Patna: Patna Zoo is preparing to welcome a pair of two-horned white rhinoceroses from Singapore Zoo as part of an international animal exchange programme.
Under the proposed arrangement, Patna Zoo will send a pair of Indian one-horned rhinoceroses to Singapore in exchange for the white rhinoceroses. Officials from the Singapore Zoo, Patna Zoo and Bihar’s Department of Forest and Environment are currently finalising discussions related to the transfer.
The move is expected to diversify the rhinoceros population at the zoo and provide visitors with an opportunity to observe both native one-horned and foreign two-horned rhinoceros species at the same facility.
Patna Zoo Among Leading Rhino Conservation Centres
Patna Zoo currently houses 10 rhinoceroses, including six females and four males, making it the largest rhino habitat in Asia and the second-largest globally in terms of rhinoceros population in captivity.
The youngest rhinoceros at the zoo is five years old. The top global position is held by the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, which has 12 rhinoceroses.
Two female rhinoceroses, Lali and Gari, were brought to Patna from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in 2006 under an exchange programme aimed at improving the zoo’s rhinoceros bloodline.
Earlier Plan With Vietnam Delayed by Pandemic
The plan to introduce white rhinoceroses at Patna Zoo was first proposed in 2019. At the time, officials had planned to acquire a pair of white rhinoceroses from a zoo in Vietnam in exchange for an Indian one-horned rhinoceros.
However, the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic delayed transportation arrangements. During the pandemic, Vietnam’s forestry and environment authorities imposed restrictions on the export of rhinoceroses and other wildlife species.
Officials said those restrictions continued even after the pandemic eased, forcing the Patna Zoo administration to suspend the proposal.
The zoo has now revived the plan through an agreement with Singapore Zoo.
Sea Route Preferred to Reduce Transportation Costs
Zoo authorities are considering transporting the white rhinoceroses from Singapore to Kolkata Port through a maritime route before shifting them to Patna by road.
Officials said the sea route is being prioritised because it would significantly reduce transportation expenses compared to air travel.
According to zoo officials, transporting the animals by air could cost between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 25 lakh, while sea transport is expected to cost around Rs 12 lakh to Rs 15 lakh.
During the 2006 exchange programme with the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, the transportation of Gari and Lali reportedly cost around Rs 75 lakh, which was borne by the American zoo.
Under the proposed agreement with Singapore Zoo, Patna Zoo will bear the transportation expenses for the incoming white rhinoceroses, while Singapore Zoo will cover the cost of transporting the Indian rhinoceroses sent from Patna.
