Ludhiana: Tiger safari zoo awaits a young royal

 A three-and-a-half-year-old Royal Bengal Tiger is all set to take over the reins of his new kingdom at the Tiger Safari Zoo near Amaltas village, Ludhiana after completing 28 days in quarantine.

Having completed 28 days in quarantine, a three-and-a-half-year-old Royal Bengal Tiger is all set to take over the reins of his new kingdom at the Tiger Safari Zoo near Amaltas village.

Zoo in-charge Narinder Singh says the big cat was being allowed to roam the area on an occasional basis to help him acclimatise to its new habitat. “We wanted to see how Nav reacted on seeing a bus full of visitors in the zoo. He has shown some aggressiveness, which is expected,” said Narinder Singh.

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A zoo official, who did not wish to be named, said, “The animals need to be quarantined for some time, so that they can comfortably adapt to their new habitat.”

Nav was scheduled to be shifted from Chhatbir Zoo in February last year, but the pandemic delayed the process.

Second tiger at the safari

Last year, two tigresses, Chirag and Ichran, had been brought to the zoo to revive its breeding programme. “Chirag was born at the Ludhiana Tiger Safari in 2008 to the two tigers we had earlier — Paras and Chorni. Ichran was also born in captivity at Bannerghatta Zoo near Bengaluru in Karnataka, and was later shifted to Chhatbir,” said Narinder Singh.

However, the 18-year-old male tiger Mani was not keeping well, and soon died. Ichran, who was nearly 16 years old also passed away soon after. With the arrival of Nav, there will be two big cats in the zoo.

The Tiger Safari had been thrown open to the public on July 20 after its closure in March 2020 due to the pandemic. Now, those found without mask in the zoo will be penalised.

Spread across 59 hectares near the Jalandhar Bypass on the National Highway, the safari was opened in 1992 and has been a huge attraction for visitors since.

Recently, the department had launched an animal adoption scheme under which any resident can adopt an animal or bird kept in the zoo by paying an annual care-taking fee, which will allow benefactors to avail a tax benefit.