After getting new pair of leopards and a male bear, Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan also known as Byculla zoo, will soon have a new addition of crocodile and gharial (reptiles) to its family.
The new guests will be brought from the Crocodile bank of Chennai besides from a Solapur zoo and Nandankanan Zoological Park, Odisha. Also, 60 per cent of the construction work of an underwater viewing gallery and deck for crocodiles and gharial in the zoo has been completed.
At present, the zoo has five crocodiles and two alligators. The Director of the zoo, Dr Sanjay Tripathy said, “We are getting four crocodiles from the zoo in Solapur and will bring the gharial which are excess in number in Odisha. We have adequate space to add 10 crocodiles and 10 gharials to the zoo. The work of the underwater viewing gallery will be completed by October, which will be a major attraction of the zoo,” he added.
The Byculla zoo popularly known as Rani Baug is undergoing a renovation. Accordingly, in the first phase, the BMC had brought eight Humboldt penguins. Now, 17 animal enclosures are being constructed under the second phase. The 'Crocodile World' is part of a new project taken up at the zoo, which includes the construction of an underwater viewing gallery spread over 4,000 square metres.
The viewing gallery will be divided into two parts. One part will have a water enclosure where the crocodiles would swim. The other side of the enclosure will be equipped with natural habitats like sand, soil and small puddles of water with trees in some areas. The tourists would be able to go an underwater viewing gallery and see crocodiles swim. Moreover, there will be stairs to go on a deck where tourists can have an overall look. The cost of the project is Rs. 20 crores and the work is expected to be completed by October.
