The Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Gardens and Zoo, popularly known as Rani Baug in Byculla, has approached the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) in Gujarat to request a pair of Asiatic lions. This follows unsuccessful attempts to secure lions from the Sakkarbaug Zoological Park in Junagadh. The zoo has been without a lion for more than a decade, since the death of its last lion, Jimmy, in 2014.
Jimmy, a 16-year-old African-Asiatic hybrid lion, passed away in 2014 after a prolonged illness. Born at the Byculla zoo in 1998 to African lion Amar and Asiatic lioness Anita, Jimmy was the zoo’s last lion and had been a major attraction for visitors. Recently, zoo authorities reached out to the PCCF in Gujarat with a request for the transfer of a pair of Asiatic lions from zoos in Junagadh or Rajkot as donation. Earlier, when the zoo had approached the Sakkarbaug Zoological Park for lions, it had proposed offering a pair of zebras in exchange.
Since the Byculla zoo does not have zebras, authorities had initially made efforts to procure two pairs from Ramat Gan Safari Park in Israel, in exchange for Asiatic lions. However, these efforts were unsuccessful, and Mumbai’s long-awaited dream of bringing lions back to the zoo has been delayed for the past two years.
“The exhibit for the lion facility was completed two years ago. However, despite our several efforts to procure a new pair of lions under the Central Zoo Authority’s exchange programme, we have not been successful. The zoos in Gujarat have excess lions, so we have requested for the donation of a pair of Asiatic lions,”said a zoo official.
In 2022, a pair of leopards were brought in from Gorewada Zoo in Nagpur. Meanwhile, the number of visitors and revenue collection at Byculla Zoo declined in 2024 compared to the previous two years. In 2024, the zoo recorded 24.2 lakh visitors and generated Rs 9.5 crore in revenue, down from 30.2 lakh visitors and Rs 12 crore in revenue in 2023. In 2022, the zoo saw 25.2 lakh visitors and earned Rs 10 crore in revenue.
