Panaji: The single status of four-year-old hippopotamus Devidas at the Bondla wildlife sanctuary is soon going to change as the state forest department has received a green signal from the Mysuru zoo regarding the exchange of a
hippo for a male bison (gaur) from Goa’s zoo.
Devidas’ female counterpart, Sarita, was killed in October 2016 due to what was deemed “domestic violence”.
“We have received a written reply from the Mysuru zoo, which we are going to present to the state government. Once they agree, we can appeal to the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) to permit us to go ahead with the exchange,” a forest official confirmed.
The zoo currently houses six bisons — two females and four males. One of the male bisons, aged around five to six years, is meant to be paired with the female bison of the same age at the Mysuru zoo, sources said.
“We require a four-year-old hippo for Devidas, for which our team will have to go and check their available hippos for health and age parameters. That will be done as soon as the state gives us a go-ahead sign,” he added.
The sanctuary, which houses Goa’s only zoo, was also home to a pair of tigers. Its male tiger, Rana, died in December 2016 of old age. His partner, Sandhya, died in June the following year due to “natural causes”.
“We are also trying to get approvals for a pair of tigers. We have written to zoos in Mangaluru, Bengaluru, Mysuru, Vishakhapatnam and Hyderabad with the request. The written replies have not yet come. Once this comes through, we have to take permission from the state.” the official said.
