Mumbai: Whats new at revamped Byculla zoo

The stunning 44-feet high aviary houses the black-headed ibis, painted stork, lesser adjutant stork, sarus crane, demoiselle crane, Japanese crane, rosy pelican and the black-crowned night heron. The enjoyable part about the experience is that you can eas

"The zoo is upgrading... stay tuned." That-s what a standee by the ticket counter at Byculla-s Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo reads. It-s enough to get you excited even if you haven-t heard of the news of the space gaining the country-s first and biggest walkthrough aviary as well as revamping existing enclosures, creating new ones and housing leopards, hyenas and tigers.

Japanese crane

Painted stork

The guards, too, enthusiastically guide visitors. We-re told that Shakti and Karishma, the two Royal Bengal tigers that were brought from Aurangabad last week have been quarantined and that visitors can expect to see them only by the end of March as their enclosure is currently in the works.

The enclosures have information about the distribution, habitat and diet of each animal. The golden jackal, seen through glass wall, is known to clear carcasses

Although the sloth bear didn-t show up when we went to say hello, we did have a great time observing the other new residents.

While one leopard yawns away, its roomate rests quietly at the opposite end. Although we can-t figure out which one is Drogone and who is Pinto, they seem like the main draw at the zoo until the tigers arrive

Opposite the leopard enclosure, a pair of hyenas can be spotted

The red earred slider a kind of turtle in its pond enclosure; the adjoining section has tortoises laying still on the ground. The differences between the two reptiles are outlined on a chart

ON Monday to Sunday, 9.30 am to 6 pm
AT Veer Mata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan And Zoo, Byculla East.
ENTRY Rs 50 for Indian nationals aged above 12

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