The Delhi zoo is all set to receive a new prized inmate from Mumbai-- a one horned rhinoceros-- and hopes to breed the species in captivity.
The 33-year-old male from Jijabai Bhosale Udyan Zoo will be paired with two female rhinos that the Delhi Zoo already exhibits as soon as it is done with the negotiations.
"We want it to become a group and maybe think about a possible chance of mating if the breeding environment permits" said Brij Kishor Gupta from the Central Zoo Authority which looks after such transfers.
The rhino named 'Shiva' was captured from the wild in Assam and kept at a zoo in Guwahati till he was six years old. Later it was transfered to Mumbai and has been there since then. It has a stunted horn and a cut on its right ear.
According to the Central Zoo Authority, the rhino is being transfered as the Byculla Zoo is being renovated.
"We will be getting the rhino once all the medical and quarantine checks have been done by our officials who will be visiting the Mumbai zoo," said an official from the National Zoological Park here.
The official added that though Shiva is old, there is a possibility that the zoo can go for a breeding programme with the two resident animals.
Last year, a male rhino named 'Junior Raja' died of a suspected heart attack.
