GUWAHATI: Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden is in talks with its counterparts in Karnataka for bringing a male tiger here as part of an exchange programme, official sources here revealed on International Tiger Day on Sunday.
“The Central Zoo Authority has given its approval to the exchange programme under which a male tiger will be brought from Bengaluru in lieu of a slow lorris from here. The male tiger is yet to mature. As of now, discussions are on between the zoo authorities of the two states and the execution of the programme will only be known in the coming months,” a state zoo official told The Shillong Times here.
Sources said the Assam State Zoo currently has five tigers – one male, two female and two white tigresses.
“The male was rescued from the wilds in Karnataka and brought here while one female tiger was rescued from Kaziranga National Park,” he said.
Swati, the oldest tigress in captivity in the country, died at the zoo here last year.
Meanwhile, the state zoo with the support of a leading jewellery brand, celebrated International Tiger Day to raise the awareness of the big cat’s plight, with less than 4,000 left in the world’s forests.
The programme started with a talk on wildlife conservation with various school children on the zoo premises on Sunday afternoon.
A painting competition among children and a street play on the theme – “Save the Tiger” – was also held.
There are 49 tiger reserves in India which are governed by Project Tiger which is administrated by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). India is home to 70 percent of tigers in the world. In 2006, there were 1,411 tigers which increased to 1,706 in 2010 and 2,226 in 2014, according to the latest count.
“Wildlife conservation efforts have been stepped up in Assam of late. Last month, a snake conservation workshop was held here and we are planning similar conservation camps across the state from August 1,” Akash Harizan, a wildlife conservationist associated with the Assam State Zoo, told The Shillong Times.