen on the idea anymore.


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140-year-old zoo in Buenos Aires to close down and be converted to an eco-park

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This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 25 June 2016.

The Mayor wants Argentina to follow the global trend of turning zoos into parks and sanctuaries. He believes that animals should live in their natural habitats. This situation of captivity is degrading for the animals and it is not the way to take care of them. The new eco park will provide a safe haven for animals rescued from illegal trafficking.
The mayor has termed it as a place where children can learn how to take care of and relate with the different species. The important thing is to value is the animals. The Buenos Aires zoo was inaugurated in 1875 in what used to be the outskirts of the Argentine capital. The zoo is now surrounded by the busy Palermo neighborhood and has been making a loss for years. It is expected to close soon so that work on the ecological park can begin.
Incidentally, four years ago, the last remaining polar bear at the zoo had died after overheating of its cage in soaring summer temperatures.


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