The Indore Zoo administration has grounded an area of a thousand square feet for an enclosure, to welcome ‘Ragini’, an eight-year-old white tigress from Odisha’s Nandankanan Zoo. Brought to the Kamla Nehru Prani Sangrahalaya in Indore, under the wings of the Animal Exchange scheme, Ragini will now stay in a compound that has been built at a cost of ₹1.72 crores.
This enclosure is laden with scaffolding, ponds and earthen mounds, to foster a forest-like environment, to ease the new tiger in foreign surroundings. It also has two lofts and two fountains, making it a luxurious space for the white tigress, read reports.
First in MP, Indore zoo houses tigers of 3 different coats
The Indore Zoo has set on its journey to notch up its attractions and to stand as the first and only zoological garden in the state, to house all tigers of different coats, including black, white and yellow ones. While the Kamla Nehru Prani Sangrahalaya already has yellow tigers, the other two kinds are being provided by the Nandankanan Zoological Park in Odisha, under the wings of the Animal Exchange Programme. As such, special provisions are being made to welcome the new animals to Indore, where the zoo has established an expansive living space for Odisha’s white tigress, Ragini.
The Indore Zoo has been reckoning several efforts to bring in a white tiger here, since the death of ‘Shivani’- a white tigress, who was five years of age. During this course of time, the authorities reached out to many zoos, including those in Hyderabad, Aurangabad but to no avail. However, the officials finally found a way when they struck an exchange with the Nandankanan Zoo, which included the interchange of black and white tigers with a pair of lions and wolves from the Indore Zoo.
Both the tigers arrived here on April 22 and were prescribed quarantine. On Wednesday, the white tigress was released in the custom-made closure, after a ceremony held at the premises to mark the same. Reportedly, when ‘Ragini’ entered this space, she inspected it and roared loudly, pleasing the spectators around.
The black tiger, a 4-year-old male will also be released here soon, the zoo authorities informed. This animal belongs to a rare species, native to Odisha and has black stripes on its body. Besides, a bird park and another snake park have also been built at the Indore Zoo recently, which hold a variety of rare birds and reptiles.
Indore Zoo holds 635 animals of 72 species
Spread across an area of 52 acres, the Indore Zoo boasts of 635 animals of 72 species under its authority, which attracted an average of around 4 thousand tourists every day, before the pandemic crisis. Zoo authorities informed that while the mean footfall has dipped, the tourist influx is set to rise again as COVID-19 recedes.
