Mumbai, July 17, 2026: Mumbaikars will have to wait longer to see four Asiatic lions at Byculla Zoo as the authorities are still awaiting final approval from the Gujarat government.
Once the final approval is received, the Byculla Zoo will float a tender to procure three pairs of Capuchin monkeys through an agency, which will be exchanged with Gujarat's Sakkarbaug Zoo for two pairs of Asiatic lions.
Approval Process Underway
"The Sakkarbaug Zoo has given initial approvals, but final approval from the Gujarat government is awaited. After that, a state-level committee will give its approval, following which a tender will be floated to procure Capuchin monkeys. The monkeys are available in Asian countries like Vietnam and Malaysia. The expected cost is up to Rs 1 crore," a senior BMC official said. The BMC expects to complete the procedure by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Mayor Ritu Tawde said that she plans to visit Sakkarbaug Zoo officials to fast-track the procedure and find solutions to the hurdles, if any.
Lion Exchange Proposal
After becoming Mayor of Mumbai in February this year, Ritu Tawde personally intervened to revive the long-pending proposal to procure Asiatic lions. Byculla Zoo has remained without a lion since the death of its last resident, a 16-year-old African-Asiatic hybrid named Jimmy, in 2014 following a prolonged illness.
It was in May this year that the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Udyan and Zoo, popularly known as Byculla Zoo, approved an animal exchange programme under Central Zoo Authority (CZA) norms, following in-principle approval from Sakkarbaug Zoological Park in Junagadh, Gujarat, to bring four Asiatic lions (two male and two female) to Mumbai.
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As part of the exchange, Byculla Zoo will transfer three male and three female tufted Capuchin monkeys, which may be sent directly to Sakkarbaug Zoo after arriving in India.
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