LAHORE: In the last few days, Lahore Zoo registered five births by African lions, Capuchin monkey and zebras.

According to zoo’s Veterinary Officer Dr Babar, these births have a great significance as not only successful breeding of these exotic animal species and the healthy births in captivity is a success for the zoo, but they have great financial value also.

Elaborating, he said, a lion cub has a price ranging between Rs0.7 million and Rs0.8 million, while a zebra foal costs around Rs1m and a Capuchin monkey baby is worth around Rs0.6m-Rs0.7m.

Besides, he said the new animals would attract more and more visitors to the zoo as people took keen interest in baby animals playing around their parents.

He said that besides common visitors, the students of zoology had a special interest in the zoo where animals are bred in captivity.

The addition of two cubs has taken the number of African lions at the zoo to 14. The gender of the cubs will be determined in a month’s time because the mother won’t let anybody touch the newborns during the period.

The birth of two foals -- a male and a female -- has raised the zebras’ number at the zoo to nine.

Similarly, with the birth of a baby, now there are three Capuchin monkeys in the zoo, while its gender will also be determined later.

To a question about purchase of three giraffes the zoo had been planning (as it is one of the most favourite animals with children), Dr Babar said a summary seeking Rs322 million for the purpose was yet to be approved by the Punjab government.

He said a summary for the purchase of some other animals, including a male hippo and a female rhino, was also under process.

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2016