Mumbai: Byculla Zoo Set to Get Two Royal Bengal Tigers From Nagpur, Awaits CZA Approval After Recent Deaths

After losing two Royal Bengal tigers within a span of six months, Mumbai’s Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Garden and Zoo, popularly known as Byculla Zoo, is preparing to bring in a fresh pair of tigers from Nagpur’s Gorewada International Zoo. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which manages the zoo, has already approached Gorewada authorities with a request for the transfer. Officials confirmed that Gorewada Zoo has agreed in principle to send the animals. The civic body has now forwarded a formal proposal to the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), whose approval is mandatory before the exchange and relocation process can officially move ahead in the coming months.

A senior BMC official stated that the proposal is currently under review by the Central Zoo Authority, and the final clearance could take some time before the transfer is executed. According to officials, the BMC has proposed an exchange arrangement under which a few bird species from Byculla Zoo may be sent to Gorewada Zoo in return for the tiger pair. Authorities believe the addition of new Royal Bengal tigers will help strengthen the zoo’s conservation and breeding programme. At present, the zoo houses only two tigers — female tiger Karishma and her cub Jay — after the recent deaths significantly reduced the tiger population at the facility.

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The zoo suffered a major setback after the death of nine-year-old male Royal Bengal tiger Shakti on November 17, 2025. Officials said Shakti died because of respiratory failure caused by pneumonia. Earlier, on October 29, 2025, Rudra, the three-year-old cub of Shakti and Karishma, also died at the zoo. Rudra had been born at the Byculla facility after the tiger pair was brought to Mumbai in February 2020 from Siddhartha Garden and Zoo in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The arrival of Shakti and Karishma had then been seen as an important step in strengthening the tiger population and attracting visitors to the historic zoo.