The National Zoological Park in the national Capital on Tuesday received its prized 900 kilo thick skinned guest — a male rhino from Mumbai’s Veermata Jijabai Bhonsle Udyan (Byculla) zoo.
Shiva, Mumbai zoo’s only male rhino with a taste for bananas and sugarcane, boarded a truck for Delhi on Sunday evening to attempt what circumstances have denied him so far. The ungulate is on a reproductive visit to the Capital where two young female rhinos have been arranged for courtship and, hopefully, mating. Any calf that Shiva fathers will be trucked back to Mumbai making the project important for both cities.
The staff at Delhi zoo was excited and anxious about his prospects. A separate enclosure has been readied. They know making Shiva mate with Maheshwari, 18, and Anjuga, 8, will not be easy as he is wild born and spent the first quarter of his life in the jungles while the females are zoo-born-and-bred.
“They are likely to be very different in their disposition and will take time to adapt,” said Paneer Selvam, veterinary officer of the National Zoological Park here.
While zoo officials are jubilant that the endangered rhinos at Delhi zoo will finally get a mate, they said it might take five to six months before the male rhino starts to mingle. “The male rhino will be quarantined for a month to ensure he adjusts to the new environment. This is the first time Shiva has left the city since 1985,” said Riyaz Ahmed Khan, director of Delhi zoo. Shiva was brought to Mumbai zoo from Assam 28 years ago at the age of six.
However, there is ambiguity over the age of Shiva. While the Mumbai zoo authorities said that Shiva is 34 years old, the International Species Information System (ISIS) indicated that his age is 38 years. Rhinos seldom live past 40 years. This has prompted the Delhi zoo authorities to verify the age by a team of veterinary doctors. They doubt that if his age is beyond 38 years, he would still be fertile. The cost of the journey has been Rs 2 lakh, borne by the Central Zoo Authority.