Vijay Ranjan Singh, Mysore Zoo In-charge Director, who is handing over charge to Yatish Kumar tomorrow, told Star of Mysore this morning that tigers were not being allowed to mate as regular birth of cubs would lead to a population explosion which this Zoo or for that matter any Zoo, was incapable of handling. No artificial methods are adopted and the sexes are merely kept apart!

Vijay Ranjan Singh also said that there was no truth in the rumour that the Mysore Zoo had embarked on a captive breeding programme. The birth of wild animals was a normal process and there was nothing unusual about it.

According to Vijay Ranjan Singh, a captive breeding programme means Species Survival Programme under which "several Zoos co-operate to manage individual animals of the same species, held in different Zoos, as a single population."

A studbook is established to list genetic and demographic data on all individuals within the programme. Based on this information, recommendations are made regarding which animal should breed and with whom, which animal should be removed from breeding recommendation and which animal should be removed from the programme.”

SOM finds that this is a complex programme for which most of the Indian Zoos do not have qualified persons to handle. There have been cases particularly of breeding Mutant White Tigers which were inbred to such an extent to satisfy the need for each and every zoo to have a White Tiger that many zoos had deformed White Tigers with severe curvature of the spines!

According to Zoo Member Secretary, Jayakumar, the Mysore Zoo is to get a male and female Indian Grey Wolf from the Gadag Zoo, as a part of the zoo breeding programme. This was rub-bished by the Zoo Director who said there was nothing unusual in getting a pair of wolves and if they bred, it was but natural.

The Member Secretary has claimed that letters have been sent to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) about the captive breeding programme but this is not so. The letters are about the procuring of wolves from Gadag and have nothing to do with any Captive Breeding Programme, he said.

Courtesy : Star Of Mysore