Jaideep Shenoy | TNN | Jan 8, 2016, 06.50 PM IST
Mangaluru: Visitors to the Biological Park at Dr Shivarama Karanth
Pilikula Nisargadhama at Moodushedde near here were treated to the sight
of a pair of Asiatic Lions - male and a female - on Friday. The park
that already had three female Lions obtained these Asiatic Lions under
an exchange programme from Sakkarbaug Zoological Garden, Junagadh in
Gujarat. Incidentally, these Asiatic Lions presently are found only in
the Gir National Forest in Gujarat.
H Jayaprakash Bhandary, director of the biological park told TOI that
the Lions arrived at the Park late on Thursday and have already been
kept in the enclosure for people to view them. These Asiatic Lions, aged
around six years, will be kept separately from the hybrid Lions, he
said adding they cannot be mixed or allowed to inter-breed. The
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed these
Asiatic Lions as an endangered species, he noted.
In addition, Sakkarbaug Zoological Garden has also sent a pair of white
peacock, four Alexandrine Parakeets, a pair of Lady Amherst's pheasant,
four each of Ibis and Spoonbills, he said. These will be kept in the
specially designed aviary, Jayaprakash Bhandary said, adding the arrival
of these new visitors has increased the number of mammals, reptiles and
birds to the park to 115 and the total number of all varieties of
animals present at the zoo to more than 1,000.
The biological park in return has sent two king cobras, two mousedeer,
sand boas, wine snakes and tortoise to Sakkarbaug, Jayaprakash Bhandary
said adding the new arrivals will give visitors the opportunity to see
the King of the Jungle up close and in person. Incidentally, as per the
latest Lion census data released by Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel last
year, the total number of Asiatic Lions in Gir Forest has gone to 523 in
2015 as against 411 in Census held in 2010.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mangaluru/Mangalurus-biological-park-gets-a-pair-of-Asiatic-Lions-from-Sakkarbaug/articleshow/50499926.cms
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