Maha signs agreement with Guj to exchange pair of lions for tigers

Chandrapur: The Maharashtra government has entered into agreement with the Gujarat government to exchange tigers with Asiatic lions. Forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar signed an agreement with Gujarat minister of state for forest and environment Jagdish Vishwakarma on Monday during his brief visit to Ahmedabad.
“We have agreed to exchange a pair of tigers (male and female) from Borivali's Sanjay Gandhi National Park with a pair of Asiatic lions from Sakkarbaug Zoological Park in Junagarh, Gujarat. The pair of lions will be brought to Sanjay Gandhi National Park, while the pair of tigers will be sent to Sakkarbaug Zoological Park. However, it will require a nod from the Central Zoo Authority,” Mungantiwar said.
Forest minister Mungantiwar paid a brief visit to Gujarat on Monday to hold final discussions with Gujarat forest minister Vishawakarma in the matter of exchange of the top predators between two states. Initially, PCCF (wildlife) Sunil Limaye had discussed the proposal with director of Sakkarbaug Zoological Park Abhishek Kumar. Later, additional PCCF Clement Ben and director of Sanjay Gandhi National Park G Mallikarjun held a dialogue with PCCF Gujarat on April 4, 2022, and initiated the process of exchange, following the directives from Limaye.
Mungantiwar claimed that he had a detailed discussions with Vishwakarma and both states have entered into an agreement for the exchange. “The proposal will require approval from the Central Zoo Authority, for which both states will make joint efforts,” Mungantiwar said.