The lion, which was brought to the Rohtak Zoo from Himachal Pradesh, made a debut public appearance on Christmas. The zoo, among the State’s most popular hangout spots, attracted about 3000 visitors, including children, on Sunday.

Dheera, a male lion from Gopalpur Zoo at Palampur in Himachal Pradesh, had arrived at Rohtak Zoo on December 3, 2022, under an animal exchange programme, approved by the Central Zoo Authority of India (CZAI).

Since then, the two-year-old lion has been staying in an enclosure built at a cost of around Rs 80 lakh. The zoo already houses two lionesses — Sudha and Chhoti. Sudha was recently shifted to Rohtak Zoo from Bhiwani Zoo and Chhoti from Pipli Zoo.

Located in the Rohtak city, Tilyar Mini Zoo or commonly named Rohtak Zoo, is one of the biggest zoos in the State. This zoo is managed and controlled by the Forests (Wildlife) Department of Haryana Government. Attractive gardens, hillocks, lakes, waterfalls, visitor trails, paths and roads seek the attention of every visitor at Rohtak Zoo.

The zoo has collection of rare animals including Gharials, Crocodile, Hippopotamus, Himalayan Black Bear, Leopard, Tiger, Fox, Hyena, Wolf, Jackal, Otter, Barking Deer, Chinkara, Black buck, Sambhar, Langoor, Pig tailed Monkey, Macque, and Baboon and numerous types of birds species. With the new arrival, Rohtak Zoo now has three lions. The zoo brought some cheers to animal lovers with the increase in the big cat population.

Rohtak DFO (Wildlife) Shiv Singh said: “The male lion, which was brought at Rohtak zoo on December 3, from a different environment of Himachal Pradesh, is now being placed in a new situation here. So, some time needed to get adjusted to the climatic conditions. The big cat was placed in quarantine for examination before putting them for public viewing. The lion was quarantined for around three weeks and now made a public appearance on Christmas after the quarantine period gets over.”

Moreover, Rohtak zoo is witnessing a rush with the ongoing winter season. About 2,500 people visited the zoo last weekend. But, there has been an increase in the number of footfalls during the ongoing winter vacation in schools and colleges over the last few days.

This year, the new attraction for the visitors are the lion. They attract huge crowds. Such crowds, zoo officials said, are normal during long weekends or during vacations. Adequate arrangements have been made here, with officials expecting an increase in the number of visitors during vacation.

A visitor at the zoo said, “The lions in the zoo are the main attractions here. We had heard a lot about the zoo, so along with the family members, we decided to visit it. We all enjoyed it here a lot.”

Haryana Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) ML Rajvanshi, talking with The Pioneer said: “The zoo officials were earlier directed to facilitate the shifting of the lion and lionesses under the exchange programme of wild animals. The central authorities had approved the proposal to transfer the lion and lionesses to Rohtak Zoo and got them shifted within a record time of two months. With the new arrival, Rohtak Zoo now has three lions, five tigers and eight leopards.”

Rohtak Zoo to have Bear Soon

The visitors at Rohtak Zoo will soon be able to see a bear. Efforts are also being made to bring a wolf from the Mysore Zoo, said Rajvanshi.

Rajvanshi said that for the beautification of the zoo, about 1000 shady and ornamental plants had been sown. For the convenience of tourists, separate toilets, lactation room, proper parking and drinking water facilities had also been provided in the zoo. The electric cart would be soon made available to the tourists as well. A total of 177 wild animals and 31 species of birds have been kept in the zoo, he added.