Question : Animals in Wildlife Safaris

(a) whether the Union Government has made any assessment of the number of animals living in wildlife safaris in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the declining number of tourists in such areas can be attributed to declining number of lions in these areas, and if so, the details thereof;
(d) whether the population of lions has declined in the safari area of the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli; and
(e) if so, the details thereof and the measures taken by the Government to increase the number of lions in the said safari areas?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)

(a) to (e) Every recognized zoo submits total number of animals in its collection to the Central Zoo Authority in the form of inventory. The details of number of captive animals with respect to exclusive Safaris recognized under Section 38 H of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, as available with the Central Zoo Authority, is as given below:

S.No Name of Zoo/safari Animals
Male Female Unsexed Total
1 Lion Breeding Centre and Multiple Safari Park, Etawah, Uttar Pradesh 41 37 11 89
2 Lion Safari-Vasona, Dadra and Nagar Haveli 0 2 0 2
3 Ambardi Wildlife Interpretation Zone (Ambardi Safari Park), Gujarat 1 5 0 6
Total 42 44 11 97







No study has been undertaken by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change to ascertain the relationship between number of tourists and number of lions in wildlife safari in zoos.

The details of stock of Asiatic Lion maintained at Lion Safari-Vasona, Dadra and Nagar Haveli is as given below:

S.No Year Closing Stock
Male Female Unsexed Total
1 2015-2016 1 2 0 3
2 2016-2017 2 2 0 4
3 2017-2018 1 2 0 3
4 2018-2019 0 2 0 2

The Zoo-to Zoo exchange programme undertaken with the approval of the Central Zoo Authority helps in augmenting the number of lions in the Safaris.


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