Rajiv Gandhi zoo’s in-situ breeding programme has six endangered Giant Indian Squirrels thriving in captivity - Hindustan Times

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Rajiv Gandhi zoo’s in-situ breeding programme has six endangered Giant Indian Squirrels thriving in captivity

PUNE The Giant Indian Squirrel, also known as the Malabar Giant squirrel or “Shekru”is the state animal of Maharashtra

By Prachi Bari

PUBLISHED ON JUN 03, 2021 08:31 PM IST

PUNE The Giant Indian Squirrel, also known as the Malabar Giant squirrel or “Shekru”is the state animal of Maharashtra.

Six such squirrels now exist in a 100 sqm facility at the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park and Research Centre at Katraj, all in their natural habitat.

According to the statistical data shared by the authorities, there have been only 10 Shekru births in captivity across India, with the Pune zoo recording three born in captivity.

To facilitate a successful breeding programme, the zoo built an off-display facility in 2019. “This facility has all the natural attributes where we have three male and three female Shekrus, all healthy,” said Dr Rajkumar Jadhav, director, Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park and Research Centre.

The zoo plans to expand the programme as the population of Shekru is declining due to poaching and habitat loss. “We have earmarked land for the expansion project to increase the population,” he added.

“We were identified as a participating zoo, as part of 73 zoos identified by the Central Zoo Authority for India for an exclusive conservation and breeding programme for the Shekru. The programme began in 2008,” said Jadhav.

In 2014, the Pune zoo did not have a population of Shekru, so took in two rescued female Shekru, and then requested for a male from a farm in Gadchiroli.

“It was only in 2016 that we found one pair compatible and in 2017, we had our first birth. After that, every year until this year, we have had successful births in the very first in-situ breeding programme in India,” said Jadhav.