KARACHI, July 24: The Consul of the Royal Thailand Consulate General, Vithit Powattanasuk, visited Zoological Gardens here on Thursday to discuss the city government’s request for two Asian female baby elephants for the zoo and Safari Park from his country, it is learnt.

According to sources, the request was made by City Nazim Naimatullah Khan in his letter addressed to the Thailand’s Consul General, Praphat Chantaharn, about a month back. He had also provided details of the surplus animals at the zoo and Safar Park with an offer that animals could be provided to Thailand if it was interested in acquiring the same.

Mr Powattanasuk told the zoo officials on Thursday that the city government’s request and offer would be conveyed to Thai authorities. He said that a final decision on baby elephants would be taken by his government.

The diplomat pointed out that there might be some queries from Bangkok about technical details, including facilities and expertise available at the zoo and park, with regard to the handling of the required elephants.

The zoo chief, Mansoor Qazi, informed the diplomat that the zoo already had an Asian female elephant, named Anarkali, which had been brought to the zoo from the then East Pakistan. She was among a herd of elephants that had crossed over the Burmese border decades back, Mr Qazi said. Since then, she has been at the zoo. The diplomat also went round the zoo and also saw Anarkali.

Mr Powattanasuk agreed in principle that exchange of flora and fauna between the two countries would strengthen the friendly relations further.

The zoo officials also gave a list of the animals at the zoo to the diplomat and said that a similar list of those at the Safari Park would be provided to the consulate general shortly.

The sources said that both the zoo and Safari Park had various indigenous species, gazelles, black bucks, neel gai, etc, and some exotic animal species like red deer, fellow deer, sika deer, white fellow deer, spotted deer, etc., in surplus due to successful breeding. Some of the species may be offered to Thailand, they said.

The sources said that the Nazim had written similar letters to the diplomatic missions of Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh a few weeks back. A Nepalese envoy is scheduled to meet the Nazim on July 29.

The sources said that the city Nazim had been seeking two Asian female baby elephants each from Thailand and Sri Lanka besides two pairs of rhinoceros from Nepal and some wild animals from Bangladesh.

They pointed out that while the foreign missions responded swiftly, the Sindh Wildlife Department did not even bother to contact the Nazim who he had approached the department also.

The zoo officials had been requesting the department for over a couple of years now for the animals, but the department had provided a few crocodiles only more than a year back and kept silent on the demand for other animals.