Guwahati’s Assam State Zoo Welcomes Five New Inmates, After a Long Gap

GUWAHATI: There is good news for animal lovers and zoo frequenters, as the Assam State Zoo Cum Botanical Garden in Guwahati welcomed five new inmates in its premises on Monday.

Two zebras, two mandarin ducks and a female giraffe were the five new animals brought to the zoo after a long gap of around 30 years.

According to sources, while the zebra and mandarin ducks were brought from Mysore, the female giraffe was brought from Patna.

Chandra Mohan Patowary, state Minister for Environment & Forests, officially launched the animals for visitors at the zoo on Monday. Later, speaking to media persons, the minister also provided the unique names given to each of the five animals.

The names of the two zebras were given as Jay and Jaya, while the giraffe has been named Bijaya.

It may be mentioned that the Patna Zoo or Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park reportedly received four new inmates earlier this month from the Assam Zoo under the animal exchange programme between the zoos at Patna and Guwahati.

A pair of hoolock gibbons, one male black panther and a female rhinoceros were given to the Patna Zoo by Assam Zoo in exchange for one female giraffe. An Assam zoo team of officials and veterinarians had visited the Patna zoo to complete the formalities for the animal exchange.

Earlier, towards the end of last year, a serious allegation was leveled against the Guwahati-based Assam State Zoo Cum Botanical Garden when several exotic animals, earlier recovered from smugglers from various parts of the state, were being transferred to a private zoo in Gujarat.

These exotic animals, which include various exotic species of tortoises and monkeys, among others, are alleged to have been transferred to Greens Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Kingdom in Gujarat's Jamnagar owned by billionaire businessman Mukesh Ambani. These animals were seized by the state's forest department in the last several years from smugglers.

Although the move triggered a row with several organisations including political parties like the Congress, Trinamool Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party criticising the move, the zoo authorities maintained that the transfer of the animals is done with Central Zoo Authority or CZA's necessary authorization.

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