Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): There is good news. The 4-year-old lioness Ganga at Van Vihar National Park is pregnant for the first time. The Park officials are delighted and anxious as they wait for her first cubs. The lioness brought from Indore Zoo was kept with lion Satya brought from Bilaspur for mating.Ganga is more than one-month pregnant.
This is the first ever captive breeding in Van Vihar, which is likely to bear fruits shortly. The gestation period of lioness is normally 90 days.
FP Photo
Captive breeding is the process of breeding animals outside of their natural environment in restricted conditions in farms, zoos or other closed facilities. The choice of individual animals that are to be part of a captive breeding population, and the mating partners within that population, are controlled by humans.
Asiatic lions sought from Gujarat
In the past, Madhya Pradesh struggled to get Asiatic lions from Gujarat but didn’t get. In anticipation of receiving Asiatic Lions, it developed Kuno National Park.
However, Van Vihar National Park has demanded a pair of Asiatic lions from Gujarat again in exchange of two tigresses.
A Van Vihar National Park official said Gujarat’s Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (wildlife) contacted Van Vihar to get two tigresses. “Two days back, we wrote to him that in lieu of two tigresses, we want a pair of Asiatic lion. But all this is in a preliminary stage,” official added.
The captive breeding of Asiatic lion takes place in Junagarh in Gujarat from where they are given to every part of country except Van Vihar. “They fear that if Asiatic lions are given to Van Vihar, then captive breeding will begin here and their cubs will be released in Kuno National Park,” official added.
