WARANGAL: After a decade-long wait, animal lovers and residents of Warangal district are finally set to welcome two tigers, three Indian gaurs, and two species of deer to Kakatiya Zoological Park (KZP) at Hunter Road in Hanamkonda. Founded in 1985 as a mini-zoo by then Andhra Pradesh Governor Shankar Dayal Sharma, KZP is the second largest zoo in Telangana, spanning 92 acres. It was upgraded to a small zoo park in 2014, but no major developments took place after the formation of Telangana state. Currently, the zoo is home to 427 wild animals from 42 species, housed in 18 enclosures. Efforts to bring in the big cats had been underway since 2017, but the lack of interest from the BRS government delayed the process despite approval from the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) for the construction of a tiger enclosure. The forest officials attempted to introduce the big cats and other rare species in April, but financial constraints led to postponement. Thanks to the initiative of Forest Minister Konda Surekha, along with a `70 lakh release from the state government, the tiger enclosure was completed this week. The Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad sent the tigers on Monday night. For now, the big cats are housed in the lighthouse, and they will soon be available for public viewing. In exchange, Chinkaras, Sambars, and Nilgais were sent to the Nehru Zoological Park. District Forest Officer Lavanya confirmed that the long wait of Warangal’s residents and animal lovers will soon be over with the arrival of the tigers. The male tiger, named Shankar, is 10 years old, while the tigress, Kareena, is 15.
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