Footfall High in Zoo Despite Tiger Incident

Guwahati, Feb 1 : A day after a tigress and her cub sneaked out of their enclosure in the Assam State Zoo cum Botanical garden creating panic, visitors were back thronging the zoo. Sources in the zoo said that visitors had not shied away and like other Sundays the footfall was high.

But if yesterday’s incident was an aberration another problem is being confronted by the zoo authority that has no easy solution. The number of some species is growing, and the zoo is running out of space to display or care for them.

Zoo DFO Narayan Mahanta told The Assam Tribune, “It is a challenge to care for increasing numbers of tigers, leopards, Himalayan black bear, and sambar. These animals require space, and that space is getting scarce”.

The numbers have increased because of breeding and in the case of leopards, due to rescue from various parts of the state which has gone up in recent times.

Sources in the zoo said that the proliferation of these animals create another problem. If they are kept in the same enclosure, the possibility of inbreeding increases manifold. And inbreeding leads to genetic anomalies which can put animals at serious risk.

One of the plans that has been contemplated involves exchanging some animals with other zoos which might be interested in acquiring them. The other plan involves an intervention to ensure that there are no chances for them to breed any more and thus the growth in numbers is arrested.