Mumbai Mayor Requests Two Pairs of Asiatic Lions from Gujarat for City Zoo

Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde has written to Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel requesting the transfer of two male and two female Asiatic lions to the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Udyan and Zoo in Byculla. The zoo has completed Phase I of its modernization and built a new lion enclosure themed on Maldhari settlements near Gir Forest. A 2019 exchange proposal with Sakkarbaug Zoo involving zebras did not materialize due to unavailability, leaving the enclosure vacant for years. The mayor seeks intervention to bring lions to Mumbai.