Asiatic lions are set to return to Mumbai’s Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Udyan and Zoo in Byculla after a 12-year absence, with Gujarat authorities expected to complete the administrative process and sign a memorandum of understanding with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. The proposed exchange involves two male and two female lions from Sakkarbaug Zoo in Junagadh, while Byculla zoo will send three pairs of tufted capuchin monkeys to Gujarat.
The development was announced by Mumbai mayor Ritu Tawde after she met Gujarat chief minister Bhupendrabhai Patel at his residence in Gandhinagar on Wednesday. According to Tawde, Patel directed the Gujarat administration to complete the required process at the earliest and execute the MoU between Sakkarbaug Zoo and Byculla zoo.
Tawde said the BMC would soon receive an approval letter and a draft of the MoU from the Gujarat government. The exchange is subject to the completion of this administrative process, although both zoos have already consented to the proposal, according to the civic body.
The proposed arrival would restore lions to one of Mumbai’s best-known civic attractions. Byculla zoo has been without a lion since 2014, when its lion Jimmy died after a prolonged illness. The latest proposal would bring four Asiatic lions to the zoo rather than a single animal, with the stated composition including two males and two females.
The lion enclosure has been prepared under the final approved master layout plan of the Central Zoo Authority in New Delhi. The civic body described it as an international-standard, state-of-the-art exhibit for Asiatic lions. The information supplied by the civic body does not specify the exhibit’s cost, construction timeline, visitor capacity or the operational date for the animals’ arrival.
The exchange also places the proposed transfer within the administrative framework governing animals held by recognised zoos. Byculla zoo would transfer six tufted capuchin monkeys, counted as three pairs, to Sakkarbaug Zoo in return for the four lions. The two institutions have consented to the arrangement, while the next formal step is the receipt of Gujarat’s approval letter and draft agreement.
Tawde also met Gujarat minister of state for forest Praveenkumar Mali in Gandhinagar and requested directions to the state forest department to ensure that the Asiatic lions are transferred to Byculla zoo at the earliest. The proposed movement will therefore require coordination between the two zoos, the Gujarat forest administration and the Mumbai civic body.
The immediate milestone is the completion of the administrative process and execution of the MoU. Until those steps are completed, the supplied information establishes a cleared proposal and consent between the zoos, but not a confirmed date for the lions’ transfer or public display.
