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In Phase III, Byculla zoo being revamped for special ‘exotic zone’
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Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to soon issue tenders to add 10 acres under the zoo revamp project that was initiated back in 2015
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First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to expand the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Vanaspati Udyan and Zoo, popularly known as the Byculla zoo.
Spread across around 53 acres, the civic body will add another 10 acres. It will include seven acres of the newly acquired pocket of the Mafatlal Compound and the rest in the Poddar area.
As per Indian Ex- press, the expansion plan proposes to create a special “exotic zone” to serve as a safe haven for exotic animals such as giraffes, zebras, jaguars, white lions, wallabies and chimpanzees.
The expansion is part of Phase III of the zoo revamp project initiated in 2015. As part of the first phase, Humboldt penguins were added to the zoo in 2017.
During Phase II in 2017, construction of 17 animal exhibits as well as an aviary, which today houses over 100 bird species, was launched. Around 90% of the work on Phase II is com- plete, according to a senior zoo official. The zoo has penguins, spotted deer, nilgai, hyenas, elephants, monkeys, lions, hippos, sam- bar deer and jackals.
Dr Sanjay Kumar A Tripathi, Director, Byculla Zoo, said, “Phase III of the BMC’s master plan is essentially about developing an exotic zone which will house animals and birds from across the world. Furthermore, we are planning to design beautiful thematic landscapes wherein we will try to emulate the culture as well the natural habitats of the home continent of our exotic species.”
Our master plan was designed on the basis of the Central Zoo Authority’s clear-cut norms, which permit a zoo to have about 25% exhibits housing exotic animals, so as long as 75% house Indian species, he added.
The zoo saw four lakh visitors in May last year, when the zoo’s revenue crossed Rs1.5 crore—a historic high. Data showed that the visitor count, 1.8 lakh in March, dipped to 1.7 lakh in April, before doubling to 3.9 lakh in May.
